You may want to encrypt a Microsoft Office document that has sensitive data. Microsoft Office provides a password protection feature that allows you to set a single password to open and access your document every time.
Encrypt a Microsoft Office document with a password
Open the Microsoft Office document that you wish to encrypt with a password.
Go to the File menu at the top, select Info, click Protect Document and then select Encrypt with password.
For Microsoft Word:
File > Info > Protect Document > Encrypt with Password
For Microsoft Excel:
File > Info > Protect Workbook > Encrypt with Password
For Microsoft Powerpoint:
File > Info > Protect Presentation > Encrypt with Password
You will be prompted to create a password to encrypt the contents of your document. Enter a password and click OK. You will be prompted a second time to re-enter your password. Type your password again and click OK.
You will now see that a password is required to open this document. Your document is encrypted now.
Note: Please understand that if you lose your password, you will not be able to recover your document. Make sure to store your password in a secure place.
Also, learn how to remove password encryption from a Microsoft Office document.
