Working with Security
26 Jun 202511 minutes to read
You can encrypt a Word document with password to restrict unauthorized access. You can also control the types of changes you make to this document.
Encrypting with password
The following code example shows how to encrypt the Word document with password.
//Open an input Word document.
WordDocument document = new WordDocument("Template.docx");
//Encrypt the Word document with a password.
document.encryptDocument("password");
//Save and close the Word document instance.
document.save("Sample.docx", FormatType.Docx);
document.close();Opening the encrypted Word document
The following code example shows how to open the encrypted Word document.
//Open an input Word document.
WordDocument document = new WordDocument("Template.docx","password");
//Save and close the Word document instance.
document.save("Sample.docx", FormatType.Docx);
document.close();Remove encryption
You can open the encrypted Word document and remove the encryption from the document. The following code example shows how to remove the encryption from encrypted Word document.
//Open an encrypted Word document.
WordDocument document = new WordDocument ("Template.docx", "password");
//Remove encryption in Word document.
document.removeEncryption();
//Save and close the Word document instance.
document.save("Sample.docx", FormatType.Docx);
document.close();Protecting Word document from editing
You can restrict a Word document from editing either by providing a password or without password.
The following are the types of protection:
-
AllowOnlyComments: You can add/modify only the comments in the Word document. -
AllowOnlyFormFields: You can modify the form field values in the Word document. -
AllowOnlyRevisions: You can accept or reject the revisions in the Word document. -
AllowOnlyReading: You can only view the content in the Word document. -
NoProtection: You can access/edit the Word document contents as normally.
The following code example shows how to restrict editing to modify only form fields in a Word document.
//Open a Word document.
WordDocument document = new WordDocument("Template.docx");
//Set the protection with password and it allows only to modify the form fields type.
document.protect(ProtectionType.AllowOnlyFormFields, "password");
//Save the Word document.
document.save("Protection.docx", FormatType.Docx);
document.close();Editable ranges
An editable range is a portion of a Word document that allows editing even when the document is protected. In the Syncfusion .NET Word library (DocIO), editable ranges are represented using the EditableRange class. You can define these ranges programmatically to allow user edits within protected documents.
Add an editable range
You can add an editable range to a Word document using the appendEditableRangeStart() and appendEditableRangeEnd() methods of the WParagraph class.
The following code example illustrates how to add an editable range in the Word document.
NOTE
DocIO supports editable ranges in DOCX format documents only.
// Create a Word document
WordDocument document = new WordDocument();
// Ensure at least one section and one paragraph exists
document.ensureMinimal();
// Access the last paragraph
WParagraph paragraph = document.getLastParagraph();
// Append initial text to the paragraph
paragraph.appendText("Adventure Works Cycles, the fictitious company on which the AdventureWorks ");
// Add an editable range to the paragraph
EditableRangeStart editableRangeStart = paragraph.appendEditableRangeStart();
// Append editable text
paragraph.appendText("sample databases are based, is a large, multinational manufacturing company.");
// End the editable range
paragraph.appendEditableRangeEnd(editableRangeStart);
// Protect the document and allow only reading
document.protect(ProtectionType.AllowOnlyReading, "password");
// Save the document
document.save("EditableRange.docx", FormatType.Docx);
// Close the document
document.close();Retrieve Id of an editable range
You can retrieve the ID of an editable range using the getId() method of the EditableRange class.
The following code example illustrates how to retrieve the ID of an editable range from a Word document.
// Create a Word document
WordDocument document = new WordDocument();
// Ensure the document has at least one section and one paragraph
document.ensureMinimal();
// Access the last paragraph
WParagraph paragraph = document.getLastParagraph();
// Append text before editable range
paragraph.appendText("Adventure Works Cycles, the fictitious company on which the AdventureWorks ");
// Append editable range start
EditableRangeStart editableRangeStart = paragraph.appendEditableRangeStart();
// Append editable content
paragraph.appendText("sample databases are based, is a large, multinational manufacturing company.");
// Append editable range end
paragraph.appendEditableRangeEnd(editableRangeStart);
// Retrieve editable range ID
String editableRangeId = editableRangeStart.getId();
// Protect the document to allow only reading
document.protect(ProtectionType.AllowOnlyReading, "password");
// Save the document
document.save("EditableRange.docx", FormatType.Docx);
// Close the document
document.close();Find an editable range
You can find an editable range by its ID in the EditableRangeCollection using the findById() method.
The following code example illustrates how to find the editable range in a Word document.
// Load an existing Word document
WordDocument document = new WordDocument("Template.docx");
// Get the editable range by ID
EditableRange editableRange = document.getEditableRanges().findById("0");
// Save the document
document.save("EditableRange.docx", FormatType.Docx);
// Close the document
document.close();Remove an editable range
You can remove an editable range using the remove() method of the EditableRangeCollection class.
