Imagine spending hours creating a Google Sheet to share with your team, only to find that a team member accidentally deleted an important column, row, cell, or, even worse 鈥 an entire sheet.
That can be frustrating. However, it's entirely preventable if you lock cells in Google Sheets.
As it turns out, with just a few clicks of a mouse, you can lock cells and entire sheets in Google Sheets 鈥 meaning, you and your team can work on the same sheet without hindering the next person from completing their assigned tasks.
In this post, we鈥檒l go over how to lock and unlock cells in Google Sheets.
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Google Sheets allows users to lock cells from editing, which means you can protect your Sheet from any potential accidents, including editing and deletion.
You can also protect important data and calculations, so you can rest easy knowing the formulas in your Sheet are correct and accurate.
The ability to lock cells in Google Sheets comes with a variety of benefits.
Not only can you lock cells from editing, but you can also control which team members can edit your document 鈥 right down to the very cells those team members are allowed to manipulate.
This is extremely helpful if multiple team members are working on the same Sheet at once. You can also copy permissions from other sheets, if you have locked cells in other Sheets.
Let鈥檚 take a look at the steps to lock cells in Google Sheets.
Locking specific cells in Google Sheets is a simple task. Here鈥檚 how to do it:
After opening a new Google Sheet (or a Sheet you have already been working in), right-click on the cell or cells you want to lock.
This option is listed at the bottom of the dropdown menu.
Depending on where your cells are located in the Sheet, you may need to scroll down until you see it. When you see it, hover over the 鈥淰iew more cell actions鈥 to open up another menu.
The next menu will give you several more cell actions. Look for the action labeled 鈥淧rotect range.鈥 Choose 鈥淧rotect range鈥 to begin assigning cells to a locked status.
Alternatively, you can perform the same task by clicking on the Data tab and choosing 鈥淧rotect sheets and ranges.鈥
After clicking 鈥淧rotect range鈥 from the dropdown menu or 鈥淧rotect sheets and ranges鈥 from the Data tab, you will notice the open side panel on the right of your screen. Click on 鈥淎dd a sheet or range.鈥
Next, decide which cells to lock from editing. If you click the cell you want to lock, that cell鈥檚 information will be referenced in the range section. If you need to lock a range of cells, enter the range into the field.
Select 鈥淪et permissions鈥 to choose who can edit the selected cells. If you鈥檙e the only person allowed to edit the cell, make sure you choose 鈥渙nly you.鈥
You can also copy permissions from other sheets, if you have locked cells in other Sheets.
Once you鈥檙e finished locking cells from editing, click 鈥淒one鈥 to save your preferences. Now, those cells are locked from editing until you unlock them and change the settings.
If you and your team are working in a Google Sheet, consider giving editing permissions to select users. This will help you assign tasks and better manage your project and keep others from accidentally deleting important work.
To lock cells and give editing permission to select users, follow these steps.
Choose the cell or cells you would like to restrict. Then, right-click to open up the dropdown menu.
Scroll or look to the bottom of the dropdown menu and hover over 鈥淰iew more cell actions.鈥 This will open another menu on your screen.
To change a cell鈥檚 editing status, choose 鈥淧rotect range.鈥 This action will open a side panel menu.
In the side panel, click 鈥淎dd a sheet or range.鈥 Clicking this button will allow you to enter which cells or sheets to lock.
Determine which cells your team member needs to perform their assigned task. Then, enter the range of cells into the box.
Once you鈥檝e entered the desired cells in the box, you鈥檒l need to set editing restrictions. To restrict access to the range of cells, click 鈥淪et permissions.鈥
From this screen, you have the option to decide who has permission to edit the range of cells. To add a team member or multiple team members, click 鈥淐ustom.鈥
Now, you can decide who needs editing access to the range of cells you have specified. Enter the email addresses of your team members to assign them as editors of the cells. This will give them editing access to designated cells within the sheet.
Be sure to click 鈥淒one鈥 to save the range editing permissions.
There may be times you will need to lock an entire sheet from editing. Thankfully, this is a simple process.
