From time to time, users may find themselves wanting to prevent anyone, including themselves, from editing or accidentally deleting a file because it contains important information. Follow the steps below enable or disable write protection on a file(s) or folder(s).
Write protection process
Open Windows Explorer by pressing the Windows key+E on your keyboard.
Navigate to the location of the file(s) or folder(s) you would like to protect.
Select and right-click the file, folder, or group of files, and then select Properties from the drop-down menu that appears.
In the File Properties window, under the General tab, check the box for Read-only or Read-only (Only applies to files in this folder) near the bottom.
Click the OK button to save the new setting.
To turn off write protection, repeat these instructions, but uncheck the box in step 4.
Related information
- How to password protect files and folders in Windows.
- How to view a computer file extension.
- See our write protection and read-only definitions for further information and related links.
- Computer security help and support.
