If you aren't using Word 2003 then this could be a reason for you to upgrade. :-)

The new Document Protection features will allow you to protect a document for "read only" and you will still be able to use Find and those using a previous version of Word will still be able to view and search the document.

However note document protection isn't intended as a means of securing document content but rather for document collaboration. One can use File/Insert and insert the content of a protected document and gain access to the content.

If you wish to protect the document content then Information Rights Management, new to Office 2003, provides for this type of security.

As with document protection, those who are not using Office 2003 can still view document content however they will only be able to view the content in a web browser rather than the application.

Otherwise you might look into using PDF.

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Please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup. Email requests for assistance can not be acknowledged.

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Beth Melton

Word FAQ: http://mvps.org/word
TechTrax: http://mousetrax.com/techtrax/


"tdtoolman" wrote:

The documents we are creating contain information that we do not want changed and saved. As a result we are protecting the form fields from changes.

These documents are distributed for reference, and the recipients need the ability to search the documents for words of interest. Since this feature is disabled when the document is protected, we may need to distribute them unprotected and risk them being modified and overwritten.

"Beth Melton" wrote:

No, not really.

Perhaps you can expand on what you are trying to do and we can provide some alternate suggestions.

For example you can use a macro unprotect the document and use Find, however the Find dialog box is modeless and the user can still click back in the document and made modifications, you could also utilize section breaks and protect portions of your document, there are a number of possibilities. But more information is needed. :-)
--
Please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup. Email requests for assistance can not be acknowledged.

~~~~~~~
Beth Melton

Word FAQ: http://mvps.org/word
TechTrax: http://mousetrax.com/techtrax/


"tdtoolman" wrote:

We have created a template/form with text boxes and form fields. To prevent accidental changes to the documents, we are applying protection [forms]. However, after protecting the document, the Edit - Find command is not available. I know that this is something Microsoft chose to do, but is there a way to enable certain menu items when protecting a document. Thank you in advance for your assistance.