en-US office user

Open Office documents as read/write while browsing

Verified with Microsoft 365/Office 5568.1000 — updated on September 4, 2026

Microsoft 365/Office 5568.1000

Supported on: At least Windows Server 2008 R2 or Windows 7

Path in the GPO console

User Configuration\Administrative Templates\Microsoft Office 2016\Tools | Options | General | Web Options...\Files

Description

This policy setting controls whether users can edit and save Office 2016 documents on Web servers that they have opened using Internet Explorer. If enable this policy setting, when users browse to an Office 2016 document on a Web server using Internet Explorer the appropriate application opens the file in read/write mode. If you disable or do not configure this policy setting, when users browse to an Office 2016 document on a Web server using Internet Explorer, the appropriate application opens the file in read-only mode.

Registry

HKCU software\policies\microsoft\office\16.0\common\internet

Value name: opendocumentsreadwritewhilebrowsing

Enabled: opendocumentsreadwritewhilebrowsing = 1

Disabled: opendocumentsreadwritewhilebrowsing = 0

Export Builder

BETA

Configure the state, scope and options, then generate .reg, PowerShell, Intune and SCCM outputs — or add the setting to a multi-setting collection.

These exports write the registry — this is not a managed GPO.

.reg file

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

; Exported from gporais.com
; Policy: Open Office documents as read/write while browsing
; State: Enabled
; Supported on: At least Windows Server 2008 R2 or Windows 7

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\software\policies\microsoft\office\16.0\common\internet]
"opendocumentsreadwritewhilebrowsing"=dword:00000001
More formats (PowerShell, Intune, SCCM)

PowerShell

# Exported from gporais.com
# Policy: Open Office documents as read/write while browsing
# State: Enabled
# Supported on: At least Windows Server 2008 R2 or Windows 7
# Warning: In SYSTEM context (the Intune default), HKCU targets the SYSTEM profile. Run this script using the logged-on credentials.

$path = 'HKCU:\software\policies\microsoft\office\16.0\common\internet'
New-Item -Path $path -Force | Out-Null
Set-ItemProperty -Path $path -Name 'opendocumentsreadwritewhilebrowsing' -Value 1 -Type DWord

Building a multi-setting collection? Add this setting and generate combined .reg / PowerShell / GPO scripts.

Open the Builder

Embed this policy on your site

What to embed
Theme

Adds one script line: the theme follows your site’s appearance and the height fits the content. If your site blocks scripts, the embed follows the visitor’s system theme.

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