Easily Lock and Protect Cells in Microsoft Excel
by Avantix Learning Team | Updated January 24, 2021
Applies to: Microsoft® Excel® 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019 and 365 (Windows)
It’s easy to lock and protect cells in Excel to protect data or formulas. This involves a two-step process. First, unlock the cells where you want to allow users to make changes to the data or formula and then lock or protect the remaining cells in the worksheet. You’ll be able to unlock cells later on.
Recommended article: 10 Excel Data Entry Tricks and Shortcuts Every User Should Know
Do you want to learn more about Excel? Check out our virtual classroom or live classroom Excel courses >
Unlocking specific cells
The first step in this process is to unlock cells where you want to allow users to make changes to the data or formula:
- Select the cells you want to unlock.
- Right-click the selected cell(s) and choose Format Cells or press Ctrl + 1. The Format Cells dialog box appears.
- Click the Protection tab.
- Uncheck Locked.
- Click OK. Nothing will appear to occur until you protect the sheet.
Locking remaining cells by protecting the worksheet
The second step in this strategy is to protect the sheet using the Review tab on the Ribbon:
- Display the worksheet you want to protect.
- Click the Review tab in the Ribbon.
- In the Changes group, click Protect Sheet. A dialog box appears.
- Check or uncheck the desired options (it’s usually best to leave the first two checked). Be sure to scroll down to see all of the available options.
- Enter a password (you will need to set a password if you don’t want others to be able to unprotect the sheet). Passwords are case sensitive and you should keep a copy of your passwords.
- Enter the password again.
- Click OK. You will be unable to enter or change data or formulas in the locked cells.
Unprotecting the sheet and unlocking cells
To unprotect the sheet and unlock cells:
- Display the worksheet you want to unprotect.
- Click Unprotect Sheet on the Review tab in the Ribbon.
- Enter the password if prompted.
- Click OK.
Subscribe to get more articles like this one
Did you find this article helpful? If you would like to receive new articles, join our email list.
More resources
10 Great Excel Navigation Shortcuts
How to Use Flash Fill in Excel (4 Ways with Shortcuts)
How to Freeze Row or Column Headings in Excel Worksheets
3 Excel Strikethrough Shortcuts to Cross Out Text or Values in Cells
How to Replace Blank Cells in Excel with Zeros (0), Dashes (-) or Other Values
Related courses
Microsoft Excel: Intermediate / Advanced
Microsoft Excel: Data Analysis with Functions, Dashboards and What-If Analysis Tools
Microsoft Excel: Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) | Introduction
Microsoft Word: Intermediate / Advanced
Our instructor-led courses are delivered in virtual classroom format or at our downtown Toronto location at 1 Yonge Street, Suite 1801 (Toronto Star Building), Toronto, Ontario, Canada (some in-person classroom courses may also be delivered at an alternate downtown Toronto location). Contact us at info@avantixlearning.ca if you'd like to arrange custom onsite training or an online course on a date that's convenient for you.
Copyright 2022 Avantix® Learning
You may also like
How to Convert Text to Numbers in Excel (5 Ways)
Here are 5 different ways to quickly convert numbers stored as text to numbers in a Microsoft Excel worksheet. You can use a Smart Tag, Paste Special or …
Use Excel Conditional Formatting to Highlight Dates Before Today (3 Ways)
You can use conditional formatting in Excel to highlight cells containing dates before today or within a date range before the current date. In a worksheet, you can use conditional formatting to highlight selected cells by filling them with a color based on rules or conditions. This type of formatting is helpful if you want to highlight past due dates such as invoices that are 30, 60 or 90 days overdue.
How to Replace Spaces in Excel with Underscores (_), Dashes (-) or Other Values
You can quickly replace blank cells in Excel with zeros, dashes or other number or text values (0, -, N/A, Null or other text). It’s useful to fill blank cells with a number, symbol or value if you want to use the data set as the source for a pivot table or use other data analysis tools.
Microsoft, the Microsoft logo, Microsoft Office and related Microsoft applications and logos are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in Canada, US and other countries. All other trademarks are the property of the registered owners.
Avantix Learning | 1 Yonge Street, Suite 1801 (Toronto Star Building), Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5E 1W7 | info@avantixlearning.ca
