Guide: Lock Formula in MS Excel: Tips and Tutorial

Excel is a spreadsheet application that has many functions you can add to worksheets. Excel also has improved collaboration options for sharing worksheets with other recipients. Those who often share their spreadsheets sometimes need to lock function cells so other spreadsheet users cannot delete or edit the formulas. ..

If you want to keep certain cells private, Excel has locking features that will prevent anyone from editing them. To unlock the cells for editing, you’ll need to enter your password. This is usually a good idea if you don’t want other people to be able to change the functions of a shared spreadsheet. ..

Unlock all cells in the spreadsheet

The first thing to note is that Excel’s locked option is selected by default. However, this has absolutely no effect until you choose to protect the spreadsheet. The Locked setting is selected for all cells, so if you protect the spreadsheet, all cells in it will be locked, regardless of whether they contain functions or not. Those who only need to lock functions must first unlock the spreadsheet and then select only the formula cells.

To unlock a spreadsheet, you can either use the Ctrl + A keyboard shortcut or click the Select All button at the top left of the sheet. ..

The Format Cells window contains a Protection tab where you can select the Locked option. Click the Protection tab and clear the selected Locked check box. Press OK button to exit the window.

Lock the spreadsheet formulas

Now that you have unlocked the spreadsheet, you can choose to lock only the function cells in it. Select all function and formula cells in the sheet by pressing Find and Select button on the Home tab. Click on the Formulas radio button to select all options for formula types and press OK button.

To select a function cell with the cursor:

  1. Hold down the Ctrl key and click on the function cell you want to select.
  2. The function cell will be highlighted in blue and you can drag the cursor across it to select it.

Ctrl + 1 opens the Format Cells window. On the Protection tab, select Locked. Click OK to close the Format Cells window.

To protect a sheet in your spreadsheet, click the Review tab. In the password window that opens, type a password to protect the sheet. ..

To protect a sheet in Excel, enter a password in the text box and select options to restrict users. By default, they can only select the function cells, but not edit them. You can select more options there so that spreadsheet users can still apply formatting changes or add hyperlinks. ..

If you press the OK button on the A Confirm Password dialog box, the password will be entered into the text box and hit the OK button. If the second password does not match, your original password may have a typo. Make sure you haven’t pressed Caps Lock which will use all text in capital letters. ..

To unlock the formula cells, you need to select the Review tab and enter the unlock password in the text box.

Lock spreadsheet cells with Kutools for Excel

If you still need more locking options, please visit Kutools for Excel. Kutools is an add-on for Excel that adds more than 200 additional options to the application. You can also lock cells with Kutools for Excel’s Worksheet Design utility. The Kutools add-on is available for $ 39, and you can try a full trial version for a few months.

If Kutools is installed, you can open a new Enterprise tab in Excel. This tab has options for locking formulas and protecting sheets. ..

That’s how to lock formula cells in Excel spreadsheets with the built-in options of the application and Kutools add-on. Locking cells keeps their functions intact when sharing spreadsheets. Check out this YouTube page to play an Excel screencast with more information on how to lock spreadsheet cells.

Lock Formula in MS Excel: Tips and Tutorial: benefits

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Final note

This guide Lock Formula in MS Excel: Tips and Tutorial will show you how to use the Lock Formula in Microsoft Excel so that you can keep your data safe and secure. This formula is used to protect your data by locking it so that only you can access it. By using this formula, you can ensure that your data is always safe and secure.

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