In Excel, all cells are locked by default. It is, however, important to activate the lock by protecting the worksheet. Follow the easy steps below to do this;
How to lock all cells
1. Highlight all cells you want to lock
2. Use your mouse to right-click
3. Select the Format Cells option
4. Alternatively, press CTRL+ 1
5. Open the Protection Tab to open the option that verifies all cells that were locked by default
6. Press OK
In this way, all the cells have been locked. If you want to remove protection from the worksheet, simply right-click on the spreadsheet. Press Unprotect Sheet.
Locking specific cells in Excel
Follow the easy steps below;
1. Select the cells you want to unlock
2. Use the mouse to right-click
3. From the dialog box that appears, select Format Cells
4. Alternatively, press CTRL +1
5. In the protection section, check the box with the Locked option
6. Press OK
How to unlock cells in Excel
Once you lock cells, you may need to unlock them when you want to modify them. Below are the steps:
1. Choose the cells you want to modify
2. Select the “Home” tab.
3. In the “Cells” section, choose “Format”>”Format Cells”
4. Choose the “Protection” tab.
5. Uncheck the area for “Locked” to unlock the cells.
How to lock Formula Cells
The first thing you need to do is to unlock all the cells because Excel locks them by default. You will then be able to lock all the cells that have formulas. Follow the easy steps below;
1. Highlight all the cells
2. Use the mouse and right-click
3. From the dialog box that appears, click on Format Cells
4. Alternatively. Press CTRL+ 1
5. Go to the Protection section and uncheck the boxes with the Locked Cells option
6. Press OK
7. Open Home and move to Editing group
8. Press Find and Select
9. Press on Special and select Formulas,
In this case, Excel will select all the cells that have formulas.
1. You can alternatively select CTRL +1
2. Open the Protection Tab and tick check-box of the Locked Cells box
3. Press OK
How to hide formulas
Follow the easy steps below;
1. Highlight the cells which you want to hide
2. Press the Format button that is in the Home Tab
3. Press on Format Cells
4. Tick the Hidden option
5. Click on OK
Protecting the worksheet in Excel
Another way to protect your formulas and cells is to protect the whole Excel worksheet. This ensures that no one modifies the data without a password. Follow these simple steps.
1. Tap the “Review” tab.
2. Maximize the Protect group.
3. Tap the “Protect Sheet” button.
4. Choose what you want to protect and enter your password
5. Tap OK.
How to unprotect the worksheet using right-click method
You can either protect or unprotect a worksheet by right-clicking the worksheet tab, then select Protect or Unprotect Sheet from the menu.
How to hide cell contents
You can hide cell content if you don’t want to view it or just need to print out certain cells. Here is the process:
1. Choose the cells you wish to hide.
2. On the “Home command tab” in the “Cells group,” tap Format, then select Format Cells.
3. Choose the Number tab.
4. Below the category, choose “Custom.”
5. In the “Type text box”,type 3 semicolons(;;;)
6. Tap OK to hide the cells.
How to unhide cell contents
1. Choose the cells to be redisplayed.
2. On the “Home command tab” in the “cells group,” tap Format, then select Format Cells.
3. Choose the Number tab.
4. Below the category, select appropriately. The dialog box will display options.
5. Untick hidden to unhide cell contents
6. Click OK, and the cells will reappear.