Protect Workbook

[Guest]

I keep reading the Excel Help and rubbing my eyes and looking at Excel and
rubbing my eyes some more . . .

I need to prevent users from changing the names of my worksheets. I have a
few formulas that "hard code" sheet names inside INDIRECT formulas, so any
change to the sheet names causes a Ref# error. When I looked in Help it says
the following:

On the Tools menu, point to Protection, and then click Protect Workbook. To
protect the structure of a workbook so that worksheets in the workbook can't
be moved, deleted, hidden, unhidden, or renamed, and new worksheets can't be
inserted, select the Structure check box.

I see no such menu option in Excel 2003. There is something about Worksheet
Sharing, but not the basic protection features described in Help. There has
to be a way - besides some type of VBA workaround - to prevent users from
changing the names of worksheets, right?

 

[Guest]

I have excel 2003 and if I click on protect workbook the "structure" option
box displays. You could also try password protection on the sheet or
workbook.

 

[Gord Dibben]

Tools>Protection>Protect Workbook is a standard meny item and does what you
want.

Perhaps it has been dragged off the Tools menu?

Go to Tools>Customize then right-click on Tools on your menu bar and "Reset"

Also while in Tools>Customize dialog open the Options tab and "always show full
menus"

A note of warning here. You can password protect a workbook under
Tools>Protection but Excel's internal security is quite weak and passwords can
easily be broken.


Gord Dibben MS Excel MVP

 

[Guest]

Thanks, Gord, but for some reason even Reset does not restore the missing
menu item. But you got me to a workaround: from the long list of toolbars I
selected "Protection" which popped up with five little icons, one of which is
"Protect Workbook" and provides the missing functionality. Funny, though,
that I cannot restore it onto the regular drop-down menu. Some errant gamma
ray hit just the right spot on my hard drive, maybe. Thanks.

 

[Gord Dibben]

Thanks for the feedback.

Gord

Thanks, Gord, but for some reason even Reset does not restore the missing
menu item. But you got me to a workaround: from the long list of toolbars I
selected "Protection" which popped up with five little icons, one of which is
"Protect Workbook" and provides the missing functionality. Funny, though,
that I cannot restore it onto the regular drop-down menu. Some errant gamma
ray hit just the right spot on my hard drive, maybe. Thanks.