Help Prevent Changes To A Final Version Of A File - Microsoft Support

Skip to main content Sign in with Microsoft Sign in or create an account. Hello, Select a different account. You have multiple accounts Choose the account you want to sign in with. Applies ToExcel for Microsoft 365 Word for Microsoft 365 PowerPoint for Microsoft 365 Excel 2024 Word 2024 PowerPoint 2024 Excel 2021 Word 2021 PowerPoint 2021 Excel 2019 Word 2019 PowerPoint 2019 Excel 2016 Word 2016 PowerPoint 2016 Microsoft365.com Microsoft Office

Use Mark as Final to make your Word, Excel, or PowerPoint file read-only. When you mark as final, typing, editing commands, proofing marks are disabled or turned off, and the file becomes read-only, and the Status property of the document is set to Final.

Notes: 

• The Mark as Final command is not a security feature. Anyone who receives an electronic copy of a file that has been marked as final can edit that file by removing the Mark as Final status from the file.

• If you want to encrypt a presentation with a password or restrict who can edit it, see Protect a document with a password.

What do you want to do?

• Mark a file as final

• Enable editing for a file that is marked as final

Mark a file as final

After you click Mark as Final to mark a file as final, a message tells you that the file is marked as final to discourage editing.

1. In your Word, PowerPoint, or Excel file, select File >Info > Protect (Document, Presentation, or Workbook) > Mark as Final. The following screen shot shows Mark as Final in Excel 2016.

Enable editing for a file that's marked as final

The Mark as Final command is selected in files that have been marked as final. If you want to enable editing for a file that's marked as final, you can follow the procedure above to select the Mark as Final command again.

Note: You can also see that a file has been marked as final by looking for the Mark as Final icon in the status bar.

Need more help?

Want more options?

DiscoverCommunity

Explore subscription benefits, browse training courses, learn how to secure your device, and more.

Microsoft 365 subscription benefits

Microsoft 365 training

Microsoft security

Accessibility center

Communities help you ask and answer questions, give feedback, and hear from experts with rich knowledge.

Ask the Microsoft Community

Microsoft Tech Community

Windows Insiders

Microsoft 365 Insiders

Was this information helpful?

Yes No Thank you! Any more feedback for Microsoft? Can you help us improve? (Send feedback to Microsoft so we can help.) What affected your experience? Resolved my issue Clear instructions Easy to follow No jargon Pictures helped Other Didn't match my screen Incorrect instructions Too technical Not enough information Not enough pictures Other Any additional feedback? (Optional) Submit feedback By pressing submit, your feedback will be used to improve Microsoft products and services. Your IT admin will be able to collect this data. Privacy Statement.

Thank you for your feedback!

×