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Read only files in Excel for Android

Anonymous
2019-03-15T14:51:14+00:00

I have a .xlsx file that is set to open as read only from within the Excel windows desktop application. However when I open the file with the Excel Android mobile application it will not open it as read only and changes can be made to the file. What do I need to do in order to fix this?

Microsoft 365 and Office | Excel | For home | Windows

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  1. Anonymous
    2019-03-27T02:21:32+00:00

    Hi David,

    We have not heard about a known issue regarding this before, so we do not have a definite root cause. As you have not made any changes, we'd say that the next time you encounter this, try opening the file in your browser first to see whether the read-only prompt shows up. This might trigger Excel for Android to also show the message.

    You're also welcome to post back if you encounter the same issue in the future so we can further investigate it.

    Regards,

    Sheen

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  2. Anonymous
    2019-03-19T13:53:10+00:00

    As i had stated previously I am using a .xlsx file. I have not protected the worksheet with a password but instead used the option within the Excel windows application to set the file as read only.

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  3. Anonymous
    2019-03-18T03:17:51+00:00

    Hi David,

    Can you confirm that you added password-protection to the workbook to make it read-only? If so, Excel for Android supports password protected workbooks for certain file types.

    Can you let us know what file type you are using? We recommend using .xlsx as it is the file type that is supported by Excel for Android for password protection. For your reference:

    Error when opening password-protected files on Android or Windows Mobile

    Regards,

    Sheen

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  4. Anonymous
    2019-03-16T12:07:09+00:00

    I used the Excel windows application to make the file read only.

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  5. Anonymous
    2019-03-15T20:09:32+00:00

    Hi David,

    Can we know how you made the file Read-only on Windows? If you went through the file's Properties and tick the Read-only attribute, then this attribute won't carry to Android as it's not the same Operating System.

    Instead, you can add password protection to the file so that other users won't be able to edit it without the password:

    Protect an Excel file 

    Regards,

    Sheen

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