Microsoft Office Excel provides data protection capability. It can be applied to a book, sheet, cells, controls. To protect a cell from changes or from entering incorrect data into it, you need to turn to the tools of the program.
Instructions
Step 1
To protect a cell from entering incorrect data, select the cell you need or a specific range. Go to the Data tab. In the "Working with data" section, click on the "Data validation" button. A new "Validate Input Values" dialog box opens.
Step 2
Make the "Parameters" tab active and set the type of data that is allowed to be entered into the cell using the drop-down list in the "Check Condition" group. If necessary, set additional parameters by which the values entered into the cell will be evaluated.
Step 3
On the Input Message and Error Message tabs, you can enter hints to help users understand what format is allowed to add data to cells and specify text to alert about incorrect actions. After making all the necessary changes, click the OK button for the new settings to take effect, the "Validation Values" window will close automatically.
Step 4
To protect the cell from changing, select the range you need and open the "Home" tab. In the "Cells" section, click on the "Format" button. Alternatively, right-click in the selected cells and select Format Cells from the context menu. A new dialog box will open.
Step 5
Go to the "Protection" tab and set the marker in the "Protected cell" field. Apply the new settings by clicking on the OK button. Cell protection will only turn on if the entire sheet is protected.
Step 6
Sheet protection is enabled on the Review tab. Go to it and click on the "Protect Sheet" button in the "Changes" section. A new dialog box will appear. Place markers in front of those items that you see fit.
Step 7
If necessary, enter the password in the line provided for this and click the OK button. An additional window will appear, confirm the password you just entered and click on the OK button. After that, when you try to change a cell, the program will notify the user that it is protected from changes.
