Protecting Sheet

Protects the cells in the current sheet from being modified.

Choose Tools - Protect Sheet to open the Protect Sheet dialogue box in which you then specify sheet protection with or without a password, and select the elements of the sheet to protect.

To access this command...

Choose Tools - Protect Sheet.

Choose Edit - Cell Protection to activate sheet protection with current cell protection settings.

To protect cells from further editing, the Protected check box must be checked on the Format - Cells - Cell Protection tab page or on the Format Cells context menu.

Protect this sheet and contents of the protected cells

Mark this checkbox to activate protection of sheet and cell contents.

Password / Confirm

Allows you to enter a password to protect the sheet from unauthorised changes. Confirm the password entered in the first box.

Allow users of this sheet to

Select the elements to protect from user actions:

• Select protected cells: mark this checkbox to allow you to select protected cells. When the checkbox is unmarked, you cannot select protected cells, the cursor cannot enter in a protected range.
• Select unprotected cells: mark this checkbox to allow user to select unprotected cells. When the checkbox is unmarked, user cannot select unprotected cells, the cursor cannot enter in a unprotected cell or range.
• Insert columns: Allow column insertions even when the sheet is protected. Note that when column insertions is enabled, you can insert columns even when the range to insert the new columns into contains protected cells which will get shifted after the insertion. Cells of the newly inserted columns inherit the Protection property of the range it belongs: when the new cell is inside a protected range, the cell is protected, and when it is in an unprotected range, the cell is unprotected.
• Insert rows: Allow row insertions even when the sheet is protected. Note that when row insertions is enabled, you can insert rows even when the range to insert the new rows into contains protected cells which will get shifted after the insertion. Cells of the newly inserted rows inherit the Protection property of the range it belongs: when the new cell is inside a protected range it is protected, and when it is in an unprotected range, the cell is unprotected.
• Delete columns: Allow column deletions. Note that column deletions are only allowed on unprotected cells.
• Delete rows: Allow row deletions. Note that row deletions are only allowed on unprotected cells.

Unprotected cells or cell ranges can be set up on a protected sheet by using the Tools - Protect Sheet and Format - Cells - Cell Protection menus:

1. Select the cells that will be unprotected

2. Select Format - Cells - Cell Protection. Unmark the Protected check box and click OK.

3. On the Tools - Protect Sheet menu, activate protection for the sheet. Effective immediately, only the cell range you selected in step 1 can be edited.

To later change an unprotected area to a protected area:

1. Select the range of cells that will be protected.

2. On the Format - Cells - Cell Protection tab page, check the Protected box.

3. Choose the Tools - Protect Sheet menu. The previously editable range is now protected.

Sheet protection also affects the context menu of the sheet tabs at the bottom of the screen. The Delete and Rename commands cannot be selected.

If a sheet is protected, you will not be able to modify or delete any Cell Styles.

A protected sheet or cell range can no longer be modified until this protection is disabled, with the exceptions of the settings for columns and row of the Tools - Protect Sheet dialogue box. To disable the protection, choose the Tools - Protect Sheet command. If no password was set, the sheet protection is immediately disabled. If the sheet was password protected, the Remove Protection dialogue box opens, where you must enter the password.

Once saved, protected sheets can only be saved again by using the File - Save As command.

Complete protection of your work can be achieved by combining the options Tools - Protect Sheet and Tools - Protect Spreadsheet Structure, including password protection. To prohibit opening the document altogether, in the Save dialogue box mark the Save with password box before you click the Save button.