How to "lock" a .doc?

[Toto2]

Hi
I'm new to OO and would simply like to know if there's a way to password lock a document like in Word or is creating a PDF the only alternative?
Thanks for your help as I look forward to transitioning over to OO.

[acknak]

Sending a PDF is the better alternative if you need to send out a "read-only" document: it will preserve the document's appearance on the recipient's computer. A word-processing document may or may not look the same when it's opened.

If you attach a document to an email, at least some software (including OOo) will open the document as "read-only", and you can mark the document as such just to be sure. However, it's trivial for any user to toggle the setting that prevents editing.

You can set a password on a document, but the password prevents the document from being opened, not from being changed. If you want to prevent changes, see the online help: Help > OOo Help > Index: passwords for protecting contents. There is no simple password-protection for the whole document.

[Toto2]

Thank you for your assistance. How do you toggle as read only?

[acknak]

Tools > Options > OO.org > Security > File sharing options > Open this document in read-only mode: YES (checked).

Once the document is open, the user can release the restriction by clicking on the "Edit File" button on the standard toolbar.