Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Excel 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Excel, click here: Protecting a Single Worksheet.
Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated January 16, 2021)
This tip applies to Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003
Tom has a workbook with a number of worksheets and he only wants to protect the first worksheet against changes. Consequently, he would like to save the workbook with all changes except any made to that first worksheet.
Excel provides the ability to protect individual worksheets in a workbook. Without going into too much detail (as this has been covered in other issues of ExcelTips), you can protect a worksheet by choosing, in Excel 2007, display the Home tab of the ribbon, click Format in the Cells group, and then choose Protect Sheet. In older versions of Excel you choose Tools | Protection | Protect Sheet. The options available in protecting a worksheet depend on the version of Excel you are using.
If this type of protection is not enough, then you are pretty much entering the realm of macros. Let's say that the name of the worksheet you want to protect is ImportantStuff. (Creative name; I know.) The idea would be to create a copy of the ImportantStuff worksheet as you want it to always appear. Name this copy something like KeepImportantStuff. Hide the KeepImportantStuff worksheet, and then use an AutoClose macro to (1) delete the ImportantStuff worksheet, since it may have been changed by the user; (2) duplicate the KeepImportantStuff worksheet, naming the copy ImportantStuff; and (3) saving and closing the workbook.
ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (6793) applies to Microsoft Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Excel (Excel 2007 and later) here: Protecting a Single Worksheet.
Professional Development Guidance! Four world-class developers offer start-to-finish guidance for building powerful, robust, and secure applications with Excel. The authors show how to consistently make the right design decisions and make the most of Excel's powerful features. Check out Professional Excel Development today!
Excel allows you to protect worksheets, individually. Users can still see that the worksheets are there, but they cannot ...
Discover MoreWant to protect a worksheet but maintain the ability to make changes to the check boxes you add to the worksheet? Here is ...
Discover MoreIt is not unusual, in a corporate world, to be handed a worksheet whose source you don't know. If that worksheet is ...
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)
Got a version of Excel that uses the menu interface (Excel 97, Excel 2000, Excel 2002, or Excel 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.
FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
Copyright © 2024 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.
Please Note:
This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Excel 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Excel, click here:
Comments