Java/Set Editing Restrictions in Word

In order to protect a Word document, except the general method of encrypt the entire document with passward, we could also set editing restrictions to prevent the content from being modified by others. This article will demonstrate how to set editing restrictions in Word document using a Free Java API.

Installation
Method 1: Download the free API (Free Spire.Doc for Java) and unzip it, then add the Spire.Doc.jar file to your project as dependency.

Method 2: You can also add the jar dependency to maven project by adding the following configurations to the pom.xml.

<repositories>
   <repository>
      <id>com.e-iceblue</id>
      <name>e-iceblue</name>
      <url>http://repo.e-iceblue.com/nexus/content/groups/public/</url>
   </repository>
</repositories>
<dependencies>
   <dependency>
      <groupId>e-iceblue</groupId>
      <artifactId>spire.doc.free</artifactId>
      <version>3.9.0</version>
   </dependency>
</dependencies>

Sample Code:

import com.spire.doc.Document;
import com.spire.doc.FileFormat;
import com.spire.doc.ProtectionType;

public class RestrictEditing {
    public static void main(String[] args){
        //Create a Document instance
        Document document = new Document();
        //Load the Word document
        document.loadFromFile("Input 1.docx");

        //No changes (Read only)
        document.protect(ProtectionType.Allow_Only_Reading, "123456");

        //Allow only comments
        //document.protect(ProtectionType.Allow_Only_Comments, "123456");

        //Allow only filling in forms
        //document.protect(ProtectionType.Allow_Only_Form_Fields, "123456");

        //Allow only tracked changes
        //document.protect(ProtectionType.Allow_Only_Revisions, "123456");

        //Save the result document
        document.saveToFile("RestrictEditing.docx", FileFormat.Docx_2013);
    }
}

A screenshot of the output Word document after setting editing restrictions as no changes (read only):