When you want others to view your Excel for the web workbook but not make any changes to it, you can share it as a read-only workbook.

  1. Select File > Share > Share with People (or select Share in the top right).

  2. In the Enter a name or email address box, type the email addresses of people you want to share with. If you've used the email address before, it might appear in the search box as you start typing. If it does, just select the address. If not, press Enter after you've typed the address. 

    Tip: If you’d rather get a link that you can manually paste into an email or web page, select Anyone with the link can edit, clear the Allow editing check box , and then select Apply to share the workbook as read-only. Then select Copy link > Copy and paste the link you copied into an email or webpage to share it with others. 

  3. To set the workbook as read-only, select Anyone with the link can edit, clear the Allow editing check box, and then select Apply. (You'll see that that option now reads Anyone with the link can view.)

  4. Select Send. Excel for the web emails a link to the people you want to share the workbook with. 

Notes: 

  • Sharing a workbook as read-only doesn’t prevent someone from downloading a copy of the workbook and making changes to their copy, but it does keep your original file intact.

  • If you're using Excel for the web at work or school, you might only be able to share workbooks with other people in your organization.

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