Protection in Excel 2016 2013 2010 2007 2003

Protecting workbook elements

Protecting a workbook is different from protecting the Excel file with a password to prevent reading/writing or locking the spreadsheet elements to prevent editing. Workbook protection forbids other users to add, move, rename or delete worksheets and defends against viewing hidden worksheets or hiding worksheets.

Protect Excel spreadsheet options

To protect your spreadsheet, Excel proposes the following options:

Hide formulas from appearing in the edit bar

You can usually view formulas in an Excel cell when the cell is selected, but you can protect a spreadsheet by hiding the formulas in some cells.

Locking cells in a spreadsheet

Sometimes you might want to lock cells in your Excel spreadsheet that contain formulas and functions or data. Thus, the person doing the data entry will not accidentally overwrite or delete the spreadsheet formulas and functions or your data.