Protecting a worksheet

Protecting a worksheet means to restrict others from changing it - from formatting it, inserting new rows and columns, or deleting rows and columns, among other tasks. You can also prevent any editorial changes whatsoever from being made to a worksheet. Follow these steps to protect a worksheet from tampering by others:

1. Select the worksheet that needs protection.
2. On the Review tab, click the Protect Sheet button.
   You see the Protect Sheet dialog box. You can also open this dialog box by clicking the Format button on the Home tab and choosing Protect Sheet.
3. Enter a password in the Password to Unprotect Sheet box if you want only people with the password to be able to unprotect the worksheet after you protect it.
4. On the Allow All Users of This Worksheet To list, select the check box next to the name of each task that you want to permit others to do.
   For example, click the Format Cells check box if you want others to be able to format cells.
   Deselect the Select Locked Cells check box to prevent any changes from being made to the worksheet. By default, all worksheet cells are locked, and by preventing others from selecting locked cells, you effectively prevent them from editing any cells.
5. Click OK.
   If you entered a password in Step 3, you must enter it again in the Confirm Password dialog box and click OK.

To unprotect a worksheet that you protected, click the Unprotect Sheet button on the Review tab. You must enter a password if you elected to require others to have a password before they can unprotect a worksheet.