SOLVED

Lock Symbol On Excel Tab

Copper Contributor

Hello,

 

There has been a recent change to excel, where if any of the cells are protected, a lock symbol is now shown on the corresponding tab at the bottom. Can we please have an option to remove this feature?

It takes up way too much room across the width along the tabs at the bottom if every sheet has a protected cell. On a fresh/blank excel file with 25 sheets you can nearly see all 25 sheets.

Go ahead and protect every sheet, and by the time you've done Sheet19 you've lost sight of Sheet20 (partial), 21, 22, 23, 24 and 25. That's 24% of the tabs if you include Sheet20.

Like the old saying "if it ain't broke, don't fix it".

But please at the very least can we have the option to remove this feature.

 

Thank-you.

4 Replies
best response confirmed by Matt_Fielding (Copper Contributor)

I like seeing the lock symbols because I have workbooks with many sheets, and the presence of the lock symbol enables me to quickly determine if all sheets are protected.  Otherwise I have to right-click every tab to see its status.  Making this an optional feature would satisfy both points of view.

 

 @Matt_Fielding 

@Matt_Fielding

 

I agree the large lock takes a large amount of real estate on the screen but I believe I may have a solution.  Having a small colored dot on the tab showing say, a red dot showing locked and a green dot showing unlocked.  Also I would like to suggest a button on the tab ribbon area where you can lock or unlock all of the tabs using a checkbox pop up window with the tabs listed and a lock all or unlock all option as well.  Just an idea I believe will work and do this task efficiently.  I use several spreadsheets with multiple tabs where I have to unlock and subsequently lock the same tabs several times a day.  Spreadsheets with 26 tabs in them.

Yes, with differing preferences, can the symbol please be restored as an option?
1 best response

Accepted Solutions
best response confirmed by Matt_Fielding (Copper Contributor)