How to Enable Editing in Excel Protected View (5 Methods)

Method 1 – Clicking on ‘Enable Editing’ to Edit in Protected View

When opening an unsafe file (saved in previous versions of Excel or received from external sources), Excel usually displays it in Protected View. It shows a warning message that says-

Be careful- files from the internet can contain viruses. Unless you need to edit, it’s safer to stay in Protected View.

Next to the warning message is an Enable Editing option. Click on it to enable editing of the Excel file. This will remove the protected view, allowing you to edit the file.

Enable Editing-Enable Editing in Excel Protected View

Method 2 – Enabling Editing Using Info Feature

Excel files opened in Protected View normally have the Enable Editing option along with the warning. Users can also find the Enable Editing option from Ribbon’s File > Info > Enable Editing. Click on Enable Editing to enable editing of the opened file.

Method 3 – Allow Editing Insecure Files by Changing Protected View Settings

Excel Trust Center Setting contains several settings that allow users to edit any Excel files without getting the Protected View mode. There are three Protected View options, disabling them will allow automatic editing mode of any Excel files after opening. The options are:

(i) Enable Protected View for files originating from the internet.

(ii) Enable Protected View for files located in potentially unsafe locations.

(iii) Enable Protected View for Outlook attachments.

Excel opens files in Protected View Mode.

Go to Excel Ribbon File > Options.

The Excel Options window will open. Select Trust Center from the options and click on Trust Center Settings.

The Trust Center window will open. In the window, choose Protected View (from the left-side options). Uncheck all 3 options under Protected View and click on OK.

Disabling these three options allows Excel to directly display the Editing Mode while opening an Excel file.

Method 4 – Changing File Block Setting to Enable Editing

Open the Trust Center window by following the steps in Method 3.

Click on File Block Settings. Under File Block Settings > File Type, uncheck the Open options of all the previous Excel version variants and click OK.

Make sure you mark the option – Open selected file types in Protected View or Open selected file types in Protected View and allow editing. Unchecking those options allows Excel users to open any Excel version files in direct Editing Mode.