Hello, my name is Erin.
I'm a copy editor who shares writing tips for the real world on my blog at ErinWrightWriting.com.
Microsoft Word lets us block all comments and Track Changes by saving files as Read Only.
However, have you ever wanted to block just some comments or Track Changes instead of all of them?
Today's tutorial explains how to restrict editing in Microsoft Word.
Specifically, we will limit edits to comments only;
prevent users from making untracked changes;
allow users to fill in forms without making additional changes;
and mark the entire document as Read Only for specific users.
We'll be using Microsoft Word 2016.
However the steps are similar for Word 2013 and Word 2010.
Please note that this tutorial is for general knowledge only.
The Microsoft Word protections shown here are not "hacker proof"
and should not be relied upon to protect sensitive or classified documents.
To begin, select the File tab.
In the Backstage view, select Protect Document,
followed by Restrict Editing in the drop-down menu.
Now check "Only allow this type of editing in the document" in the Restrict Editing task pane.
And then select the drop-down arrow in the Editing Restrictions section.
Choose the type of editing you want to allow from the drop-down menu.
The Track Changes option prevents other Word users from creating untracked changes in the document.
If a change is made, it will be tracked.
The Comments option allows other Word users to leave comments but not to use the Track Changes editing tools.
The Filling in Forms option lets other Word users fill in forms
but not to leave comments or use the Track Changes editing tools.
And the No Changes (Read Only) option prevents other Word users from changing the document.
If you select Comments or No Changes, you can exempt groups of users from the restrictions selected above.
Additional users can be exempt by selecting More Users
and then following Word's simple user verification process.
However, the option to exempt users isn't available if you chose the Track Changes or Filling in Forms options.
After making your choice, select the Yes, Start Enforcing Protection button.
Enter a password in the Start Enforcing Protection dialog box,
and then select OK.
Note that Word will allow you to turn on your protection without a password
by selecting OK in the Start Enforcing Protection dialog box.
However without a password, other users can simply turn off the protection themselves.
To remove the restriction in your copy of the file,
return to the Restrict Editing task pane,
select the Stop Protection button,
enter your password in the Unprotect Document dialog box,
and then select OK.
This process won't turn off the protection for a password-protected copy of the file you have shared with other users,
so you will have to share your password with them
if you would like them to be able to turn off the protection, also.
You can find the transcript for this tutorial on my blog at
ErinWrightWriting.com, which is linked below
along with my Microsoft Word tutorials playlist.
As always, feel free to leave me a comment if you have a question about Microsoft Word or Adobe Acrobat
that you'd like me to address in a future video.
And please subscribe and give this video a thumbs-up if you found it helpful.
Thank you so much for watching!