Article ID: 214081
Article Last Modified on 7/4/2007
APPLIES TO
- Microsoft Excel 2000 Standard Edition
- Microsoft Excel 2002 Standard Edition
- Microsoft Excel 97 Standard Edition
- Microsoft Excel 2001 for Mac
- Microsoft Excel 98 for Macintosh
This article was previously published under Q214081
SUMMARY
This article describes how to lock individual cells in a Microsoft Excel worksheet. The procedure to use depends on whether you want the majority of the cells on the worksheet to remain locked or unlocked.
NOTE: If you lock a cell and protect the worksheet, then you cannot type data into the cell, modify the data currently in the cell, or change other attributes of the cell (such as cell formatting).
MORE INFORMATION
To unlock individual cells in an Excel worksheet, use either of the following procedures.
If You Want the Majority of Cells Locked
To lock the majority of the cells on the worksheet, follow these steps:
- Select the cells that you want to remain unprotected. To select nonadjacent (noncontiguous) cells, hold down CTRL and click the cells that are to remain unprotected.
- On the Format menu, click Cells, and then click the Protection tab.
- Click to clear the Locked check box and click OK.
- On the Tools menu, point to Protection, and then click Protect Sheet. Type a password if you want one, and then click OK.
If You Want the Majority of Cells Unlocked
To leave the majority of the cells on the worksheet unlocked, follow these steps:
- Select the entire worksheet by clicking the Select All button (the gray rectangle in the upper-left corner of the worksheet where the row 1 and column A headings meet), or by pressing CTRL+A or CTRL+SHIFT+SPACEBAR.
- On the Format menu, click Cells, and then click the Protection tab. Click to clear the Locked check box and click OK.
- Select the cells that you want to protect. To select nonadjacent (noncontiguous) cells, hold down CTRL and click the cells that you want to protect.
- On the Format menu, click Cells, and then click the Protection tab. Click to select the Locked check box, and then click OK.
- On the Tools menu, point to Protection, and then click Protect Sheet. Type a password, if you want one, and then click OK.
REFERENCES
For more information about locking cells and protecting worksheets, click Microsoft Excel Help on the Help menu, type lock cells in the Office Assistant or the Answer Wizard, and then click Search to view the topics returned.
For additional information about using passwords, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
189126 Microsoft's Policy Regarding Missing or Invalid Passwords
For additional information about locking cells and protecting worksheets, click the article numbers below to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
264372 XL2000: Controlling and Understanding Settings in the Format Cells Dialog Box
211710 XL2000: Cells in a Protected Worksheet May Become Unmerged
214337 XL2000: Some Cells in Worksheet Not Selected Using TAB or SHIFT+TAB
213661 XL2000: Unlocked Cells Not Underlined with Protection Enabled
Additional query words: AskMaxwell
Keywords: kbhowto KB214081
