Opening a Word document as read-only helps prevent unintentional changes you make to the document from being saved. Read-Only mode does not allow you to make any changes to the document, preventing you from inadvertently saving changes. We will show you how to open any Word document as read-only.
The āRecentā list displays on the backstage screen when you first open Word. Click the āOpen Other Documentsā link at the bottom of the āRecentā list.
NOTE: If you already have a new or existing document open and want to open another document as read-only, click the āFileā tab and then click āOpenā on the backstage screen. A quick way to access the āOpenā backstage screen is to press āCtrl + Oā.
On the āOpenā screen, click āComputerā to access files on your computer, or click āOneDriveā to open a file from your OneDrive account as read-only.
Below the āRecent Foldersā list, on the right side of the āOpenā screen, click the āBrowseā button.
Navigate to the folder containing the file you want to open as read-only. Instead of clicking the main part of the āOpenā button, click the down arrow on the right side of the āOpenā button. Select āRead-Onlyā from the drop-down menu.
Your document is opened as read-only, as shown in the image at the beginning of this article. Read-Only mode is similar to the Read Mode in Word.