HOW TO PASSWORD PROTECT YOUR FAMILY PACT

Your Family PACT may contain personal and sensitive information. Adding a password to your completed template is one way to help keep that information private and limit access to the people you choose.

The steps are slightly different depending on which Family PACT template — and which application — you are using.

PASSWORD PROTECTING YOUR EXCEL SPREADSHEET

Microsoft Excel on Windows

1. Open your completed Family PACT spreadsheet.

2. Click File.

3. Select Info.

4. Click Protect Workbook.

5. Choose Encrypt with Password.

6. Enter your desired password and click OK.

7. Re-enter the password to confirm and click OK.

8. Save your spreadsheet.

Your spreadsheet will now require the password when it is opened.

Microsoft Excel on Mac

1. Open your completed Family PACT spreadsheet.

2. Click File in the top menu.

3. Select Passwords.

4. Enter a password under Password to Open.

5. Re-enter the password to confirm.

6. Click OK.

7. Save your spreadsheet.

PACTip: If your goal is to keep the information in your Family PACT private, use Password to Open. A Password to Modify controls the ability to make changes to the spreadsheet but does not prevent someone from opening and viewing it.

PASSWORD PROTECTING YOUR FILLABLE PDF

You can also add password protection to your completed Family PACT Fillable PDF. The steps depend on the application you use.

Using Adobe Acrobat

1. Open your completed Family PACT PDF in Adobe Acrobat.

2. Select All tools > Protect a PDF.

3. Select Protect with password.

4. Choose Viewing to require a password to open and view the PDF.

5. Enter your desired password.

6. Re-enter the password to confirm.

7. Click Apply.

8. Save your PDF.

Your PDF will now require the password before it can be opened and viewed.

PACTip: Adobe Acrobat also provides options for restricting editing, printing and copying. If your primary objective is to keep the information in your Family PACT private, make sure you are setting a password for viewing/opening the document.

Using Preview on a Mac

Preview, the PDF application included with macOS, can also be used to password protect your completed Family PACT.

1. Open your completed Family PACT PDF in Preview.

2. Select File > Export.

3. Click Permissions.

4. Select Require Password To Open Document.

5. Enter your desired password.

6. Re-enter the password to verify it.

7. Enter a new file name if you would like to keep your original PDF unchanged.

8. Click Apply, then Save.

Your saved PDF will now require the password before it can be opened.

A FEW HELPFUL PACTips

Choose a strong password.Use a password that you can remember but that would be difficult for someone else to guess. Consider using a combination of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers and special characters.

Keep your password somewhere safe.Don't rely solely on memory. Store the password — or instructions for where to find it — somewhere safe.

Don't store the password with the file.A password provides little protection if it is kept in the same location as the document it protects.

Make sure the right person can access it.Your Family PACT is intended to help make important information accessible when it is needed. Consider whether a spouse, partner, family member or other trusted person should know where your password can be found — without necessarily giving them the password today.

Test your protected file.After adding password protection, close the file and reopen it. Confirm that the password works and that all of your information has been saved correctly.

Don't lose your password.A forgotten password may not be recoverable. Microsoft, for example, cannot retrieve a forgotten password for a password-protected Excel file.

WHAT ABOUT PROTECTING AN EXCEL WORKSHEET FROM EDITING?

Excel also allows you to protect individual worksheets from being changed. This is different from password protecting the file itself.

Worksheet protection is designed primarily to prevent changes to locked cells — it does not prevent someone from opening and viewing the spreadsheet.

If your objective is to limit access to the personal information in your Family PACT, use the file password protection instructions above.