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How to Lock Cells in Excel (3 Methods)

Last Updated: Sat May 31 2025

By: Kristina Avramovska

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In 3 simple methods, this guide will show you how to lock cells in Excel to protect your data from accidental edits.

Whether you need to lock all cells, specific cells, or just formula cells, you’ll learn how to secure your spreadsheet in just a few minutes.

Let’s dive in!

Methods:

  • Lock All Cells in Your Worksheet
  • Lock Specific Cells in Excel
  • Lock Formula Cells in Excel

Method 1: Lock All Cells in Your Excel Worksheet

By default, Excel has all cells set to ‘locked’. However, this setting only works after you protect the sheet. Follow these steps to lock all cells at once:

Step 1: Select All Cells

Press CTRL + A to select all the cells in the worksheet. Alternatively, you can click the small triangle in the top-left corner of the sheet (between the row and column headers).

red arrow pointing to the small triangle in the top-left corner of the sheet
Next step

Step 2: Open the Format Cells Menu

Right-click anywhere inside the selected cells.

From the dropdown menu, select Format Cells. You can also press CTRL + 1 to open this menu directly.

red arrow pointing to “Format Cells” in dropdown menu to lock all cells
Back Next step

Step 3: Check if All Cells Are Locked

In the Format Cells window, go to the Protection tab.

You'll see that the ‘Locked’ checkbox is already ticked by default. Just click OK to confirm this.

red arrow pointing to ‘Locked’ checkbox to lock all cells and another red arrow pointing to ‘OK’ button
Back Next step

Step 4: Protect the Worksheet

Now, go to the Review tab on the top ribbon of Excel.

Click Protect Sheet.

A pop-up will appear. You can set a password here if you want extra security. Enter a password (optional) and click OK.

two red rectangles highlight the ‘Review’ tab and “Protect Sheet” respectively and a red arrow pointing to password field to set a password and another red arrow pointing to ‘OK’ button to protect the sheet

Now, your entire worksheet is locked, preventing any edits until you unprotect the sheet.

a confirmation message saying that the sheet is locked

To make changes again, simply go to Review → Unprotect Sheet and enter the password if you set one.

Back Finished!

Method 2: Lock Specific Cells in Excel

If you want to lock only certain cells while keeping others editable, follow these steps:

Step 1: Unlock All Cells First

Press CTRL + A to select all the cells in your worksheet.

Right-click and choose Format Cells (or press CTRL + 1).

red arrow pointing to “Format Cells” in dropdown menu to unlock all cells

In the Protection tab, uncheck the ‘Locked’ checkbox. Then, click OK. This will unlock all cells in the sheet.

red arrow pointing to ‘Locked’ checkbox when it unchecked and another red arrow pointing to ‘OK’ button
Next step

Step 2: Select the Cells You Want to Lock

Now, click and drag to select the cells you want to lock. You can also hold down CTRL while clicking to select non-adjacent cells.

all data are selected of column A
Back Next step

Step 3: Lock the Selected Cells

Right-click on your selection, and again choose Format Cells.

Go to the Protection tab, and this time check the ‘Locked’ checkbox.

Then, click OK.

red arrow pointing to ‘Locked’ checkbox when it checked to lock selected cells and another red arrow pointing to ‘OK’ button
Back Next step

Step 4: Protect the Worksheet

Finally, to activate the locking, go to Review → Protect Sheet.

If you want, you can add a password here (optional).

Click OK.

red arrow pointing to ‘OK’ button to protect the sheet

Now, only the specific cells you selected are locked. The rest of the worksheet remains editable.

Back Finished!

Method 3: Lock Formula Cells in Excel

Locking cells that contain formulas can protect your calculations from accidental changes. Follow these steps to lock only the formula cells:

Step 1: Unlock All Cells First

Press CTRL + A to select all cells.

Right-click and choose Format Cells (or press CTRL + 1).

In the Protection tab, uncheck the ‘Locked’ box. Then click OK.

red arrow pointing to ‘Locked’ checkbox when it unchecked to unlock all cells and another red arrow pointing to ‘OK’ button
Next step

Step 2: Select Formula Cells Automatically

Go to the Home tab on the top ribbon.

red arrow pointing to ‘Home’ button

On the far right, click Find & Select, then choose Go To Special from the dropdown menu.

red arrow pointing to “Go To Special” from the dropdown menu

In the Go To Special dialog box, select Formulas and click OK.

red arrow pointing to ‘Formulas’ and another red arrow pointing to ‘OK’ button in the Go To Special dialog box

Excel will now highlight all the cells that contain formulas.

Back Next step

Step 3: Lock the Formula Cells

With the formula cells selected, right-click and choose Format Cells.

In the Protection tab, check the ‘Locked’ box and click OK.

red arrow pointing to ‘Locked’ checkbox when it checked to lock the formula cells and another red arrow pointing to ‘OK’ button
Back Next step

Step 4: (Optional) Hide the Formulas

If you also want to hide the formulas (so users can’t see them in the formula bar), check both the ‘Locked’ and ‘Hidden’ boxes in the Protection tab.

red rectangle highlights the Locked and Hidden checkboxes when they are checked and another red arrow pointing to ‘OK’ button
Back Next step

Step 5: Protect the Worksheet

To finish, go to Review → Protect Sheet.

Set a password if needed, then click OK.

red arrow pointing to ‘OK’ button to protect the sheet when formula cells are locked

Now, your formula cells are locked and protected. If you choose the hidden option, the formulas won’t even show up in the formula bar.

Back Finished!

Frequently Asked Questions

What if I forget the password?

If you forget the password, you can't unprotect the sheet. Use a backup copy or specialized third-party tools to recover it. Be cautious with third-party software for security reasons.

Can I lock only certain parts?

Yes, follow the steps to lock specific cells and protect the sheet.

Are charts protected too?

Yes, protecting a worksheet generally includes charts. Adjust protection settings in the Protect Sheet dialog to customize permissions.

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