Protect a Workbook: Microsoft Excel Tutorial

In this tutorial, you will see by example how to protect an entire workbook in Microsoft Excel. I would advise to create a new workbook for this example, but you can use any workbook to follow along with the tutorial.

1. Open Microsoft Excel

Create a new workbook in Excel and save it anywhere on your hard drive. If you want to use a pre-existing workbook to, open any workbook you want to protect that you have currently saved on your hard drive.

2. Click Tools -> Options

The window called "Options" has many tabs. Click on the tab titled "Security". You will see 4 sections in blue writing called "File encryption settings for this workbook", "File sharing settings for this workbook", "Privacy options", and "Macro Security".

3. Choose Password and options

Note that you can click on the "Advanced" button to select the "Encryption type" and security key length. For this tutorial, enter a password into the "Password to open" and "Password to modify" textboxes. Once you have entered the passwords to protect the workbook, click OK.

4. Verify Password

You will be presented with a box called "Confirm Password" that tells you that the password you use to protect the workbook cannot be recovered. Re-enter the password in this box and click OK. (Note that you will be presented two windows, one for the "Password to open" and the other for the "Password to modify".)

5. Close Workbook

To see the workbook protection in action, close the workbook and exit Microsoft Excel.

6. Re-open Workbook

To check if the workbook protection worked, navigate to the location of the saved workbook and try to open it.

You will be prompted for the password to open the workbook. Enter the password you selected for "Password to Open" from step 3 and click OK. You will be presented with another password request box for the password to make modifications. Enter the password you selected for "Password to modify" from step 3 and click OK. The protected workbook will then open and be modifiable.

The benefit of password-protecting a workbook is if you have multiple worksheets in the workbook that all need to be password-protected, instead of protecting individual worksheets, you can simply protect the entire workbook, which will in turn, cause all of the worksheets within that workbook to also be protected because the whole workbook will not open without the password you specified.