Knowledge Base

WD98: How to Simulate Locking a Document Without Using Passwords

Article ID: 186789

Article Last Modified on 10/4/2002

Microsoft Word 98 for Macintosh

This article was previously published under Q186789

SUMMARY

In Microsoft Word 98 Macintosh Edition, you can lock a document to prevent editing, without using password protection or the Protect Document feature. This article describes how to do this using the Embed TrueType Fonts feature.

MORE INFORMATION

By using the Embed TrueType Fonts feature with a font that allows print preview only (such as Century Gothic), you can "lock" the document such that you can still see the text, but most of the commands will be unavailable. To do this, follow these steps:

Place the insertion point anywhere in the document that you want to "lock."
On the Edit menu, click Select All.
On the Format menu, click Font. In the Font list, click Century Gothic, click the Font Size you want, and then click OK.
On the Tools menu, click Preferences, and then click the Save tab.
Click to select the Embed TrueType Fonts check box.
On the File menu, click Save to save the document.

When the locked document is opened on a computer which does not have the embedded font installed, the following alert message is displayed:

This document cannot be edited because it contains a read-only embedded font.

If the embedded font is installed on that computer, the document will open normally and can be edited. Word will not display an alert message.

For additional information about saving files with the Embed TrueType Font feature, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

177220 WD98: Embed TrueType Checked but Unavailable Saving As RTF

Additional query words: unprotect passwords protection true type

Keywords: kbhowto KB186789