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How to password protect document but allow read only if you do not have password
I would like to password protect my document, but have the option to read only if you do not have the password. If I go to 'Info' and set to password protect and read only, it still makes users enter the password then opt-in to read only. I'm using Office 365 Excel. Other excel sheets in my organization can do this but I can't seem to do it on mine. Maybe their documents used another version of excel when they were created...
Unfortunately, the "Allow Edit Ranges" feature in Excel does not provide a way to give users full editing access to protected sheets while still restricting access to others. When you protect a sheet in Excel, it limits the users' editing capabilities to only what you have allowed through the "Protect Sheet" settings, regardless of any "Allow Edit Ranges" that have been defined.
As a result, users who are allowed to edit specific ranges using "Allow Edit Ranges" will still be restricted by the protection settings applied to the sheet, and they won't have full access to all editing capabilities, such as adding/deleting rows or using certain functionalities like CTRL+A -> FILTERS -> CLEAR ALL.
To achieve the specific level of access you described (i.e., giving eligible users full editing access to their respective ranges while still protecting the sheet for others), you may need to consider alternative solutions, such as using Excel VBA (macros) or a combination of data validation and worksheet events.
For example, you could use VBA to handle specific user access and manipulate the protection settings based on the users' actions. This would require a more complex setup and knowledge of VBA programming.
Please note that any solution involving VBA may require additional security considerations, especially if the workbook will be shared among multiple users in a shared network environment or on the internet.
If you are comfortable with VBA programming and require such a custom solution, you can explore VBA code options to handle sheet protection based on user actions. Otherwise, you may need to reconsider the level of protection and access needed for your workbook, balancing between data security and user convenience. Since no one has answered it for at least one day or more, I entered your question in various AI’s. The text and the steps are the result of various AI's put together.
My answers are voluntary and without guarantee!
Hope this will help you.
2 Replies
Press F12 to activate the Save As dialog.
Click the Tools drop down to the left of the Save button and select 'General Options...'.
Enter a password in the 'Password to modify' box:
After clicking OK, you'll have to re-enter the password as confirmation.
Then save the workbook.
When users open it later on, they'll get this dialog:
They can click 'Read Only' without entering the password (note that the OK button will be disabled as long as the Password box is empty)
- That's it! Thank you so much
