Microsoft Office

Protecting Your Work 31
want the user to be able to change the input cells, but not the formula cells. Every cell has a Locked attribute,
and that attribute determines whether the cell can be changed when the sheet is protected.
By default, all cells are locked. To change the locked attribute, select the cell or range and then use the
Protection tab of the Format Cells dialog box (see Figure 31.2). To display this dialog box, right-click the
cell or range and choose Format Cells from the shortcut menu (or press Ctrl+1). Remove the check mark
from Locked and click OK.
FIGURE 31.2
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 checked,
the contents of the cell don’t appear in the Formula bar when the sheet is protected. The cell
isn’t hidden in the worksheet. You may want to set the Hidden attribute for formula cells to prevent users
from seeing the formula when the cell is selected.
NOTE
After you unlock the desired cells, choose Review ➪ Changes ➪ Protect Sheet to protect the sheet. After
doing so, you can change the unlocked cells, but if you attempt to change a locked cell, Excel displays the
dialog box shown in Figure 31.3.
FIGURE 31.3
Excel warns you if you attempt to change a locked cell.
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