Forum Discussion
Sort In Protected Worksheets
Quick Fix for Sorting on a Protected Sheet
Hi there,
The short reason it fails…
The "Sort" permission only enables the button; it does not unlock your cells. Because all cells are "Locked" by default, and sorting physically moves data around, Excel blocks it for safety.
The 2-step fix:
- Unlock the data: Select the rows you want users to sort. Right-click > Format Cells > Protection tab > Uncheck "Locked".
- Reprotect the sheet: Go to Review > Protect Sheet > tick "Sort" (and "AutoFilter" if needed).
That’s it. Users can now sort freely, but they still cannot edit any values.
Pro tip: Ensure there are no merged cells in your sort range, or convert your data to a Table (Ctrl + T) for the most reliable experience.
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Hope this will help you.
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Nikolino,
Thank you for the comment, but it doesn't help. Unlocking those cells still means the users will be able to edit the data, and I don't want that. And it would have to be all the columns, not some of them. The users might well want to sort by the results of a summary column, that includes a funstion.
Guy