If you work with Excel worksheets, you may want to protect them from unauthorized changes or accidental edits. Excel allows you to lock cells, hide formulas, and apply passwords to prevent others from modifying your data or formulas. In this article, you will learn how to protect an Excel worksheet and restrict others from editing in a few simple steps.
Before you protect a worksheet, you need to decide which cells you want to lock or unlock. By default, all cells are locked, but this has no effect until you activate worksheet protection. To unlock cells, select them, right-click and choose Format Cells. In the Protection tab, uncheck the Locked box and click OK. You can also use the shortcut Ctrl+1 to open the Format Cells dialog box. You can lock or unlock multiple cells or ranges at once.
To protect an Excel worksheet and restrict editing, open the desired worksheet, go to the "Review" tab, and select "Protect Sheet." Define a password and choose options like allowing specific actions. Set permissions to restrict access to certain cells or ranges. Once protected, users must enter the password to make edits. This safeguards the worksheet's integrity while permitting controlled data manipulation.
If you want to prevent others from viewing or editing your formulas, you can hide them. To hide formulas, select the cells that contain them, right-click and choose Format Cells. In the Protection tab, check both the Locked and Hidden boxes and click OK. You can also use the shortcut Ctrl+1 to open the Format Cells dialog box. You can hide multiple formulas or ranges at once.
Once you have locked and hidden the cells you want, you can protect the worksheet. To protect a worksheet, go to the Review tab and click on Protect Sheet. In the Protect Sheet dialog box, you can enter a password (optional) and choose which actions you want to allow users to perform on the worksheet. For example, you can allow users to select, format, sort, filter, or insert data, but not to delete or edit it. Check the boxes that suit your needs and click OK. If you entered a password, you will need to confirm it in another dialog box.
I honestly did not know you could password protect Excel sheet. This is really useful. This is useful and will definitely keep this mind.
You can also protect the entire workbook from changes or deletion. To protect a workbook, go to the Review tab and click on Protect Workbook. In the Protect Workbook dialog box, you can enter a password (optional) and choose whether you want to protect the structure or the windows of the workbook. Protecting the structure prevents users from adding, deleting, moving, hiding, or renaming worksheets. Protecting the windows prevents users from resizing, moving, or closing the workbook windows. Check the boxes that suit your needs and click OK. If you entered a password, you will need to confirm it in another dialog box.