Forum Discussion
remove IRM in Excel
Good morning,
I have an excel file saved in one drive that when I try to open it in a browser I get this message: "Sorry, Excel can't open this document for editing in a browser because it is protected by Information Rights Management (IRM). To edit this document, please open it in the desktop version of Excel."
I would like to remove the IRM so this message doesn't show up when I share the document with others. There is no need for IRM in this file. I may have turned something on inadvertently when trying out some settings (I know for sure I didn't add anything that needed a password). But I cannot find any IRM settings that are turned on. There is no password protection on anything, none of the Protect workbook options under File->Info are on.
How can I find the IRM setting that is causing the error above, and how can I turn it off?
Anything that seemed relevant that I could find by googling was using a different version of excel. E.g., one said to click File->Info->Permissions->Stop Protecting, but there is no 'permissions' button under my File->Info.
I am the creator/owner of the file. I am using Microsoft Excel for Microsoft 365 MSO (Version 2208 Build 16.0.15601.20446).
I started recreating pieces of my workbook one-by-one to a new workbook to try and isolate the issue. The error message when trying to open in a browser started occurring after I added a pivot table that used multiple consolidation ranges. Adding this pivot table seemed to automatically turn on something that the browser version considers IRM. (I re-created the pivot table from scratch instead of copying, so I know I didn't copy over any settings.
- This was very useful, thanks, just got the same issue, and indeed the pivot table messed it up
- Thank you for your response.
Everything under File->Info->Protect Workbook appears to be off. Under restrict access, the checkmark is beside 'unrestricted access' as in your screenshot.In general IRM settings / policies are outside the Excel, please check Restrict access to workbooks with Information Rights Management in Excel - Microsoft Support
