Protected Word documents are used to ensure that accidental editing does not occur. The protected document feature is generally used with forms and merge documents, although there is nothing preventing its use on complete documents. Protected documents can be assigned a password, which makes editing impossible if the correct key is not known.
Step One
Open the protected document in Word 2007 or 2010. Check to see if the "Developer" tab is visible on the ribbon.
Step Two
Use this step only if the "Developer" tab is not visible: On the Office button, choose Word Options at the bottom of the window.
Step Three
Use this step only if the "Developer" tab is not visible: Check the box marked "Show Developer tab in the Ribbon."
Step Four
Open the document. Select the "Developer" tab on the Ribbon. On a protected document, the "Protect Document" button will be highlighted. Select this, and a task pane will open on the right.
Step Five
Select the "Stop Protection" button at the bottom of the task pane. The document is now ready for editing.
Step Six
Edit the document. To protect it again, choose the "Protect Document" button on the Developer tab. A task pane will open on the right. Select the options to be enforced and then the "Yes, Start enforcing protection" button.