Knowledge Base

XL98: Protect Method Password Is Not Applied to Worksheet

Article ID: 184100

Article Last Modified on 10/10/2006

APPLIES TO

Microsoft Excel 98 for Macintosh

This article was previously published under Q184100

SYMPTOMS

When you use the Protect method in a 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

Microsoft provides programming examples for illustration only, without warranty either expressed or implied. This includes, but is not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. This article assumes that you are familiar with the programming language that is being demonstrated and with the tools that are used to create and to debug procedures. Microsoft support engineers can help explain the functionality of a particular procedure, but they will not modify these examples to provide added functionality or construct procedures to meet your specific requirements. 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 98 Macintosh Edition 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 98, 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.

Example

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

REFERENCES

For more information about protecting information, from the Visual Basic Editor, click the Office Assistant, type Protect click Search, and then click to view "Protect Method."

NOTE: If the Assistant is hidden, click the Office Assistant button on the Standard toolbar. If the Assistant is not able to answer your query, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

176476 OFF: Office Assistant Not Answering Visual Basic Questions

Additional query words: XL98 vba

Keywords: kbbug kbdtacode kbpending kbprogramming KB184100