Learn how to lock specific cells or ranges in Google Sheets to prevent accidental edits, protect important formulas, and control what collaborators can change. This guide will walk you through the process of protecting your data.
Click and drag to highlight the cell or range of cells you want to protect from editing. You can select non-adjacent cells by holding Ctrl (or Cmd on Mac) while clicking.
Navigate to the top menu and click on Data, then select Protect sheets and ranges from the dropdown menu.
A sidebar will appear on the right. In the 'Range' tab, add an optional description (e.g., 'Protected Formulas') and confirm the cell range is correct.
Click the Set permissions button. A dialog box will open where you can define who is allowed to edit the selected range.
Choose who can edit the range. Select 'Only you' to restrict editing to yourself, or 'Custom' to specify other editors. Click Done to save the protection rules.
Helpful Tips for Cell Protection
Use the 'Custom' permissions option to grant editing rights to specific collaborators while keeping the cells locked for everyone else.
You can protect an entire sheet and then specify certain cells that should remain editable. Just select the 'Sheet' tab instead of 'Range' in the protection sidebar.
The 'Show a warning' option is great for preventing accidental edits in shared sheets without completely locking others out. It forces users to confirm they want to make a change.
Consider changing the background color of locked cells. This provides a clear visual cue to collaborators that certain areas are not meant to be edited.
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