To lock an entire sheet, you can right-click on any cell within the document to open the dropdown menu. You鈥檒l take the same steps to lock an entire sheet as you did with locking just one cell.
Here鈥檚 how to do it:
Right-click on any cell in your Google Sheet to open a drop-down menu. To lock an entire sheet, it does not matter which cell you use to do this.
Choose the 鈥淰iew more cell actions鈥 option at the bottom of the dropdown menu. You do not need to click. Just hover over it to open another menu.
Click 鈥淧rotect range鈥 to open the permissions side panel. Alternatively, you can reach the 鈥淧rotected sheets and ranges鈥 side panel by clicking on the Data tab and selecting 鈥淧rotect sheets and ranges.鈥
Click 鈥淎dd a sheet or range鈥 to begin locking an entire sheet.
Click on the 鈥淪heet鈥 button to lock an entire sheet. Once you're in the Sheet tab, select which Sheet you would like to lock.
ou have the option to exclude certain cells from being locked. If you need certain cells open for editing, click the box for 鈥淓xcept certain cells鈥 and specify the range.
Before you can lock your Sheet, you need to set editing permissions. Select 鈥淪et permissions鈥 to choose who can edit the locked Sheet. If you are the only person allowed to edit the sheet, make sure you choose 鈥淥nly you.鈥
Once you鈥檝e determined who has editing permissions for your Sheet, either just you or members of your team, be sure to hit 鈥淒one鈥 to save the permissions. Now your Sheet is locked and cannot be edited without permission.
How to Show a Warning but Allow Editing of Locked Cells
If you鈥檙e working on a document simultaneously with team members and you don鈥檛 want your cells to be modified, you can allow users to receive a warning before accepting their edits.
To show a warning, follow these steps:
In your Google Sheet, right-click on the cells you want to lock. You can set a warning for an entire Sheet by following this process as well.
Scroll to the bottom of the menu and hover over 鈥淰iew more cell actions.鈥
To set an editing warning on certain cells or your Sheet, click 鈥淧rotect range鈥 to assign cells or a Sheet to a warning status.
On the right of your screen, you will see an open side panel menu. Click 鈥淎dd a sheet or range.鈥
You can set an editing warning for a range of cells or an entire sheet. In the side panel, determine which cells or sheets need a warning and make sure the information referenced in the box matches your desired cells or sheet.
After you have verified which cells or sheets should have an editing warning, click 鈥淪et permissions鈥 to go to the editing preference screen.
Select 鈥淪how a warning when editing this range,鈥 then hit 鈥淒one鈥 to save your editing permissions.
If a user tries to make changes in the semi-locked cell or Sheet, they will receive a warning message as a heads-up. Users must either click 鈥淐ancel鈥 or 鈥淥k鈥 to make changes or revert to the original document.
Locking a cell or a Sheet is extremely helpful in maintaining the integrity of your data. But, there will be times when you will need to unlock a cell to update or change the information within it.
Now that you understand how to lock cells, let鈥檚 take a look at how to unlock them.
In your Google Sheet, right-click on the cell you need to unlock. This action opens a dropdown menu.
Look for the 鈥淰iew more cell actions鈥 option in the drop-down menu. This option is located at the bottom of the dropdown menu. When you find it, hover your mouse over the action.
Like locking a cell, you will still need to click on the 鈥淧rotect range鈥 option. This will open a side panel menu where you can choose to unlock the cell.
In the side panel menu, you will see a list of locked cells within your Sheet. Click on the cell or cell range that you wish to unlock.
Next, click on the trashcan icon to the side of the description box.
A warning screen will pop up asking if you want to remove the protected range. If you are sure you want to unlock the cell, click the 鈥淩emove鈥 button.
Once you click the button, your cell is free to be edited by anyone with editing permission for the document.
And there you have it! Be sure to take some time to set editing preferences and assign certain cells or sheets to your team.
Once you鈥檝e done that, you and your team can confidently work on the same Google Sheet without worrying someone will accidentally edit or delete important information.