Part 2: Other 4 Ways to Enable Editing in Excel Read Only. Protected View is one of the most common situations you will meet if you download files from the Internet. Of course, you will also encounter some other cases where you need to enable editing in read-only Excel file. In this section, we will list 4 common cases and solutions as well. When someone opens a protected document, Microsoft Office Word 2007 restricts changes based on whether the person has been granted permission to make changes to a specific part of the document. When the document is opened, the Restrict Formatting and Editing task pane displays buttons for moving to editable regions of the document.
See Editor’s suggestions in Word, 1 Outlook, and on your favorite sites. 2 Try Editor in Outlook and download the browser extension to have Editor’s assistance across the web. If you receive or open a document and can't make any changes, it might be Open for viewing only in Protected View. Follow these steps to edit: Go to File Info. Select Protect document. Select Enable Editing. A subscription to make the most of your time. Try one month free. In the Editing restrictions area, select the Allow only this type of editing in the document check box. In the list of editing restrictions, click No changes (Read only). Select the part of the document where you want to allow changes. For example, select a block of paragraphs, a heading, a sentence, or a word.
-->Microsoft 365 licensing guidance for security & compliance.
Note
This feature is in preview and subject to change.
Enable the setting to support co-authoring for Office desktop apps so that when documents are labeled and encrypted by sensitivity labels, multiple users can edit these documents at the same time.
Without this setting enabled for your tenant, users must check out an encrypted document stored in SharePoint or OneDrive when they use Office desktop apps. As a result, they can't collaborate in real time. Or, they must use Office on the web when sensitivity labels are enabled for Office files in SharePoint and OneDrive.
In addition, enabling this functionality results in the AutoSave functionality being supported for these labeled and encrypted files.
To read the initial release announcement, see the blog post Announcing co-authoring on Microsoft Information Protection-encrypted documents and labeling updates.
Metadata changes for sensitivity labels
Important
After you enable the setting for co-authoring, labeling information for unencrypted files is no longer saved in custom properties.
Do not enable this setting if you use any apps, services, scripts, or tools that reads or writes labeling metadata to the old location.
Before you enable the setting to support co-authoring for Office desktop apps, it's important to understand that this action makes changes to the labeling metadata that is saved to and read from Office files.
The labeling metadata includes information that identifies your tenant and applied sensitivity label. The change that this setting makes is the metadata format and location for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files. You do not need to take any action for encrypted files or emails; the metadata change for encrypted files is backward-compatible and there are no changes for emails. However, you do need to be aware of the metadata changes for encrypted files that can be automatically upgraded but aren't backward-compatible.
This change affects both files that are newly labeled and files that are already labeled. When you use apps and services that support the co-authoring setting:
- For files that are newly labeled, only the new format and location is used for the labeling metadata.
- For files that are already labeled, the next time the file is opened and saved, if the file has metadata in the old format and location, it is copied to the new format and location.
You can read more about this metadata change from the following resources:
Blog post: Upcoming Changes to Microsoft Information Protection Metadata Storage
Open Specifications: 2.6.3 LabelInfo versus Custom Document Properties
Because of these changes, do not enable this setting if you have any apps, services, scripts, or tools in your organization that reads or writes labeling metadata to the old location. If you do, some example consequences:
A document that is labeled appears to users to be unlabeled
A document displays an out-of-date label to users
Co-authoring and AutoSave won't work for a labeled and encrypted document if another user has it open in an Office desktop app that doesn't support the new labeling metadata
An Exchange Online mail flow rule that identifies labels as custom properties in Office attachments fails to encrypt the email and attachment, or incorrectly encrypts them
Check the following section for a list of apps and services that support this setting and the changes to the labeling metadata.
Prerequisites
Make sure you understand the following prerequisites before you turn on this feature.
You must be a global admin to turn on this feature.
Sensitivity labels must be enabled for Office files in SharePoint and OneDrive for the tenant. If this feature isn't already enabled, it will be automatically enabled when you select the setting to turn on co-authoring for files with sensitivity labels.
Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise:
- Windows: Minimum version 2106
- macOS: Minimum version 16.50
- iOS: Not yet supported
- Android: Not yet supported
All apps, services, and operational tools in your tenant must support the new labeling metadata. If you use any of the following, check the minimum versions required:
Azure Information Protection unified labeling client and scanner:
- A public preview version (installation name of AzInfoProtection_2.10.46_CoAuthoring_PublicPreview.exe) that you can install from the Microsoft Download Center
OneDrive sync app for Windows or macOS:
- Minimum version of 19.002.0121.0008
Endpoint data loss prevention (Endpoint DLP):
- Windows 10 1809 with KB 4601383
- Windows 10 1903 and 1909 with KB 4601380
- Windows 10 2004 with KB 4601382
Apps and services that use the Microsoft Information Protection SDK:
- Minimum version of 1.7
Microsoft 365 services automatically support the new labeling metadata when you turn on this feature. For example:
Limitations
Before you enable the tenant setting for co-authoring for files encrypted with sensitivity labels, make sure you understand the following limitations of this feature.
