Remove ‘Protected View’ from Files in MS Office

When you download any MS Office file (word, excel, etc.) and open it, you see a prompt on the top of the file, informing you that the file is opened in the Protected view and you have to click the Enable Editing button if you want to edit the file, if not, the file opens as a read-only file.

It is a feature of MS Office that protects your computer from viruses, malware, or other kinds of worms contained by the files downloaded from an insecure source. Protected view enables you to open the file in read-only mode and view its content.

If you feel that the file is safe to be edited you can choose to edit the file while decreasing the risk of harm to your computer.

How do you close the protected view? It’s easy, just click the Enable Editing button on the protected view prompt and you can edit the document,

Disable Protected View

If you want to disable this feature permanently, for any reason. Just follow the following steps and you will never get the protected view prompt for any file. Be careful, you may be vulnerable to viruses, malware and other kinds of worms attack.

Open MS Word or Excel and click of the File option in the top left corner of your window.

From the File menu, click on the Options.

From the Options window, locate and click on the Trust Center option.

Click on the Trust Center Settings

In the Trust Center window, you will find the Protected View option

Here you will find three options, showing which file will open in protected view. Files from the internet, potentially unsafe location, and outlook attachments open in the protected view.

You can enable or disable any of the three options. After making a careful selection, click the OK button. Your settings are saved as per your choice.