When and how should I lock down my Excel workbook?

Microsoft Excel is a workhorse in the Microsoft Office suite that often goes unappreciated. Since it lacks the sexual allure of other Microsoft Office programs like PowerPoint and Project, it is often overlooked while being one of the most extensively used applications in business. Microsoft Excel is essential for any organization, as it can simulate operations and spot problems before they become disastrous. You can also create team-specific templates and have team members manually enter data into those templates for subsequent correlation.

One of the duties of a Senior Manager in a major company is to prepare annual budgets for the company’s operations. Now, if you’re anything like me, this can be a huge chore and a constant source of annoyance, especially since there will always be people on your team who think they know better than you and want to change your templates…

Does This Ring a Bell?

Well, here are a few things to think about. Put a lock on the cubicles where employees aren’t allowed to play. Yes, you can restrict who can make changes. You can even limit their clickable range to specific cells. This article’s outline will focus on safeguarding Microsoft Excel 2003. This release was picked because it offers better security features than earlier releases.

Let us get started, then…

Step one in Microsoft Excel workbook protection is selecting the cells you wish to keep private. Excel’s default settings include cell protection, but you won’t be able to use it unless you explicitly lock the worksheet. Select the cells you want to unprotect, then go to the Format menu and pick Cells from the submenu that appears (or press [Ctrl] + [1] to accomplish the same thing quickly).

Select the Protection tab in the Format Cells dialogue box. Locked is now a selected option with a checkmark next to it. If you protect this worksheet, it will be uneditable, as shown by the checkbox. As a result, we need to remove the selection by unchecking the box once. Simply clicking OK will finish the procedure.

Repeat this procedure for each cell in which you’d like data to be entered by your team…

After you have finished this process, you should lock the worksheet. And here’s where things get interesting: protecting cells requires protecting each worksheet independently. After selecting the desired worksheet, click the Tools menu, choose Protection from the drop-down menu, and click Protect Sheet to lock it down. The Protect Sheet dialogue box will now display, prompting you to set a password. This is the point at which extreme caution is required. If you choose to protect this sheet with a password, write it somewhere safe; otherwise, you may have trouble editing it or using it again if you forget the password.

The Protect Sheet dialogue box provides more settings for you to play with. Unchecking the box labeled “Select Locked Cells” is our primary concern. If you turn this feature off, users can only select the Unprotected cells. This also means they can tab between Unprotected Cells with the space bar.

Spreadsheets with several worksheets require protecting each sheet individually. Microsoft has implemented this feature so that several users can work together to update data on separate sheets without having complete control over the entire workbook.

You can restrict users’ ability to modify the workbook as another sensitive feature. While the preceding examples demonstrated how to secure a single worksheet, it is also necessary to ensure a whole workbook. To do this, select Protection from the Tools menu and then choose Protect Workbook. You can then use the program to safeguard the building and its glass. Another password can be entered if desired. Remember to keep track of these passwords in a separate workbook on your server’s secure network. Your IT department should store the Password Excel Spreadsheet in a safe place, password-free. The IT staff can save your work in a safe area without requiring a password, so your data would remain recoverable even if something happened to you.

The last layer of security to consider is whether or not a password is required to either open or make changes to the workbook. We can adjust these settings by selecting the Tools menu and the Options option. Select the Security tab in the Options window. By entering a password, you can now protect the file from unauthorized access and edits.

Passwords are case-sensitive and must be entered twice in any field where they are required. This prevents you from accidentally making the file inaccessible by mistyping the password.

You can keep your data and spreadsheet layout safe from prying eyes by locking down your workbook, worksheets, and cells. Keeping your spreadsheet under control can save you time and money in the long run by preventing you from having to redo any of your hard work.

Microsoft Excel Shortcuts [http://www.1-on-1.biz/Products/wordcheatsheet/ExcelCheatSheet.asp] are available from Microsoft Office Specialist Master Instructor Chris Le Roy. And if you can’t make it to his office, you can still get a Microsoft Excel certificate from his company by enrolling in his online correspondence course. Instruction in Using Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet

Read also: https://newginious.com/category/technology/