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Lock or unlock specific areas of a protected worksheet

Lock or unlock specific areas of a protected

worksheet
Applies To: Excel 2016 Excel 2013 Excel 2010

When you protect a worksheet, all cells are locked by default, which means that they cannot
be edited. To enable cells to be edited while leaving only some cells locked, you can unlock
all the cells and then lock only specific cells and ranges before you protect the worksheet.
You can also enable specific users to edit specific ranges in a protected worksheet.

What do you want to do?

Lock only specific cells and ranges in a protected worksheet

Unlock ranges on a protected worksheet for users to edit

Lock only specific cells and ranges in a protected

worksheet
1. If the worksheet is protected, do the following:
a. On the Review tab, in the Changes group, click Unprotect Sheet.
 The Protect Sheet command changes to Unprotect Sheet when a worksheet
is protected.

b. If prompted, type the password to unprotect the worksheet.

2. Select the whole worksheet by clicking the Select All button.

3. On the Home tab, in the Font group, click the Format Cell Font dialog box launcher.
You can also press Ctrl+Shift+F or Ctrl+1.

The Format Cells dialog box appears.

4. On the Protection tab, clear the Locked box and then click OK.

This unlocks all the cells on the worksheet when you protect the worksheet. Now, you
can choose the cells you specifically want to lock.

5. On the worksheet, select just the cells that you want to lock.
6. Bring up the Format Cells dialog box again (Ctrl+Shift+F).
7. This time, on the Protection tab, select the Locked box and then click OK.
8. On the Review tab, in the Changes group, click Protect Sheet.

9. In the Allow all users of this worksheet to list, select the elements that you want
users to be able to change.

More information about worksheet elements

Worksheet elements

Clear this
To prevent users from
check box
Moving the pointer to cells for which the Locked check box is
Select locked
selected on the Protection tab of the Format Cells dialog box. By
cells
default, users are allowed to select locked cells.
Moving the pointer to cells for which the Locked check box is cleared
Select
on the Protection tab of the Format Cells dialog box. By default,
unlocked
users can select unlocked cells, and they can press the TAB key to
cells
move between the unlocked cells on a protected worksheet.
Changing any of the options in the Format Cells or Conditional
Formatting dialog boxes. If you applied conditional formats before
Format cells
you protected the worksheet, the formatting continues to change when
a user enters a value that satisfies a different condition.
Using any of the column formatting commands, including changing
Format
column width or hiding columns (Home tab, Cells group, Format
columns
button).
Using any of the row formatting commands, including changing row
Format rows
height or hiding rows (Home tab, Cells group, Format button).
Insert
Inserting columns.
columns
Insert rows Inserting rows.
Insert
Inserting new hyperlinks, even in unlocked cells.
hyperlinks
Deleting columns.
Delete
columns If Delete columns is protected and Insert columns is not also
protected, a user can insert columns that he or she cannot delete.
Deleting rows.
Delete rows
If Delete rows is protected and Insert rows is not also protected, a
user can insert rows that he or she cannot delete.
Using any commands to sort data (Data tab, Sort & Filter group).
Sort
Users can't sort ranges that contain locked cells on a protected
worksheet, regardless of this setting.
Using the drop-down arrows to change the filter on ranges when
AutoFilters are applied.
Use
AutoFilter
Users cannot apply or remove AutoFilters on a protected worksheet,
regardless of this setting.
Use
Formatting, changing the layout, refreshing, or otherwise modifying
PivotTable
PivotTable reports, or creating new reports.
reports
 Doing the any of the following:

o Making changes to graphic objects including maps, embedded

charts, shapes, text boxes, and controls that you did not unlock
before you protected the worksheet. For example, if a
worksheet has a button that runs a macro, you can click the
Edit objects
button to run the macro, but you cannot delete the button.
o Making any changes, such as formatting, to an embedded
chart. The chart continues to be updated when you change its
source data.
o Adding or editing comments.

Viewing scenarios that you have hidden, making changes to scenarios

Edit that you have prevented changes to, and deleting these scenarios.
scenarios Users can change the values in the changing cells, if the cells are not
protected, and add new scenarios.

Chart sheet elements

Select this
To prevent users from
check box
Making changes to items that are part of the chart, such as data series,
Contents axes, and legends. The chart continues to reflect changes made to its
source data.
Making changes to graphic objects including shapes, text boxes,
Objects and controls unless you unlock the objects before you protect the
chart sheet.

10. In the Password to unprotect sheet box, type a password for the sheet, click OK,
and then retype the password to confirm it.
o The password is optional. If you do not supply a password, any user can
unprotect the sheet and change the protected elements.
o Make sure that you choose a password that is easy to remember, because if
you lose the password, you won't have access to the protected elements on the
worksheet.

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Unlock ranges on a protected worksheet for users to edit

To give specific users permission to edit ranges in a protected worksheet, your computer
must be running Microsoft Windows XP or later, and your computer must be in a domain.
Instead of using permissions that require a domain, you can also specify a password for a
range.

