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: Opening a Document as Read-Only.

Opening a Document as Read-Only

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated June 24, 2021)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003

There may be times when you want to open a file as read-only. This means you will not be able to save any changes to the file you are loading. You can use the Save As option from the File menu in order to save the document to a different filename, however. Opening a file as read-only is self-insurance so you don't inadvertently mess up your file. To open a document as read-only, follow these steps if you are using Word 2000 or a later version:

Select Open from the File menu, or click on the Open tool on the toolbar. You will see the Open dialog box.
Locate the file you want to open and then click once on the file name.
Click on the down-arrow at the right side of the Open button. Word displays the different ways you can open the file.
Choose Open Read-Only from the drop-down menu.

If you are using Word 97, follow these steps:

Select Open from the File menu, or click on the Open tool on the toolbar. You will see the Open dialog box.
Locate the file you want to open and then click once on the file name.
Click on the Commands and Settings button. (It is the right-most button on the toolbar in the Open dialog box.) This displays a Context menu.
Choose Open Read Only from the Context menu.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (1156) 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: Opening a Document as Read-Only.

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

Saving in a Macro Using a Desired File Name

Need to save a new document, from within a macro, to a specific file name? If you use the Record Macro capabilities of ...

Discover More

Limiting Entry of Prior Dates

Want to establish a "bottom limit" on what dates can be entered in a cell? This tip presents two different ways you can ...

Discover More

Controlling Where You Edit Cell Contents

You can edit cell information either in the Formula bar or in the cell itself. Here's how you can configure Excel to ...

Discover More

Do More in Less Time! Are you ready to harness the full power of Word 2013 to create professional documents? In this comprehensive guide you'll learn the skills and techniques for efficiently building the documents you need for your professional and your personal life. Check out Word 2013 In Depth today!

More WordTips (menu)

Extra Document File Being Saved

You may be surprised sometime to save a document and find out that Word actually saves what appear to be two copies of ...

Discover More

Inserting a File

Need to combine several files into a single document? You can do it by inserting one file into another, as outlined in ...

Discover More

Picking Up in the Last Document Edited

Sometimes it seems that we focus on getting a particular document hammered out to the exclusion of other documents we ...

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?

2016-10-22 12:29:39

Allan

I did steps 1 and 2.
There is no Commands and Settings button shown, as said in step 3. (It is the right-most button on the toolbar in the Open dialog box.) This displays a Context menu.

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.