To lock cells or ranges, select them in a usual way by using the mouse or arrow keys in combination with Shift. Select cells, ranges, columns or rows you want to protect.

In the Format Cells dialog, switch to the Protection tab, uncheck the Locked option, and click OK.Ģ.

Press Ctrl + 1 to open the Format Cells dialog (or right-click any of the selected cells and choose Format Cells from the context menu).

Press Ctrl + A or click the Select All button to select the entire sheet.

That is why, in order to lock certain cells in Excel, you need to unlock all cells first. The detailed steps to lock cells in Excel 2010, Excel 2013 and Excel 2016 follow below.īy default, the Locked option is enabled for all cells on the sheet.

If you don't want to lock all cells on the sheet, but rather want to protect certain cells from overwriting, deleting or editing, you will need to unlock all cells first, then lock those specific cells, and then protect the sheet. Because the Locked attributed is selected for all cells by default, protecting the sheet automatically locks cells. Locking all cells on an Excel sheet is easy - you just need to protect the sheet.

Find and highlight locked / unlocked cells in Excel.

Lock all cells on a sheet except for input cells.

How to unlock individual cells on a protected sheet.

How to unlock all cells on a sheet (unprotect a sheet).

In other words, you may want to only lock a cell or range that shouldn't be changed. Instead, you can lock only specific cells, columns or rows, and leave all other cells unlocked.įor example, you can allow your users to input and edit the source data, but protect cells with formulas that calculate that data. However, in some cases you may not want to go that far and lock the entire sheet. In last week's tutorial, you learned how to protect Excel sheets to prevent accidental or deliberate changes in the sheet contents. And finally, you will learn how to detect and highlight locked and unlocked cells in Excel. It also shows how to unlock individual cells on a protected sheet by a password, or allow specific users to edit those cells without password. The tutorial explains how to lock a cell or certain cells in Excel to protect them from deleting, overwriting or editing.

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