I have several assessments that I've written that I want to protect from any changes because they are on a shared served.

I went through the process to password protect changes, but instead it password protected the document from opening.

I want people to be able to open and view, but a password needed to make any changes.

Read only does not work because anyone can make a change and then do a "save as"

You can specify a password for modifying the document. See http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/he...333.aspx?CTT=1. Setting a password to open the document will be safer, though.

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Stefan Blom
Microsoft Word MVP

Microsoft 365 apps for business
Windows 11 Professional

Yes, I tried this. It locks the whole document so it isn't even viewable. I want it to be viewable, but no edits will be allowed without a password.

You could protect the document for forms, with no form fields.
Note, this is very weak protection.

General rule is that if someone can see a document, they can copy it. If they can copy it (even with screen shots or pencil and paper), given enough time, they can edit it. In a document protected for forms you cannot even select text.

Again, this protection is very easy to get around (takes less than 3 minutes) for someone who knows what to do.