Before you share an electronic copy of a Microsoft Office document with other people, you can use the Mark as Final command to make the document read-only and prevent changes to the document. When a document is marked as final, typing, editing commands, and proofing marks are disabled or turned off and the document becomes read-only. Additionally, the Status property of the document is set to Final. The Mark as Final command helps you communicate that you are sharing a completed version of a document. It also helps prevent reviewers or readers from making inadvertent changes to the document.

Notes:

What do you want to do?

Mark document as final

  1. Open the document that is marked as final.
  2. Click the Microsoft Office Button button image, point to Prepare, and then click Mark as Final.

    select the mark as final command to make a document read-only

Enable editing for a document that is marked as final

The Mark as Final command is selected in documents that have been marked as final. If you want to edit a document that is marked as final, you can click the Mark as Final command.

You can also recognize that a document has been marked as final by looking for the Mark as Final icon in the status bar.

mark as final icon displays in the status bar for documents that are marked as final

  1. Open the document that is marked as final.
  2. Click the Microsoft Office Button button image, point to Prepare, and then click Mark as Final.

    clear the mark as final command to enable editing