Text 6 Read-Only Files: Don't Overwrite Your Data!

When collaborating with others, you want to make sure your data is secure and is not accidentally changed or altered. One practice to protect against this is to make your files “read-only” files. This will allow your datasets to be shared and viewed, but not edited.

Files on a Computer:

You can change the access of various files on your desktop or laptop by going to your file viewer (File explorer, Finder, etc.). Select the file you want to change and right click on them. You want to look for a “properties” or “Get info” option and click on it. You can then find sharing options and select how you wish others to handle the file.

Microsoft Word:

Follow this link for step-by-step instructions for making your Word documents into read-only files.

Microsoft Excel:

Follow this link for step-by-step instructions for making your Excel sheets/workbooks into read-only files.

Box (USU accounts):

You can change the permissions of each collaborator on shared box files. Go into the folder’s/document’s options -> share -> manage collaborators. You can then select the permissions of each collaborator. To make the folders/documents into read only, select everyone’s permissions to “Viewer” or “Previewer” to prevent editing by anyone other than the owner.

When collaborating with others, you want to make sure your data is secure and is not accidentally changed or altered. One practice to protect against this is to make your files “read-only” files. This will allow your datasets to be shared and viewed, but not edited.