editing a password protected file on MacBook air

Question

Hi everyone, I recently received a form from the general dental council, the form is password protected and I cannot edit it to feed in my name,am supposed to fill in this form but I have tried all ways and it is not allowing me to make any edits, the form was received in Microsoft word, tried changing it to PDF but didn't help, please guide me on how to edit password protected Microsoft word documents on MacBook Air,

Answer 1

Sorry to be the bearer of ill tidings, but there most likely is not much you can do. In a properly created form designed for multiple platforms the user should be able to complete editable areas without having to remove any protection. Protection not only prevents users from making unauthorized changes but also is a part of the mechanism that makes the form operate.

Without seeing the actual form it's impossible to be sure, but in all probability the form was created using a Windows version of Word which supports 3 types of fields:

• Legacy Form Fields which also are fully supported in Mac Word. If these had been used there should be no problem completing the form using most any version of Mac Word,
• Content Controls, which can be created only in a Windows version but will function in Office 2016 programs if the installation is fully updated. Confirm that your software is at version 15.31 or later, &
• ActiveX Controls, which are wholly unsupported on a Mac. If these have been used you may be able to complete the form using Word Online, but probably will have to use Word for Windows.

The only other option is to print the form, complete it by hand & mail it in. If it needs to be submitted electronically, scan the completed form as a PDF, then attach to an email or upload to the site.

Answer 2

Hi Kossy,

You can referred to @Bob’s reply.

Meanwhile, I found you have already posted a same thread in our forum: https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/msoffice/forum/msoffice_word-mso_mac/how-to-edit-password-protected-microsoft-word/ba7f8c15-6ffb-4f6b-b889-77513d675cb0https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/msoffice/forum/msoffice_word-mso_mac/editing-a-password-protected-file-on-macbook-air/58b71ee8-fb71-4c7b-8ae5-33fb3d50deb8

Please focus on one thread so that community members and our engineers can assist you more efficiently, thanks for your understanding and cooperation.

Regards

Fraser