One of the issues that most concern users with technology are security and privacy, which has led Microsoft to introduce the option of using passwords in Word and Excel, two of the programs that store more information about us. In order for you to learn how to take advantage of it, we show you how to do it yourself.
After the steps we are going to show you, we will be a little more expert in Word and Excel, although they are two programs with a multitude of options that never cease to surprise us at any time and that is why we invite you to stay tuned to MÁSMÓVIL’s blog, where we teach you the keys to technology.
Why would we want to put a password on the files?
The main reason that can lead us to put a password on our files is simple and is to prevent anyone who has access to our computer or our file in general, can read what we have written without our consent.
Given the many possibilities of Word, we could use it to write down ideas, projects or we could even use Excel to keep the accounts of our house, this would lead us to wish that no one can see it and this is the best way to achieve greater privacy.
How to password-protect Word or Excel?
Since both programs belong to Microsoft, their tools are very similar if not identical and this leads us to come across the same steps to follow in both. The only thing that will change will be the color of the program but nevertheless, the steps to set a password in the document is the same in both programs.
The first thing we have to do is to open a document that we have already created or make a new one try using the passwords. Once we are inside the story, before closing it we have to click on File, which takes us to a series of options among which we are going to click on Information.
Therefore the route to follow will be File > Information. Once here, we are going to find the option that will give us the possibility to set the password in the button “Protect document“. There are several options shown in the drop-down menu with the following security options:
- Always open as read-only: an option that forces users to confirm that they are going to make modifications.
- Encrypt with password: the option that adds a secret key to open it.
- Restrict editing: controls the changes that others can make.
In our case, we choose to encrypt with a password, the option that will ask for a secret key that only we should know. This modification will only be made to this document and not to any other on the computer.
What happens if I do not remember the password?
If you do not remember the password of the document, you will be in trouble because it is not possible to access it in a simple way. That is why we invite you to write down the password in a safe place or, on the contrary, to use the same password for Word documents in case you are protecting several of them.
As it is a file available online, nothing happens if you repeat the password, something that does affect cloud accounts.
Can we view protected documents on the cell phone?
In the same way that when we try to open the file on the computer it asks us for a password, it will also appear on the mobile and we will only have to type it. This will allow us to edit it without any problem and save it again, combining it whenever we need it again with the computer.