Marking a Workbook as Final
IF YOU ARE THROUGH making changes to a workbook but still need to share its contents with others, you might want to make it “readonly”. A read-only file is just that—available for reading (viewing), but not editing. With Excel, you make a workbook read-only by marking it as “final”.
Marking a workbook as final only helps to prevent unwanted changes from your users. They can, if they are determined, remove the read-only status from the workbook and make changes anyway. Still, it’s not an accidental thing, as you will see, so it’s worth your time and trouble.
To mark a workbook as final, follow these steps:
1. | Click the File tab to display Backstage. |
2. | Select Info from the list on the left to display the Information options on the right. |
3. | Click the Protect Workbook button and select Mark as Final from the pop-up menu. |
4. | Click OK to confirm your decision to mark the workbook as final. |
5. | A warning appears, telling you that the workbook has been marked as final. Click OK to continue. |
6. | Click the Home tab to view the worksheet. You can tell that the workbook has been successfully marked as “final” because a Marked as Final indicator now appears on the status bar, as shown in Figure 13-11. Figure 13-11. Mark your workbook as final to help prevent further changes.
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7. | Close it since you are done with it. |
Using Older Excel VersionsIf a user opens a read-only 2010 Excel workbook in an earlier version of Excel, the read-only status is not retained and the user will not be prevented from making changes. |
After you mark a workbook as final, it is ready to be shared. When a user opens the workbook, he or she will see a warning that indicates the workbook is read-only. The warning appears on the InfoBar, located just above the Formula bar, as shown in Figure 13-12. A user can view the workbook and print it as needed. The user can also override this warning, disable the Mark as Final status, and make changes anyway. To disable the Marked as Final status and enable editing, click the Edit Anyway button on the InfoBar.
Using Older Excel VersionsIf a user opens a read-only 2010 Excel workbook in an earlier version of Excel, the read-only status is not retained and the user will not be prevented from making changes. |
Mark as Final Is RemovedIf a user overrides the warning, disables a workbook’s final status, and later saves the workbook (whether or not the user made any changes), the workbook’s Mark as Final status is permanently removed. |