How to Make an Excel Spreadsheet Read-Only for Others

To make an Excel spreadsheet read-only for other people, share the workbook with Can view permission rather than edit permission. For a desktop file, Always Open Read-Only or Mark as Final can discourage accidental edits, but recipients can enable editing. Choose the method based on whether you need to control access to your shared original or simply change how a file opens.

The sharing method below uses Excel for the web and a workbook stored in OneDrive or SharePoint. The opening-preference methods cover desktop Excel on Windows and Mac. Save a backup before changing a workbook you rely on.

Share the Online Workbook With View Permission

Open the intended workbook in Excel for the web using an account authorized to share it. Follow Microsoft’s view-only workbook sharing instructions:

1. Select Share in the upper-right corner, or File > Share > Share with People.
2. Enter the intended recipients’ names or email addresses. Check each address before continuing.
3. Set their permission to Can view. If the dialog instead offers an editing checkbox, clear Allow editing in the sharing settings.
4. Review the recipients and permission, then choose Share. This sends them a workbook link.

Result: Recipients using that view permission can read the shared workbook without changing its original. It does not stop them from downloading a copy and editing that copy. Work or school accounts may restrict who can receive the invitation.

Check Existing Edit Access Too

A new view-only invitation does not remove permissions someone already has through another link, direct access, or a shared folder. In particular, Microsoft says the People with existing access link option does not change permissions. Check the workbook’s sharing settings rather than relying on the latest link alone.

1. In OneDrive, select the single workbook and open the Information or Details pane.
2. Select Manage access and review the people and links that grant access.
3. Change an applicable direct edit permission to view, or remove an unwanted edit-sharing link and create a replacement with view permission. Read any confirmation carefully; removing a link affects everyone using that link.
4. Recheck remaining access routes. If permission comes from a parent folder, site or organization policy, ask its owner or administrator to adjust that source.

Microsoft’s OneDrive access-management guide documents changing permissions and disabling links. Verify access as the intended recipient; testing while signed in as the owner will not show the recipient’s restrictions.

Make Desktop Excel Open Read-Only by Default

Use this setting to reduce accidental changes when the recipient already has a writable file. It is an opening preference, so someone who chooses to edit can still change the file.

1. Open the workbook in Excel for Windows.
2. Select File > Info > Protect Workbook > Always Open Read-Only.
3. Save the workbook, close it, and reopen it to check the read-only opening behavior.

Microsoft describes this read-only recommendation for Excel as a way to avoid unintended saved changes. To remove the preference, select the same option again and save.

In current Excel for Mac, use File > Always Open Read-Only. Repeat the choice to clear its check mark. Microsoft’s Mac read-only guide notes that someone with write privileges can clear this setting. Its File > Passwords options can separately require a password to modify a file; keep any password safely because Microsoft cannot retrieve it.

What Mark as Final Actually Does

In Excel for Windows, File > Info > Protect Workbook > Mark as Final marks a completed file and discourages editing. Confirm the messages and save. To allow editing again, select Mark as Final again to remove the status.

Mark as Final is not an enforced permission barrier. Microsoft’s Mark as Final documentation says anyone receiving the electronic file can remove that status. It does not establish who can read the workbook or make its contents confidential.

If You Need to Protect Formulas or Sensitive Content

Protect Sheet controls changes to locked cells. Protect Workbook controls the workbook’s structure, such as adding or moving sheets. Neither should be confused with view-only sharing, and worksheet protection is not intended as a security feature. Microsoft’s Excel protection overview explains file, workbook and worksheet protection separately.

For confidential content, decide who should be able to open the file before distributing it. File encryption, organization-managed rights, and cloud permissions serve different purposes. Keep required passwords available to authorized owners and use your organization’s approved process for protected business data.

Why Can a Recipient Still Edit?

Check whether they opened a downloaded copy, removed a desktop read-only preference, or already had edit permission through another route. Check both the actual file and the relevant access list. A read-only label alone does not explain which control is active.

Can I Keep Editing My Own Shared Workbook?

Yes. Giving another person view permission does not remove the owner’s ability to maintain the original. When you later want that person to edit it, change their appropriate sharing permission and recheck other access routes.

For the corresponding document workflow, see our Word permissions guide. Keep a record of the workbook and access changes so you can adjust the correct setting later.