You can protect individual content elements in the main body of the document and in footers from change. This is useful for creating templates where some of the information must remain unchanged.
Which elements can be protected
The table below shows which actions are blocked for different content types.
Content type |
What is not allowed (for a blocked element) |
What is allowed (for a blocked element) |
|---|---|---|
Text (including text within shapes and tables) |
Entering, editing, formatting, and deleting text. |
— |
Object (image, shape) |
Moving, resizing, deleting. |
— |
Table (partially) |
–Changing text in locked cells; –Resizing and deleting rows/columns with locked cells. |
–Changing text in unlocked cells; –Resizing and deleting unlocked rows/columns; –Inserting new rows and columns. |
Table (in full) |
All actions with a table: editing, changing the structure, deleting. |
— |
Protect content
1.Select the element you want to protect:
•Text: place the cursor in a paragraph, select a part of it or several paragraphs in their entirety.
•Image or shape: click on an object to select it.
•Table cells: select one or more cells.
•Entire table: select the entire table.
2.On the Protection tab, click the Lock content button.
How protection works
Protected elements are visually highlighted and the system prevents them from being modified:
–Text: the color of the text cursor changes to red.
–Images and shapes: the selection frame of the object becomes red. When you move the cursor over a resize marker, the cursor changes to a crossed-out circle.
–Edit attempt: a pop-up warning appears any time an attempt is made to modify a protected element.
No visual indication (red frame) is displayed for protected tables. Attempting to edit locked cells will trigger a warning.
Unlock content
To unprotect an individual element or the entire document:
1.Select the protected element (text, image, shape, table, or table cell) or the entire document (Ctrl+A or Cmd+A).
2.On the Protection tab, click Unlock.
The selected element or all protected elements of the document will be available for editing again.