How to Password Protect Office Mac Files

The Microsoft Office productivity suite comes with a number of programs that allow you to create slideshows, documents and spreadsheets, among other files. The Microsoft Word application lets you password protect the documents you make from within the application, but the other applications are missing this feature. Luckily, the Mac OS X operating system allows you to ensure your files are not modified or deleted by unauthorized users.

Instructions

Microsoft Word Files

1. Double-click the Microsoft Word file that you want to password protect to open it.

2. Click the "Tools" tab and select the "Protect Document..." option.

3. Click the "Read Only" option. Type the password you want to use with the file in the space labeled "Password (optional)."

4. Click "OK" to save the document protection settings. The file can only be edited if the user knows the password you entered in Step 3.

Other Files

1. Right-click the Office file you want to password protect. Select the "Get Info" option from the context menu.

2. Click the lock icon in the bottom right-hand corner of the Get Info window. Enter your administrator password when prompted, and click the "OK" button.

3. Click on the first-account privilege listed beneath the "Privilege" heading and select the "Read Only" option from the drop-down menu. Repeat for each account on the computer. Click the lock icon again to lock the changes. Now, the file cannot be modified or deleted unless the user is logged into your administrator account with your administrator password.