Document protection

Use Review > Protect Document for Forms to restrict editing to form fields and other permitted content. React and Vue share this command through the core editor. It does not require a Pro module.

Turn protection on or off

1. Open a document with text form fields or content controls.
2. Select Review > Protect Document for Forms to enable forms protection.
3. Select the same item again to stop protection.

Each toggle changes the document and creates one undo step. Saving preserves the setting. Stopping protection keeps the recorded restriction with enforcement turned off.

The command can stop other enforced restrictions when they have no password. It cannot set read-only, comments-only, or tracked-changes protection. If the document records one of those restrictions with enforcement off, change it in Word before enabling forms protection here.

The editor cannot set or verify protection passwords. To stop password-protected restrictions, open the document in Word.

Edit a protected document

The editor applies a restriction only when the document enforces it.

Comments and tracked changes need their usual Pro setup. Tracked-changes protection does not supply a missing review module or author. See Suggesting needs an author.

Forms protection keeps legacy field definitions intact. Tab and Shift+Tab move between enabled text fields. The caret can move outside a field, but commands that would change protected content return locked with a reason. Packaged controls disable those commands. Formatting a protected legacy text field is also unavailable.

Turning on forms protection while suggesting switches the editor to editing mode. snapshot().lastRejection explains the mode change.

If you open the editor with mode="view", the session remains read-only. Comment writes and the protection toggle are unavailable, even when the document's restriction would otherwise permit them.

Permission exception ranges (w:permStart) do not grant editing access. Document protection also does not authorize collaboration clients: remote updates bypass local protection checks. Enforce room access in your application.

Build a custom protection control

Use the review.protectDocument chrome slot with useEditorCommand() or a generic toolbar button. Neither adapter provides a named protection toolbar part.

For an existing core Editor, check the command before executing it:

import type { Editor } from '@docx-editor.dev/core';

function toggleProtection(editor: Editor) {
  const command = { type: 'toggleDocumentProtection' } as const;
  const permission = editor.can(command);
  return permission.ok ? editor.exec(command) : permission;
}

When the result has ok: false, show its reason. Do not infer permission from the current editing mode: a document that opens in viewing mode because of read-only protection can still allow you to stop protection.

Read editor.snapshot().documentProtection for the document's settings. The core editor returns null before a document loads.

Next steps

• Fields: Configure and fill legacy text fields.
• Content controls: Work with control values and locks.
• Comments: Add discussions to a protected document.