How to Protect a Worksheet in Excel
Karen A. Siska, Ph.D.

For the last several years, I have stored all of my student attendance and grades in an Excel gradebook which I saved on a USB flash drive.  Out of fear of that information getting lost or stolen, I keep that flash drive with me almost 24/7. It has become an extra appendage.

In reality, we know that files and data can be stolen easier than we would like to think. Recent e-mail messages have cautioned us to NEVER email an UNENCRYPTED Social Security Number or Student ID number to anyone. For my own peace of mind and to help focus on reducing the risk of identity theft and FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) noncompliance, I decided to build in some extra protection for those worksheets. I want to share with you what I am doing as this week’s Faculty Mentor Technology Tip.

How can I protect a worksheet in Microsoft Excel especially when I have sensitive student data stored there?

You can apply various levels of protection to an Excel worksheet. You can apply protection that allows others to open up the worksheet and perhaps make some changes but not be able to change everything about the worksheet. 

1.  Go to:  Menu Bar – Tools – Protection – Protect Sheet

The dialog box “Protect Sheet” will open up.   Place a checkmark in the box of what you want to allow the user to do on the worksheet.

You will need to protect the worksheet with a password.  You will reenter the password to be sure you keyed it in correctly.

If you want to turn the Protection off, go back to:  Menu Bar -Tools – Protection and key in your password.  You will then be able to work in the worksheet again.

I hope this helps!

Karen A. Siska, Ph.D.
Faculty Technology Mentor