There are lots of users working with Microsoft programs, these programs are great for many office jobs. Excel, among its features, helps to work with numbers and information that is grouped in rows.
This Microsoft program has several functions requested by users, for example the code function or also some formulas that must be used within the spreadsheet. Because it is so necessary, many people look for ways to handle it as well as possible.
This much-requested and feature-rich program is installable on multiple versions of Windows. For example, in the latest version of Windows 10, it can also be obtained with its updates. This article will show how within Excel, any number of cells and formulas can be pinned, locked or protected at the same time.
Can cells be locked in Excel?
When starting to work with this program, many have noticed that after placing a title and lowering Excel cells, they may lose everything previously written there. But can this be prevented from happening? Yes. All you have to do is pin these cells in Excel. It is possible to do it in each of the versions of Excel.
At this point, the importance of knowing how to use programs as useful as Excel, belonging to the number of programs provided by Microsoft Office, is noted. These programs are extremely necessary to do any work from the computer.
Lock cells in excel sheets
The reason why some users block the cells is because it is useful to continue having the title visible without losing what has already been written, as mentioned above. It is necessary to emphasize that these blocking functions can only be done under certain rules.
First, is that only those who manage the spreadsheet can lock or unlock it. Second, also the owner can continue to edit Excel cells. And third, those who edit these spreadsheets will be able to see the locked cells, however they will not be able to edit them or change the data that is already set in them.
Under Excel tools, columns cannot be locked if they are from attachments. And if a row has already been immobilized, it will have an icon in its head that will openly show that it has been blocked. These steps provide comfort to those who are working with the spreadsheets, since they will already have been warned that those cells cannot be edited.
How to totally lock a cell in a spreadsheet so it can’t be edited
It is possible in a spreadsheet to lock cells so that they are not editable, but first you will need to protect the sheet. In this case you should do the following to protect the sheet, go to the top menu and select the ‘Review’ tab. Then go to the ‘Changes’ section or group and now select the ‘Protect sheet’ option.
At this point it is possible to lock one or several cells to prevent them from being edited and to perform this operation you must do the following. Select the cell or cells you want to lock. Then go to the top menu and select the ‘Home’ tab and then click on ‘Format Cell’.
This action will generate the ‘Cell format’ box on the screen with several tabs and in our case we will select the ‘Protect’ tab. The next step is to check the checkbox with the ‘Blocked’ option. And to finish you must click on the ‘OK’ option so that the selected cell or cells are locked.
How to Freeze in Excel Easily
Another action that we can carry out in Excel in a very simple way and that many users are unaware of the calculation editor is to freeze. In this way we will be able to see all the information or data that we have in our sheet or book. Through the ‘View’ tab it will be possible to freeze panels, rows or columns.
Now a series of steps will be mentioned that will allow you to lock these Excel cells or fix them. So they will be immobilized when working on the spreadsheet.
Immobilize Panels
The first thing to do is open the document in which you want to set the row. Then the user must locate the row they want to pin.
After having it located, the user should be directed to the panel option that says view. This can be located at the top of the toolbar. By clicking on it, you can choose where it says immobilize. Following that, three options to choose from will be displayed on the screen.
The user must know which of all the options is the one that best suits what he needs. For example, if the user clicks the freeze pane button, it will give him the opportunity to lock the columns, and also the rows he chooses to lock. By doing that, the other cells in the spreadsheet can be moved.
Freeze the top row
In the event that you want to immobilize or block the first row of your spreadsheet, you will carry out these simple steps. First go to the top menu and in it click on the ‘View’ tab, then you must select the ‘Freeze’ option. This action will display a menu on the screen and in it you will select by clicking on the ‘Freeze top row’ option.
only the first column
You must proceed in the same way if you want to freeze or lock the first column in your spreadsheet. Go to the top menu and click on ‘View’. Then select the Freeze option to display the menu containing three options. And in our particular case we must select ‘Freeze first column’.
How many cells can be frozen at most in Excel
The number of cells that can be frozen will depend on the number of cells contained in a row or column. You will also need to consider that if the number of cells contained in the row or column is greater than what is shown on the screen. It will be useless to use this function because you will not be able to see it while you are in another area of the spreadsheet
How to prevent your formulas from being deleted by mistake
It is very important that when creating a spreadsheet the formulas it contains can be kept safe, otherwise our entire project would be lost. So in order to prevent the formulas from being deleted, it will be necessary to protect the entire Excel sheet. Or we can also do it through data validation, so let’s see how to carry out these two methods.
With data validation
The first method that we are going to use is data validation and with it we will prevent values or data from being written in the cells that contain formulas. What we must do is the following, in the first instance go to the top menu and click on the ‘Start’ tab. Now we’ll go to the ‘Modify’ section and then we’ll click on ‘Browse Select’.
The next step is to go to ‘Formulas’ and use this action to select the formulas found in the spreadsheet. Next we are going to click on the ‘Data’ tab and then on the ‘Data tools’ section or group. In the menu we select the ‘Data validation’ option and a box will now be displayed where we are going to click on the ‘Configuration’ tab.
Now we need to find and select the ‘Allow’ option and then choose the ‘Custom from list’ option. The last step we are going to take is to type the following command (=””) without the parentheses in the ‘Formula’ box.
Protect the entire leaf
Another method that we can use to prevent one or more formulas from being modified in our spreadsheet is by protecting the sheet. To do this you must follow these steps, first we go to the ‘Cells’ option then ‘Format’ and then select the ‘Lock cell’ option. In this section we will search for and select the ‘Protect sheet’ option.
Now a box will appear on the screen and in it we will be asked to enter a password and in this way the spreadsheet will be protected. It is important that you know that this protection can be reversed and for this you will be asked to enter the password again
To protect the formulas, the user will also be able to select all the cells of a row, with the Ctrl+1 key a tab will appear showing the word format. And then the user will be able to go to the tab that says “protect sheet”. There will be a section that will indicate the cell format, when entering this you will be able to select all the formulas.
Again the user must press the Ctrl+1 keys and now leave a mark where the lock is indicated within the section of the sheet that says Protect. This will lock cells with formulas.
