Chapter 34: Protecting Your Work
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By default, all cells are locked, and worksheets are unprotected. To change the Locked
attribute, select the cell or range, right-click, and choose Format Cells from the shortcut
menu (or press Ctrl+1). Select the Protection tab of the Format Cells dialog box (see Figure
34.2), clear the Locked check box, and then click OK.FIGURE 34.2
Use the Protection tab in the Format Cells dialog box to change the Locked attribute of a cell
or range.The Protection tab of the Format Cells dialog box has another attribute: Hidden. If this check box is selected, the
contents of the cell don’t appear in the Formula bar when the sheet is protected. The cell isn’t hidden in the work-
sheet. You may want to set the Hidden attribute for formula cells to prevent users from seeing the formula when the
cell is selected.
After you unlock the desired cells, choose Review ➪ Protect ➪ Protect Sheet to protect the
sheet. Then you can change the unlocked cells, but if you attempt to change a locked cell,
Excel displays the message shown in Figure 34.3.