Protect Current Sheet: This will guard the currently selected worksheet with a password so that people can’t make any changes. Using this option will not secure the data behind a password, however, so it doesn’t offer any security. Mark as Final: This will mark the file as completed, which lets other people know that they shouldn’t make any changes. Under Protect Document, you’ll find several additional features that may prove useful: It’s important to know what these other options do so you can create the right security for your project. Additional security optionsĮxcel also allows you to apply more customized security options to your file if necessary. Still, if you want to download a free version with lots of customization options for many types of data, you can try Crypto Expert 8 or VeraCrypt open source downloads. Windows 10 Professional users have a built-in encryption utility called Bitlocker.

Luckily, encryption programs are not hard to find. The easiest way to protect a large number of records is to encrypt them. Now that you’ve password-protected your most essential files, it might be worth considering adding extra layers of security to your system. It will tell you whether a password is required to open it or not. If you want to see whether an Excel file has password protection or not, check out the Info tab for the document and look at the Protect Workbook section. If you want all Excel files to have similar protection, you’ll need to password-protect each file individually or look at more advanced protections. Note that this password only protects that individual document, not every Excel document on your PC. Mark Coppock/Digital Trendsįrom now on, any time you try to open that file, Excel will prompt you to input your newly chosen password. There’s no way to access a forgotten password, so keep it in a password manager or similar method in case it is forgotten. It is paramount that you remember it, or have access to a copy of it in a secure location because if you forget it, you will lose access to the Excel file and recovering it will be complicated. Pick one that’s complicated and unique and note it down in your password manager.

Step 4: Excel will then prompt you to type in a password. From the drop-down menu, select Encrypt with Password. Step 3: Next, click the Protect Workbook button. Step 1: In Excel, open the document you want to secure with a password. Whether you’re creating graphs, converting PDFs, or just inputting rows and rows of data, the best way to keep that information safe is to learn how to password-protect an Excel file. Fitbit Versa 3Īfter all, Excel serves not only the average person, but also businesses, government institutions, and millions of other folks worldwide.

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