Because of the labeling metadata changes, all apps, services, and operational tools in your tenant must support the new labeling metadata for a consistent and reliable labeling experience.
Specific to Excel: Metadata for a sensitivity label that doesn't apply encryption can be deleted from a file if somebody edits and saves that file by using a version of Excel that doesn't support the metadata changes for sensitivity labels.
Co-authoring and AutoSave aren't supported and don't work for labeled and encrypted Office documents that use any of the following configurations for encryption:
- Let users assign permissions when they apply the label and the checkbox In Word, PowerPoint, and Excel, prompt users to specify permissions is selected. This configuration is sometimes referred to as 'user-defined permissions'.
- User access to content expires is set to a value other than Never.
- Double Key Encryption is selected.
For labels with any of these encryption configurations, the labels display in Office apps. However, when users select these labels and nobody else is editing the document, they are warned that co-authoring and AutoSave won't be available. If somebody else is editing the document, users see a message that the labels can't be applied.
If you use the Azure Information Protection unified labeling client: Check the documentation for this labeling client for more requirements or limitations.
Known issues for this preview
This preview version of co-authoring for files encrypted with sensitivity labels has the following known issues:
Users won't be able to apply any labels in Office for the web for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files that are bigger than 300 MB. For these files, you can use the Office desktop apps to apply a label but you must be the only person who has the file open.
Some documents are incompatible with sensitivity labels because of features such as password-protection, shared workbooks, or content that includes ActiveX controls. Other reasons are documented in Troubleshoot co-authoring in Office. For these documents, you see a message UPLOAD FAILED and should select the Discard Changes option. Until this issue is addressed, do not label these documents that are identified with this failure message.
Office apps for iOS and Android are not supported.
How to enable co-authoring for files with sensitivity labels
Caution
Turning on this setting is a one-way action. While the feature is in preview, enable it only after you have read and understood the metadata changes, prerequisites, limitations, and any known issues documented on this page.
Sign in to the Microsoft 365 compliance center as a global admin for your tenant.
From the navigation pane, select Settings > Co-authoring for files with sensitivity files.
On the Co-authoring for files with sensitivity labels (preview) page, read the summary description, prerequisites, what to expect, and the warning that you can't turn off this setting after you've turned it on.
Then select Turn on co-authoring for files with sensitivity labels, and Apply:
Wait 24 hours for this setting to replicate across your environment before you use this new feature for co-authoring.
Contact Support if you need to disable this feature
Important
If you do need to disable this feature, be aware that labeling information can be lost.
After you've enabled co-authoring for files with sensitivity labels for your tenant, you can't disable this setting yourself. That's why it's so important that you check and understand the prerequisites, consequences, and limitations before you enable this setting.
As you see from the screenshot when this setting has been turned on, you can contact Microsoft Support and request to turn off this setting. This request might take several days and you will need to prove that you are a global administrator for your tenant. Expect usual support charges to apply.
If a support engineer disables this setting for your tenant:
For apps and services that support the new labeling metadata, they now revert to the original metadata format and location when labels are read or saved.
The new metadata format and location for Office documents that were used while the setting was enabled will not be copied to the original format and location. As a result, this labeling information for unencrypted Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files will be lost.
Co-authoring and AutoSave no longer work in your tenant for labeled and encrypted documents.
Sensitivity labels remain enabled for Office files in OneDrive and SharePoint.
Are you stuck looking for how to enable editing in Excel read-only? Have you tried multiple options and still found yourself in the same loop? Worry no more because we have good news for you. To access the file in an editable mode, you need to perform some operations on the Excel file. These processes vary depending on the type of protection in question as discussed in detail in this article.
Part 1: Directly Disable Protected View to Enable Editing in Excel
When you try to open a downloaded file in Excel, the worksheet will automatically open in a read-only mode meaning you can only view but you cannot edit or apply other commands. In this case, there are plenty of ways to disable protected view in order to enable editing on your Excel file. One of the most straightforward options is to do it directly via program settings. This method will open the Excel file in editable mode and prevent it from displaying protected notification every time you open the file. This helps to save the time required to disable the protected view every time you open the Excel file. To disable the protected view directly, follow the steps below.
Step 1: Double-click the Microsoft Excel icon on your desktop to access the primary interface. Once opened, navigate to 'File' and choose 'Options' from the subsequent list.
