Forum Discussion
Unprotect certain cells in an Excel 365 Workbook.
I have an Excel 365 Workbook/Sheet and I want to prevent certain cells from being changed. I have followed all the instructions I can find, but I am unable to do that. Either ALL the cells get protected, or NONE get protected. Obviously, I am doing something wrong, but I have no idea what. I would appreciate any help.
4 Replies
- 1. Inspect the Lock status of the entire sheet.
-Click the 'origin' square above the row 1 marker to select the entire sheet and then press Ctrl+1 to access Format Cells.
2. In the Protection tab you'll notice the check. The entire sheet is locked by default but this doesn't mean anything if sheet protection is not enforced. If you see a 'square' fill-in, this means some cells are locked in the selected range and some are not.
Clear the check.
3. Select the range you want to protect and open the Format Cells menu. In the Protection tab, place a check in the box for Locked.
4. Go to Review | Protect Sheet
Clear the check for 'Select locked cells'. Be sure to check the option for 'Select unlocked cells'. Checking the other options are up to you.
5. Set a password (Optional)
Key in a password. Click OK and then confirm it. You may unprotect the sheet by going back to Review | Unprotect sheet.- I have followed those exact instructions many times, but what I end up with is the entire worksheet protected, not just the cells I have selected for protection.
Hi Omahajoe,
By default, all cells are protected but it only gets applied when you turn on the protection to the sheet, using password or even without password.
To unprotect certain cells only, select the cell(s) and then from Ribbon choose Format > (unselect) Protect Cells; OR Right Click > Format Cells > Protection >Untick Protect Cells; and then Review (tab) > Protect Sheet.
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