• About
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy
  • Submit For Review
  • Template Gallery
  • Excel 2016 Udemy Course
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

TheAppTimes

App Reviews, Tutorials, & Gadget News Hub

  • Gadgets
  • How To
  • Mobile Apps
  • Software and Web Apps
  • Buying Guides
  • Show Search
Hide Search
Home » How To » Protect Your Excel 2010 Worksheet Data

Protect Your Excel 2010 Worksheet Data

September 28, 2010

Sometimes you may want to protect a worksheet to prevent others from modifying the contents of all the cells in the worksheet. And sometimes you may want to modify certain cells but prevent other cells from modification.  For example, your worksheet may have certain cells that contain formulas and some cells that contain input data. You may want to modify the cells with input data but prevent modification of cells that contain formulas. In this post, we will have a look at how to protect your Excel 2010 worksheet data including how to protect only certain cells.

How to Protect Your Excel 2010 Worksheet Data

To prevent users from modifying the contents of all cells in a Worksheet:

1. On the Review tab, in the Changes group, click Protect Sheet.

protect excel sheet

2. The Protect Sheet dialog box is displayed. In the dialog box, notice that Select locked cells and Select unlocked cells is selected by default.

3. In the Password to unprotect sheet text box, enter a password and click OK.
Protect Your Excel 2010 Worksheet Data

4. In the Confirm Password dialog box, reenter the password and click OK.

5. Click inside any cell and change the contents of the cell. The Microsoft Excel message box displays a message indicating that the cell is protected and is read-only.

excel message
6. Click OK to close the message box.
Note: To modify the contents of the cell, you must remove the cell protection.

How to Prevent Users from Modifying the Contents of Certain Cells in a Worksheet

1. Select the range of cells you want to allow modification.

2. Right-click and choose Format Cells.

3. The Format Cells dialog box is displayed. In the dialog box, select the Protection tab.

4. Uncheck Locked and click OK.

locked cells
5. On the Review tab, in the Changes group, click Protect Sheet.

6. In the Protect Sheet dialog box, in the Password to unprotect sheet text box, enter a password and click OK.

ALSO READ:  How to Save Excel Workbook Settings Using Custom Views

7. In the Confirm Password dialog box, reenter the password and click OK.

8. Click inside the cell you want to modification and make the change. If you try to modify the contents of the other cells, the Microsoft Excel message box will be displayed asking you to unprotect the worksheet.

However, this works only on a single worksheet. Excel 2010 does not provide direct options for protecting multiple worksheets. To do this, you need to set up a simple macro and execute it when required. In this Excel 2010 tutorial, you will learn how to protect multiple worksheets in a single click.

How to Protect Multiple Worksheets

To protect multiple worksheets in one go using an Excel Macro:

Basic Macro Info

Level of Difficulty Easy
Works On 2007,2010
Description This macro will allow a user to simultaneously protect multiple worksheets in a workbook.

Code:

Sub ProtectWorkbook()
Dim wrksheet As Worksheet
For Each wrksheet In ActiveWorkbook.Worksheets
wrksheet.Protect Password:=”password123”
Next wrksheet
End Sub

Note: You can replace password123 with any password of your choice.

How to Use the Macro

  1. Copy the code.
  2. Open Excel 2010.
  3. Press Alt + F11 to enter the Visual Basic Editor.
  4. If necessary, press Ctrl + R to show the Project Explorer.
  5. Right-click This Workbook.
  6. Choose Insert -> Module.
  7. Paste code into the right pane.
  8. Press Alt + Q to close the VBE.
  9. Save the workbook in the XLSM format.
  10. Select the Developer tab. (If you have a problem displaying the Developer tab, please read our post How to Activate the Developer Tab in Excel 2010.
  11. On the Developer tab, in the Code group, click Macros.
  12. In the Macro dialog box, select the macro and click Run.

You should now be able to password-protect all your worksheets in one go.

Tweet
Share1
WhatsApp
Pin
Buffer
1 Shares
Tweet
Share1
WhatsApp
Pin
Buffer
1 Shares

Filed Under: How To Tagged With: excel how to

You May Also Like

Ways to Use Excel Mobile - TATFI
10 Creative Ways to Use Excel Mobile in your Business
How to Get Rid of the Paste Options Menu in Word, Excel and PPT
How to Get Rid of the Paste Options Menu in Word, Excel and PPT
How to Calculate Number of Days Between Two Dates in Excel
How to Calculate Number of Days Between Two Dates in Excel

About Adeline Gear

Adeline is a tech enthusiast who loves exploring the latest tools and applications in the marketplace. She also loves her Android and spends time reviewing apps and playing games when she has the time.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Allan Ward says

    September 29, 2010 at 2:46 pm

    Eddie, Thanks for doing this. It explains how to protect certain cells perfectly. I'll have to think of some more requests for you – you obviously know more about Office than I do!

