Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Word 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Word, click here: Protect Your Document Templates.

Protect Your Document Templates

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated December 2, 2023)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003

As you work with templates, you begin to realize that they are very valuable tools. As such, they should be protected—particularly if other people use your computer. To protect a document template from being changed or deleted, you should make the template file read-only. This is easily done from within Windows (not Word) by following these steps:

Make sure you don't have the document template open in Word. (If there is any doubt, simply close Word.)
Use My Computer to locate the template file you want to protect.
Right-click on the name of the template file you want to protect. Word displays a Context menu.
Choose Properties from the Context menu. Word displays a Properties dialog box for the file.
Click your mouse on the General tab, if necessary. (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. The General tab of the Properties dialog box.

Make sure the Read-only check box is selected.
Click on OK.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (504) applies to Microsoft Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Word (Word 2007 and later) here: Protect Your Document Templates.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. Learn more about Allen...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Sending Drawing Objects to the Back or Front

Drawing objects can be placed in a document in such a way that they overlap with each other. If you want to arrange those ...

Discover More

Searching by Columns, by Default

Do you often want to search through a worksheet by column rather than by row? Excel defaults to searching by row, of ...

Discover More

Creating Point Pages

Want to add a page, with a different page number, in Word without affecting the entire document? The solution is a bit ...

Discover More

Create Custom Apps with VBA! Discover how to extend the capabilities of Office 2013 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Access) with VBA programming, using it for writing macros, automating Office applications, and creating custom applications. Check out Mastering VBA for Office 2013 today!

More WordTips (menu)

Creating a Letterhead Template

Word is often used to write all sorts of letters. You may want to create a template that makes creating your letters ...

Discover More

Determining the Template Attached to a Document

If you've opened a document in Word, that document has a template attached to it. This tip looks at what those templates ...

Discover More

Fixing Persistent Template Corruption

If your document templates often become corrupted, there are a few things you can try to relieve the situation. Here are ...

Discover More

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

Notify me about new comments ONLY FOR THIS TIP

Notify me about new comments ANYWHERE ON THIS SITE

Hide my email address

What is 2 + 2?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)

This Site

Got a version of Word that uses the menu interface (Word 97, Word 2000, Word 2002, or Word 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.