Microsoft KB Archive/161221

= XL97: Protect Method Password Is Not Applied to Worksheet =

Article ID: 161221

Article Last Modified on 10/11/2006

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Excel 97 Standard Edition

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This article was previously published under Q161221



SYMPTOMS
When you use the Protect method in a Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications macro to apply password protection to a worksheet, Microsoft Excel does not apply the password to the worksheet.



CAUSE
This problem occurs when both of the following conditions are true:


 * You use a second ActiveSheet.Protect command that specifies a password in the macro. -and-


 * You set all the arguments (Contents, Scenarios, and DrawingObjects) for the second ActiveSheet.Protect command to True.

NOTE: Microsoft Excel may not apply password protection depending on the values of the arguments for the Protection statement. In some cases, Microsoft Excel applies worksheet protection but does not apply a password even if you specify a password in the macro.



WORKAROUND
To work around this problem, use either of the following methods.

Method 1
Use the ActiveSheet.Protect command only once and supply all the arguments, including the password. For example, use the following macro: Sub ProtectSheet

ActiveSheet.Protect password:="pw", Contents:=True, _ Scenarios:=False, DrawingObjects:=True, UserInterfaceOnly:=True

End Sub

Method 2
Set one of the Protect method arguments to False. To do this, use either of the following methods:

 If the macro is recorded, clear one of the following check boxes: Contents, Objects or Scenarios. -or-

  If the macro is manually typed, use the following syntax: Sub ProtectSheet

ActiveSheet.Protect password:="pw", Contents:=True, _ Scenarios:=False, DrawingObjects:=True, _ UserInterfaceOnly:=True

End Sub

to set either Contents, Scenarios, or DrawingObjects to False. 



STATUS
Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem with the products listed at the beginning of this article.



MORE INFORMATION
Microsoft Excel 97 allows you to add an additional layer of protection by applying password protection to a previously protected sheet. You can add this protection programmatically.

In earlier versions of Microsoft Excel, using the ActiveSheet.Protect command more than once has no effect. In Microsoft Excel 97, using the command a second time with a password applies password-level security to a previously protected sheet as long as the arguments for Contents, Scenarios, and DrawingObjects are not all set to True. When all the arguments are set to True, Microsoft Excel protects the active sheet but does not apply password-level protection. The value of the UserInterfaceOnly argument has no effect on this behavior.

The following sample code demonstrates the problem: Sub Test

ActiveSheet.Protect ActiveSheet.Protect password:="pw", contents:=True, _ Scenarios:=True, DrawingObjects:=True, UserInterfaceOnly:=False

End Sub