The following code example demonstrates how to remove an editable range from a Word document.
// Load an existing Word document
WordDocument document = new WordDocument("Template.docx");
// Get the editable range by ID
EditableRange editableRange = document.getEditableRanges().findById("0");
// Remove the editable range
document.getEditableRanges().remove(editableRange);
// Save the Word document
document.save("EditableRange.docx", FormatType.Docx);
// Close the document
document.close();An editable range at a specific index can also be removed from the EditableRangeCollection using the removeAt() method.
The following code example demonstrates how to remove an editable range at particular index from a Word document.
// Load an existing Word document
WordDocument document = new WordDocument("Template.docx");
// Remove the editable range at index 1
document.getEditableRanges().removeAt(1);
// Save the Word document
document.save("EditableRange.docx", FormatType.Docx);
// Close the document
document.close();Editing permission
You can restrict editable ranges to specific groups or individuals.
Group permission
You can make an editable range accessible to a specific group using the setEditorGroup() method of the EditableRangeStart class.
The following code example illustrates how to make an editable range available to a group in a Word document.
// Create a new Word document
WordDocument document = new WordDocument();
// Ensure the document has at least one section and one paragraph
document.ensureMinimal();
// Access the last paragraph
WParagraph paragraph = document.getLastParagraph();
// Append text before the editable range
paragraph.appendText("Adventure Works Cycles, the fictitious company on which the AdventureWorks ");
// Add an editable range start
EditableRangeStart editableRangeStart = paragraph.appendEditableRangeStart();
// Set the editor group to Everyone
editableRangeStart.setEditorGroup(EditorType.Everyone);
// Append text inside the editable range
paragraph.appendText("sample databases are based, is a large, multinational manufacturing company.");
// Add the editable range end
paragraph.appendEditableRangeEnd(editableRangeStart);
// Protect the document with a password, allowing only reading
document.protect(ProtectionType.AllowOnlyReading, "password");
// Save the Word document
document.save("EditableRange.docx", FormatType.Docx);
// Close the document
document.close();Single user permission
Use the setSingleUser() method to assign editing permissions to a specific user.
The following code example illustrates how to make an editable range available to a single user in a Word document.
// Create a new Word document
WordDocument document = new WordDocument();
// Ensure the document has at least one section and one paragraph
document.ensureMinimal();
// Access the last paragraph
WParagraph paragraph = document.getLastParagraph();
// Append text before the editable range
paragraph.appendText("Adventure Works Cycles, the fictitious company on which the AdventureWorks ");
// Add an editable range start
EditableRangeStart editableRangeStart = paragraph.appendEditableRangeStart();
// Set the single user allowed to edit this range
editableRangeStart.setSingleUser("\"[email protected]\"");
// Append text inside the editable range
paragraph.appendText("sample databases are based, is a large, multinational manufacturing company.");
// Add the editable range end
paragraph.appendEditableRangeEnd(editableRangeStart);
// Protect the document with a password, allowing only reading
document.protect(ProtectionType.AllowOnlyReading, "password");
// Save the Word document
document.save("EditableRange.docx", FormatType.Docx);
// Close the document
document.close();Add editable range in a table
Using the setFirstColumn() and setLastColumn() methods of the EditableRangeStart class, you can specify the starting and ending columns of an editable range within a table.
The following code example illustrates how to add an editable range inside a table in a Word document.
// Load an existing Word document
WordDocument document = new WordDocument("Data/Template.docx");
// Access the first table in the first section
WTable table = (WTable) document.getSections().get(0).getTables().get(0);
// Access the paragraph in the 3rd row and 3rd column (index 2,2)
WParagraph paragraph = (WParagraph) table.getRows().get(2).getCells().get(2).getChildEntities().get(0);
// Create a new editable range start for the paragraph
EditableRangeStart editableRangeStart = new EditableRangeStart(document);
// Insert the editable range start at the beginning of the paragraph
paragraph.getChildEntities().insert(0, editableRangeStart);
// Set the editor group to allow everyone to edit
editableRangeStart.setEditorGroup(EditorType.Everyone);
// Apply editable range to the second column only (index 1)
editableRangeStart.setFirstColumn((short) 0);
editableRangeStart.setLastColumn((short) 1);
// Access another paragraph in the 6th row, 3rd column (index 5,2)
paragraph = (WParagraph) table.getRows().get(5).getCells().get(2).getChildEntities().get(0);
// Append an editable range end to close the region
paragraph.appendEditableRangeEnd();
// Protect the document with a password and allow only reading
document.protect(ProtectionType.AllowOnlyReading, "password");
// Save the Word document
document.save("EditableRange.docx", FormatType.Docx);
// Close the document
document.close();NOTE
- Editable ranges are supported only in DOCX format.
- The SingleUser and EditorGroup properties cannot be set simultaneously for the same editable range. Setting one will clear the other.