PROTECTING THE

CELLS
MADE BY-:
AAKRITI SURI (0191MBA002)
ASHMEET SINGH(0191MBA014)
 INTRODUCTION
• Before we jump into the how to’s of locking cells in Excel, it’s important to
understand why you’d want to lock cells in Excel.
• Locking cells is a feature in Excel that helps the owner to protect their data. By locking cells
and protecting the worksheet, unauthorized users are unable to move, change, delete or
manipulate the data in any way.
• Say you’re sharing an important document with your coworkers. You’ve entered all of the
correct Excel formulas and you’d like them to add data to specific cells, but want to ensure
the formulas aren’t manipulated without your knowing.
• That’s where locking cells comes in. You can unlock the cells that you want your colleagues
to have access to edit, all while making sure your formulas aren’t modified.
 LIMITATIONS OF PROTECTING CELLS

• If you lose or forget the password, it cannot be recovered. It is advisable to

keep a list of passwords and their corresponding document names in a safe
place.
• Remember that passwords are case-sensitive.
 PROTECTING IN EXCEL
• Protection in Excel is password-based and happens at three different levels.
• Workbook: You have a few options for protecting a workbook. You can encrypt it with a
password to limit who can even open it. You can make the file open as read-only by
default so that people have to opt into editing it. And you protect the structure of a
workbook so that anyone can open it, but they need a password to rearrange, rename,
delete, or create new worksheets.
• Worksheet: You can protect the data on individual worksheets from being changed.
• Cell: You can also protect just specific cells on a worksheet from being changed.
Technically this method involves protecting a worksheet and then allowing certain cells
to be exempt from that protection.
 PROTECTING THE WORKBOOK
You have three choices when it comes to protecting an entire Excel workbook:
1. Encrypt a Workbook with a Password- For the best protection, you can encrypt the
file with password. Whenever someone tries to open the document, Excel prompts
them for a password first.
2. Make a Workbook Read-Only- Making a workbook open as read-only is super
simple. It doesn’t offer any real protection because anyone who opens the file can
enable editing, but it can serve as a suggestion to be careful about editing the file.
3. Protect a Workbook’s Structure- The final way you can add protection at the
workbook level is by protecting the workbook’s structure. This type of protection
prevents people who don’t have the password from making changes at the workbook
level, which means they won’t be able to add, remove, rename, or move worksheets.
 PROTECTION THE WORKSHEET
• Protect a Worksheet from Editing- You can also protect individual
worksheets from editing. When you protect a worksheet, Excel locks all of
the cells from editing. Protecting your worksheet means that no one can
edit, reformat, or delete the content.
 PROTECTING SPECFIC CELLS
• Protect Specific Cells From Editing- Sometimes, you may only want to
protect specific cells from editing in Microsoft Excel. For example, you
might have an important formula or instructions that you want to keep
safe. Whatever the reason, you can easily lock only certain cells in
Microsoft Excel.