How to Password Protect LibreOffice Documents

LibreOffice provides built-in tools to secure sensitive data by applying strong AES encryption to your files. This guide explains how to password-protect and encrypt documents, spreadsheets, and presentations in LibreOffice Writer, Calc, and Impress, including setting read-only permissions and removing passwords when they are no longer needed.

Step 1: Open the Save Dialog

1. Open your document in LibreOffice.
2. Click File in the top menu and select Save As… (or press Ctrl + Shift + S / Cmd + Shift + S).

Step 2: Enable Password Protection

1. In the file explorer window, select your desired folder location and file format (standard OpenDocument formats like .odt or .ods provide the most secure encryption).
2. Check the box labeled Save with password at the bottom of the window.
3. Click Save.

Step 3: Set Your Encryption Password

A “Set Password” dialog box will appear with two main sections:

• File Encryption Password: Enter your password in the Enter password to open field and confirm it in the field below. This encrypts the document entirely; no one can view the contents without this password.
• Editing Password (Optional): Click the Options (or More Options) button to reveal the file sharing password section. Check Open file read-only and enter a password in the Enter password to allow editing field. This allows users to open and read the file without a password, but requires a password to modify it.

Click OK to apply the encryption and save the file.

How to Change or Remove the Password

1. Open the protected document by entering the current password.
2. Go to File > Save As….
3. To remove the password entirely, uncheck the Save with password box and click Save. Confirm the overwrite when prompted.
4. To change the password, keep the Save with password box checked, click Save, overwrite the file, and enter the new password in the prompt.