Step 2: From the displayed 'Excel Options' window, choose 'Trust Center' > 'Trust Center Settings' on the bottom left pane.
Step 3: Click on the 'Protected View' and then uncheck any or all of the protected view options given. Once satisfied, click 'OK' to directly apply the settings.
Part 2: Other 4 Ways to Enable Editing in Excel Read Only
Protected View is one of the most common situations you will meet if you download files from the Internet. Of course, you will also encounter some other cases where you need to enable editing in read-only Excel file. In this section, we will list 4 common cases and solutions as well.
Case 1. Excel File is Marked as Final
How to know that your Excel file is Marked as Final? When you open a read-only Excel file Marked as Final, there is a yellow notification on top of the Excel worksheet. This notification is a warning that the author of the Excel file has denied you to edit the Excel sheet. This means you can only read the contents of the workbook but not perform operations like typing, editing, and engage proofing marks and commands.
In order to edit the Excel file Marked as Final, you need to get rid of the read-only feature. This is simple as you can simply click the 'Edit Anyway' button within the 'MARKED AS FINAL' notification at the top of the worksheet.
Case 2. Excel File is Recommended as Read Only
In the case where you open an Excel file recommended as a read-only, it is usual to get a pop-up window asking you to open the file in read-only mode. Selecting 'Yes' will open the file in read-only mode and you cannot apply any changes. However, if you want to make any changes to this file, choose 'No' instead.
Now if you want to remove read-only recommended feature for good, then do the following.
Step 1: Open the Excel file recommended as read-only and select 'No' from the pop-up window.
Enable Editing In Microsoft Office Word 2016
Step 2: Navigate to 'File' then choose 'Save As' to open the file directory. Click the drop-down icon beside 'Tools' at the bottom of the file explorer window and select 'General Options'.
Step 3: The 'General Options' window will open. Locate and uncheck the 'Read-only recommended' box. Click 'Ok' to complete the removal of the read-only recommended mode on your Excel file.
Case 3. Excel File is Protected with Modifying Password
If you try to open an Excel file that is protected with a modifying password, a pop-up window asking you to enter the password will appear. In this case, it is really easy to enable the editing mode whether you know the correct password or not.
If you know the correct password, just type it within the prompt. Then go to the 'File' option and select 'Save As' from the subsequent list. Delete the password in the 'Password to modify' field in the 'General Options' dialogue box. Now, you will receive a Excel file without protection.
If you don't know the correct password, then the only option for you is to open this Excel file in the read-only mode. After opening, press 'Ctrl+A' to select the whole worksheet and then press 'Ctrl+C' and 'Ctrl+V' to copy the content to a new worksheet. You can edit the new worksheet as you wish now!
Note
This method only works when you can select the content. Sometimes, you are not allowed to select the cells if the 'Select Locked Cells' and 'Select Unlocked Cells' options are forbidden by the owner. If this is the situation, you can try the solution in Case 4.
Case 4. Excel Worksheet is Protected with Password
In this case, you won't know that the worksheet is password protected until you want to select or edit some cells. An 'Unprotect Sheet' dialog box will pop up requiring you to enter a password. Different from the above 3 cases, an Excel worksheet protected with a password can only allow you to open the file in editable mode if you know the password. The only way that is easy to use and 100% workable is by using a password remover tool.
Enable Editing In Microsoft Office Word Free
Passper for Excel is the best password remover tool for Excel worksheets or workbooks. By using Passper for Excel, you do not have to be a tech-savvy since it is really easy to use. With one simple click, all restrictions can be removed with 100% success rate. Additionally, Passper for Excel is helpful to recover opening password for all types of Excel file.
Passper is a sub-brand of the hi-tech corporation iMyFone, which has been trusted and recommended by many professional websites like Cnet, Cult of Mac, etc. Before you decide to use this program, you can also check the user's feedback below.
Now follow the simple steps below to enable editing in your Excel file. Start by downloading and installing the program on your computer or laptop.
Step 1 Open Passper for Excel on your PC to access the main interface. Choose 'Remove Restrictions' option.
Enable Editing In Microsoft Word
Step 2 Click on the 'Select a File' button to upload your password protected Excel file. Once the restricted Excel file has been successfully uploaded onto the program, simply hit the 'Remove' button to activate the removal process.
Step 3 The process is super-fast and will take about 2 seconds to complete. When it is successfully completed, the program will display a success notification. Your Excel file is now restrictions-free and you can freely edit it.
Conclusion
As you have seen from the information above, it is clear that there are several options for enabling editing on read-only Excel worksheets or workbooks. After reading this article, you can easily edit your protected Excel file no matter what the case is. If you have any doubt about the above solutions, you can turn to the comment section below and leave us a comment. We will try our best to help you!