If you have a document open in Word but can’t edit it, it’s probably locked for editing by someone else or a feature. Learning how to remove read-only from Word should help you edit these documents, even if they were marked as read-only and not meant to be edited. In this article, we will try to teach you how to fix Microsoft Word opens files in read-only mode in Windows 11.
There are various reasons why people restrict editing of their documents. Maybe you made the document read-only yourself but forgot to do so, or maybe someone locked it to make sure no unauthorized user can change the content.
Office applications such as Word regularly, and sometimes without the user’s consent, convert a file into read-only mode when it is in use. Changing the default state can be annoying because the mode doesn’t allow for modifications. However, you can solve this problem, below are the steps to solve Microsoft Word opens files in read-only mode in Windows.
4 ways to fix Microsoft Word opens files in read-only mode in Windows 11
Turn off Protected View for Word
Open MS Word.
Click File and then select Options.
The Word Options window opens. In the left pane, open the Trust Center tab.
Next, click Trust Center Settings under Microsoft Word Trust Center.
In the left pane, click the Protected View tab.
In the right pane, uncheck the following options: Enable Protected View for files originating from the Internet, then Enable Protected View for files located in potentially dangerous locations, then Enable Protected View for Outlook attachments
Click OK to save the changes and open the Word document. It will now open without restrictions.
Turn off “Open email attachments in reading view”
Start MS Word on your PC.
Click File and select Options.
On the General tab, scroll down to Startup Options.
Next, uncheck Open email attachments and other non-editable files in reading view.
Click OK to save the changes.
If you open the attachment file in MS Word, it should now open in default mode.
Disable the preview pane in File Explorer
Press Win + E to open File Explorer.
In File Explorer, click the View drop-down menu.
Then go to View and deselect preview pane.
Microsoft Office Online Repair
Press Win + R to open Run.
Type control and click OK to open the Control Panel.
In Control Panel, go to Programs > Programs and Features.
Select Microsoft Office from the list and click Change. When prompted by User Account Control, click Yes.
Select the Repair Online option and click the Repair button. This requires an active Internet connection to download the necessary Office files and resolve any issues.
Click Fix again to confirm the action. The repair process may take some time, so please wait for it to complete.
Once done, restart your computer and check for improvements.
Final words
That’s it with our article on methods to fix Microsoft Word files open in read-only mode in Windows 11. If you want to know how to fix this problem, follow the steps above.
I hope you understand this article How to fix opening Microsoft Word files in read-only mode in Windows 11.
Related guides
How to stop Microsoft Word files from opening in read-only mode in Windows
How to change which software opens the Edit context menu in Windows 10
How to set or remove a disk as read-only or read-only on a Windows 11/10 computer
How to fix “These files have properties that cannot be read” photo error in Windows 10/11
How to fix folders reverting to read-only mode in Windows 11