How to enable editing in Excel Windows 10

Microsoft has come up with a lot of features in MS Excel to protect the files from Viruses. One such feature is the Protected view. Whenever you open the file, you see a Protected View Prompt. Actually, this is a way to stop viruses from entering the system. However, if you are sure about the source of the file, you can opt to press the Enable Editing button. By doing so, you will be able to start editing the document.

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While this feature protects the system, it becomes extremely annoying at times. Let’s say you have to open and edit a large excel file and the file gets struck when the Enable Editing button is pressed. In order to overcome such a situation, you can opt to take the risk and disable the Protected View or in other words to disable the Enable Editing button

In this article, let us discover various ways to remove or disable the Enable Editing button.

Method 1: From Trust Centre Settings

Step 1: Open a Microsoft Excel and click on the File menu option as shown below.

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Step 2: In the window that opens, click on Options from the left-hand side menu.

Step 3: From the PowerPoint Options window that opens, Choose Trust Center from the left-hand side

Step 4: Then click on Trust Center Settings button

Step 5: From the Trust Center Settings window that opens,Choose Protected View from the left-hand side menu

Step 6: Untick the option Enable Protected View for files originating from the Internet

Step 7: Untick the option Enable Protected View for files located in potentially unsafe locations

Step 8: Untick the option Enable Protected View for Outlook attachments and finally click on OK

Step 9: Click on OK in the Excel Options window

With these simple steps, the Enable Editing button can be removed from the Excel file.

Method 2: From Registry

Step 1: Open the Run window by pressing the buttons Win Key+r from your keyboard

Step 2: Type regedit and press OK

NOTE: Registry editing can have an adverse effect on the system even with the slightest mistake. It is advised to take the backup of the registry before proceeding. To take a backup, In the Registry Editor–> Go to File –> Export –> Save your Backup file.

Step 3: In the Editor window, go to the following location,

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Excel\Security\ProtectedView

NOTE: If you cannot see ProtectedView Key or folder, then create one using the below steps

1. Right-click on Security. Choose New and then Key

2. Name it as ProtectedView

Step 4: In the Protected View folder, check if the following REG_DWORD Keys are present.

• DisableAttachementsInPV
• DisableInternetFilesInPV
• DisableUnsafeLocationsInPV

NOTE: If you do not find these keys. Create using the Following steps.

1. Right-click anywhere on the right-hand side.

2. From the Context Menu, choose New and then select DWORD (32-bit) Value

3. Name the newly created DWORD key as DisableAttachementsInPV

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4. Similarly create the other two keys.

Step 5: Double-click on DisbleAttachmentsInPV key to modify its value. In the Edit DWORD window, set the value to 1 and hit Enter

Step 6: Similarly, set the value 1 for DisableInternetFilesInPV and DisableUnsafeLocationsInPV

Step 7: Restart the system for the changes to take effect.

That’s All.

We hope this article has been informative. Thank you for Reading.

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Anusha Shenoy

Anusha Pai is a Software Engineer having a long experience in IT industry and having a passion to write.

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