Password Encrypting a Document in Office 2007 or 2010
Sometimes you will want to password encrypt a Microsoft Office document to prevent any sensitive data being read by the wrong person. There are some simple steps you can follow to encrypt a Word, Powerpoint or Excel document so that users have to enter a password to open it.
Click here for Office 2007 Instructions
Click here for Office 2010 instructions
Office 2007:
- From whatever Office program you are using, click the Microsoft Office button in the top left corner.
- Point to "Prepare" and then click "Encrypt Document".
- In the Encrypt Document dialog box, in the Password box, type a password and click "OK". (you can type up to 255 characters!)
- In the Confirm Password Dialog box, in the Reenter password box, type the password again. Click "OK".
- To save the password, save your file as normal.
- If you need to remove password protection from an Office document, repeat these steps. When you get to the box where your password is entered, delete the encrypted password and click "OK". Save the document again.
Office 2010:
- In any Office program, click on the "File" menu and then "Info"
.JPG?n=7931 "office2010password1")
- Click on "Protect Workbook" and select "Encrypt with Password"
- In the Encrypt Document dialog box, in the Password box, type a password and click "OK". (you can type up to 255 characters!)
- In the Confirm Password Dialog box, in the Re-enter password box, type the password again. Click "OK".
- You will now see a message under Permissions telling you a password is required to open this document. To save the password, save your file as normal.
- If you need to remove password protection from an Office document, repeat these steps. When you get to the box where your password is entered, delete the encrypted password and click "OK". Save the document again.
Important note: If you forget your password, you will not be able to recover the document, Also, do not save the password in the same location that the document is saved, otherwise anyone who gets access to that folder will be able to bypass the encryption.