How Do I Turn Off Read Only in Excel? How to Make Excel Files Editable

Table of Contents

Opening Worksheet as Editable

Select No to open the worksheet not as read-only. Choose File, Save As, then Browse. Click Tools in the Save As menu and select General Options. Uncheck the Read-only Recommended box under General. Click OK.

Resolving Read Only Mode in Excel

Change from Read Only to Editable

How do I change an Excel file from read only to editable?

Launch the file and select Enable editing after Excel prompts you, disabling Read Only mode.
Read-Only Excel files restrict edits, but you can still edit by removing these restrictions.
If your file is Read Only, click ‘Edit Anyway’ when prompted.

Reasons for Read Only Files

Why does my Excel file keep opening as read only?

Check if Excel thinks the file is opened elsewhere or locked by another process.
If the file was saved improperly due to a crash, it might get corrupted, leading to a read-only version.
Check for temporary files or locks and delete them.
Also, ensure the file isn’t accessed by another user or program.
If downloaded from the internet or an untrusted source, unblock the file by clicking "Unblock" in its properties.
Excel might confuse if multiple files have the same name.
Disable any problematic add-ins or macros.
Try clearing the Excel cache if needed.

Editing Protected Cells in Excel

How do I unlock read only cells in Excel?

On the Home tab, click the Font Settings popup launcher.
In the Format Cells dialog, uncheck the Locked box under the Protection tab and select OK.
By default, this unlocks all worksheet cells once protected.
If the worksheet is already protected, unprotect it first by selecting UNPROTECT SHEET on the REVIEW tab.
Then, reselect the cells you wish to lock, check the LOCKED box in the Format Cells dialog, and reprotect the sheet, allowing certain user changes if desired.

Disabling Read Only on Various Platforms

How do I turn off read only?

For Windows, right-click the file, go to "Properties," and deselect the Read-only attribute.
On a Mac, find the file, access "Get Info" > "Sharing & Permissions," and change to "Read & Write."
If Word documents open in read-only, disable protected view by clicking ENABLE EDITING.
To remove Word document protection, click RESTRICT EDITING under the REVIEW tab, then STOP PROTECTION, and enter the password if prompted.
For files with restricted access, change folder properties or copy the content into a new file for editing.