Excel 2010 Bible

Part IV: Using Advanced Excel Features

638

Protecting a Worksheet

You may want to protect a worksheet for a variety of reasons. One reason is to prevent yourself or

others from accidentally deleting formulas or other critical data. A common scenario is to protect a

worksheet so that the data can be changed, but the formulas can’t be changed.

To protect a worksheet, activate the worksheet and choose Review ➪ Changes ➪ Protect Sheet.

Excel displays the Protect Sheet dialog box shown in Figure 31.1. Note that providing a password

is optional. If you enter a password, that password will be required to unprotect the worksheet. If

you accept the default options in the Protect Sheet dialog box (and if you haven’t unlocked any

cells), none of the cells on the worksheet can be modified.

To unprotect a protected sheet, choose Review ➪ Changes ➪ Unprotect Sheet. If the sheet was

protected with a password, you’re prompted to enter that password.

FIGURE 31.1

Use the Protect Sheet dialog box to protect a worksheet.

Excel supports an Information Rights Management (IRM) feature, which allows you to specify access

permissions for workbooks. Using IRM may help prevent sensitive information from being printed,

e-mailed, or copied by unauthorized people. When IRM is applied to a workbook, the permission

information is stored in the document file itself.

To use IRM, you must install the Microsoft Windows Rights Management Services (RMS) — an extra-

cost product that isn’t included with Microsoft Office. You can access the IRM settings by choosing

File ➪ Info ➪ Protect Workbooks ➪ Restrict Permission By People.

IRM is not covered in this book. If your company uses RMS, consult your system administrator for more

information about how this feature is used within your organization.

About Information Rights Management