1. Select the worksheet that you want to protect.

2. On the Review tab, in the Changes group, click Allow Users to Edit Ranges.
 This command is available only when the worksheet is not protected.

3. Do one of the following:

o To add a new editable range, click New.
o To modify an existing editable range, select it in the Ranges unlocked by a
password when sheet is protected box, and then click Modify.
o To delete an editable range, select it in the Ranges unlocked by a password
when sheet is protected box, and then click Delete.
4. In the Title box, type the name for the range that you want to unlock.
5. In the Refers to cells box, type an equal sign (=), and then type the reference of the
range that you want to unlock.

You can also click the Collapse Dialog button, select the range in the worksheet, and
then click the Collapse Dialog button again to return to the dialog box.

6. For password access, in the Range password box, type a password that allows access
to the range.

Specifying a password is optional when you plan to use access permissions. Using a
password allows you to see user credentials of any authorized person who edits the
range.

7. For access permissions, click Permissions, and then click Add.

8. In the Enter the object names to select (examples) box, type the names of the users
who you want to be able to edit the ranges.

To see how user names should be entered, click examples. To verify that the names
are correct, click Check Names.

9. Click OK.
10. To specify the type of permission for the user who you selected, in the Permissions
box, select or clear the Allow or Deny check boxes, and then click Apply.
11. Click OK two times.

If prompted for a password, type the password that you specified.

12. In the Allow Users to Edit Ranges dialog box, click Protect Sheet.
13. In the Allow all users of this worksheet to list, select the elements that you want
users to be able to change.

More information about the worksheet elements

Worksheet elements
Clear this
To prevent users from
check box
Moving the pointer to cells for which the Locked check box is
Select locked
selected on the Protection tab of the Format Cells dialog box. By
cells
default, users are allowed to select locked cells.
Moving the pointer to cells for which the Locked check box is cleared
Select
on the Protection tab of the Format Cells dialog box. By default,
unlocked
users can select unlocked cells, and they can press the TAB key to
cells
move between the unlocked cells on a protected worksheet.
Changing any of the options in the Format Cells or Conditional
Formatting dialog boxes. If you applied conditional formats before
Format cells
you protected the worksheet, the formatting continues to change when
a user enters a value that satisfies a different condition.
Using any of the column formatting commands, including changing
Format
column width or hiding columns (Home tab, Cells group, Format
columns
button).
Using any of the row formatting commands, including changing row
Format rows
height or hiding rows (Home tab, Cells group, Format button).
Insert
Inserting columns.
columns
Insert rows Inserting rows.
Insert
Inserting new hyperlinks, even in unlocked cells.
hyperlinks
Deleting columns.
Delete
columns If Delete columns is protected and Insert columns is not also
protected, a user can insert columns that he or she cannot delete.
Deleting rows.
Delete rows
If Delete rows is protected and Insert rows is not also protected, a
user can insert rows that he or she cannot delete.
Using any commands to sort data (Data tab, Sort & Filter group).
Sort
Users can't sort ranges that contain locked cells on a protected
worksheet, regardless of this setting.
Using the drop-down arrows to change the filter on ranges when
AutoFilters are applied.
Use
AutoFilter
Users cannot apply or remove AutoFilters on a protected worksheet,
regardless of this setting.
Use
Formatting, changing the layout, refreshing, or otherwise modifying
PivotTable
PivotTable reports, or creating new reports.
reports
Doing the any of the following:
Edit objects
o Making changes to graphic objects including maps, embedded
 charts, shapes, text boxes, and controls that you did not unlock
before you protected the worksheet. For example, if a
worksheet has a button that runs a macro, you can click the
button to run the macro, but you cannot delete the button.
o Making any changes, such as formatting, to an embedded
chart. The chart continues to be updated when you change its
source data.
o Adding or editing comments.

Viewing scenarios that you have hidden, making changes to scenarios

Edit that you have prevented changes to, and deleting these scenarios.
scenarios Users can change the values in the changing cells, if the cells are not
protected, and add new scenarios.

Chart sheet elements

Select this
To prevent users from
check box
Making changes to items that are part of the chart, such as data series,
Contents axes, and legends. The chart continues to reflect changes made to its
source data.
Making changes to graphic objects including shapes, text boxes,
Objects and controls unless you unlock the objects before you protect the
chart sheet.

14. In the Password to unprotect sheet box, type a password, click OK, and then retype
the password to confirm it.

The password is optional. If you do not supply a password, then any user can
unprotect the worksheet and change the protected elements.
Make sure that you choose a password that you can remember, because if you lose the
password, you cannot gain access to the protected elements on the worksheet.

If a cell belongs to more than one range, users who are authorized to edit any of those
ranges can edit the cell.
If a user tries to edit multiple cells at once and is authorized to edit some but not all of
those cells, the user will be prompted to select and edit the cells one by one.

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