Encrypting Office Documents
Microsoft Office 2010 includes built-in encryption technology. For earlier versions of Office to work with Office 2010 file formats you will need to install a Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack. Review the requirements and instructions before installing any downloads, including installing high-priority updates from Microsoft Upate before downloading the compatibility pack.
Click for Office 2010 instructions.
Click for Office 2013 instructions.
You will need to share your password with your recipient. The best method is to share passwords before sending encrypted documents. You should NEVER send the password in the same e-mail as the encrypted document.
Microsoft Office Document Encryption Guidelines and Compatibility Matrix*
Product Version | Office 2010 (Recommended Choice) | Office 2007 (Recommended Minimum) | Office 2003 | Office XP | Office 2000 | Office 97 |
Office for Mac 2011 (Recommended Version) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Office 2010 (Recommended Version) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Office for Mac 2008 | No | Yes
(AES 128-bit, recommend for read-only purposes, not recommended for editing) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Office 2007 SP2 | Yes
(If CompatMode set to 0)** | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Office 2003 with Office 2007 SP2 Compatibility Pack | Yes
(If CompatMode set to 0)**
(AES 128-bit, use for read-only purposes, not recommended for editing)*** | Yes
(AES 128-bit, use for read-only purposes, not recommended for editing)*** | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Office 2003 | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Office XP | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Office 2000 | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes |
Office 97 | No | No | No | No | No | Yes |