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Lesson 99 of 104 2 min Updated Completed

How to Mark a Workbook as Final

Mark as Final tells people that a workbook is the finished version and makes it read-only. It discourages changes, but it’s not protection: anyone can click Edit Anyway.

  1. Open the workbook (here, Book1).

  2. Click File > Info.

    The Info page on the File tab

  3. Click Protect Workbook > Mark as Final.

    Mark as Final under Protect Workbook

  4. Click OK.

    Confirming Mark as Final

Result: a yellow bar tells anyone who opens the file that it has been marked as final. They can still click Edit Anyway to make changes.

The Marked as Final message bar with Edit Anyway

To undo it, click Edit Anyway, or click File > Info > Protect Workbook > Mark as Final again.

Note: To really stop changes, use a password to modify or protect the sheet.