    Reply
    • TheAppTimes says

      October 2, 2010 at 2:58 am

      You are welcome Allan. We are glad that we are able to provide useful content to our readers. We will be more than delighed to write articles as per user requrests.

      Reply
  2. Kim Eriksen says

    March 8, 2011 at 10:08 pm

    I am trying to protect the format of a document. I have read your article and others and am still unsure of how to protect a document that requires input from users. I have an expense form where others will submit their request but the format of the document should not be changed. In this document there are check boxes available and some formulas. How can I protect the document that requires input.

    Reply
    • Eddie Gear says

      March 15, 2011 at 6:56 am

      Hey Kim,

      I’ve been having major problems with my Internet Service provider, so gimme a few days to get back to you.
      Thanks in advance for your patience.

      Reply
    • Eddie Gear says

      March 21, 2011 at 2:23 pm

      Could you elaborate on how you are sharing this form with your users?

      Reply
  3. Vijai Kumar says

    May 14, 2011 at 12:01 pm

    I have prepared a file which has around 50 worksheets and i would like to protect all the worksheets so people can view the sheets and cannot edit or delete anything from there. Is there any option which helps to protect all the worksheets instead of protect each worksheet one by one.

    Reply
    • Eddie Gear says

      May 16, 2011 at 10:19 pm

      Hi Vijai
      Here’s what you need to do.
      http://theapptimes.com/excel-2010-how-to-protect-multiple-worksheets-in-one-go/
      Hope it helps resolve your problem.

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Hottest New Gadgets!

Best e Readers to Buy in 2023 - TATFI

5 Best eReaders to Buy in 2023

Amazfit Falcon Smartwatch - TATFI

The Amazfit Falcon is a Military Grade Smartwatch with Premium Looks and Great Features

Couchmaster Cyboss Ergonomic Couch Desk - TATFI

Couchmaster Cyboss is an Ergonomic Desk to Keep Off Neck Pain

Philips Hue Festavia String Lights - TATFI

Add a Bit of Sparkle to Your Christmas Tree with Philips Hue Festavia String Lights

Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 Lite Kids Edition - TATFI

This Kid Friendly Tablet from AT&T is a Thoughtful Gift for Your Little One This Christmas

Is An iPhone Really Worth It - TATFI

Is an iPhone is Really Worth It?

Devices You Might Want to Try - TATFI

4 Fantastic Devices You Might Want to Try

Popular Tags

android android apps android games android how to apple casino games chrome extensions excel excel how to facebook gadgets gaming gmail google instagram ios apps ios games ios how to ios tips ipad iphone kids apps learn excel management microsoft music apps new releases outlook how to photo apps powerpoint powerpoint how to productivity Samsung security smartphone smartphones software tablet tablets twitter web browsers windows 10 word how to xbox youtube

Disclosure

TheAppTimes is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
How to improve writing skills with apps - TATFI

How to Improve Writing Skills with Apps and Gadgets

Samsung Galaxy S10 Unlocked - TATFI

The Samsung Galaxy S10 Unlocked– Your Key to Total Freedom

Make Money Playing at Fairspin Online Casino - TATFI

Make Money Playing at Fairspin Online Casino

How Mobile Wellbeing Apps are Empowering Patients - TATFI

How Mobile Wellbeing Apps are Empowering Patients

Tips to Boost Your Ranking and Sales on Etsy - TATFI

5 Ways to Boost Your Ranking and Sales on Etsy

PunchBee Time Management App - TATFI

Know How You Spend Your Time with PunchBee

DevOps Model Explained - TATFI

The Complete Guide to DevOps: How the Model Works and Who It Benefits

Approaches to Digital Marketing - TATFI

Blending Technical and Content-Centric Approaches to Digital Marketing

Tech Tips For Startups - TATFI

Useful Tech Tips For Startups

Boox Tab X Android eReader - TATFI

Boox Tab X is an Android eReader That Helps You Do More Than Just Read

Best Translation Apps for Android - TATFI

5 Great Translation Apps for Android

Dynamic Island Feature on Your Android - TATFI

How to Get the Dynamic Island Feature on Android

TheAppTimes © 2023 // Runs on StudioPress