Fix: Can’t Open files in Protected View

Microsoft Windows work smoothly until errors occur and affect the performance of the user. Lately, a lot of Microsoft Office 365 users have reportedly claimed that they can’t open files in a Protected view. Though previously opening and viewing files in protected view was relatively smooth, and the issue is occurring recently only.

This error mainly arises for Microsoft Word or Microsoft Excel files, specifically the ones that were attached to the Outlook e-mails. Due to this issue, users have to force quit the program several times in order to access the File. Keeping the issue in mind, we have brought you some possible solutions through which you can get rid of the said error.

How to fix the “Can’t Open files in Protect View” error?

The error “Can’t Open files in Protect View” can occur due to various reasons, hence try the fixes mentioned in this article below one by one and figure out which ones work for you.

FIX 1: Use a dedicated tool to repair your Files:

The “Can’t Open files in Protect View” error can occur due to any issue related to the File you are trying to open. Thus, the first resort you should try is using a dedicated tool to repair your files. Use any such tool that can auto repair files in batches so that you do not have to go through them one after the other.

FIX 2: Disable the Protected View setting:

The second fix we have come up with is to disable the Protected View settings. To do so, you need to follow the below steps;

• Go to Microsoft Word or Microsoft Excel in your system and open of the application.
• Now on the top-left corner, click on File and then from the left-pane menu, click on Options.
• Again, from the left-pane menu, click on the option Trust Center and then select the button Trust Center settings.
• From the Trust center window, select the option Protected view.
• Now untick all the checkboxes located before the Enable Protected view option.
• Finally, click on OK and then leave the window.
• Once done, now try to open the File and check whether the said error is resolved or not.

FIX 3: Update the DisplayLink driver:

Updating the DisplayLink driver can also help in getting rid of the “Can’t Open files in Protect View” error. For doing so, we recommend you to use dedicated third-party software.

Once done updating the DisplayLink, you must now check whether the said issue is resolved or not.