Can you protect a worksheet with a password?

Can you protect a worksheet with a password?

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Can you protect a worksheet with a password?
Let’s say, I have four sheets. Other people who have access to file should be able to see three of them, but not the fourth as it has some confidential information. All the four worksheets are linked with data and formulas.
I know how to protect a cell, or columns with a password. I also know how to hide a sheet, but wondering if one can protect a single sheet with a password in excel.
Anon

Replies (5)

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By ajnmx
24th Feb 2010 15:29

hide the sheet

 Simplest way would be to hide the sensitive sheet, then password the workbook, making sure the 'structure' box is ticked. The sensitive sheet can't be unhidden without the password.

If you need the sheet's tab to show then I can't think of a way of doing this without using a macro, though that is fairly straightforward.

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By reg16qhr
24th Feb 2010 18:02

Excel
Password protection

For windows 2007

The easy way of putting a password on a excel document is to "encrypt document"

1) click the "office" button

2) click "prepare"

3) click "encypt document"

Then simply type in the password, remember the password as the document cannot be opened without the password.

Jeremy Viegas Accountancy Solutions (Midland) LTD

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By nogammonsinanundoubledgame
24th Feb 2010 19:08

Has it improved, then?

Last time I looked at it, password protection was trivial to crack.  But the last time I looked at it was before Office 2007.  Has it strengthened in this area in Office 2007?

Even if it has, that may be of small comfort if you need your workbook to be backward compatible with earlier versions.

With kind regards

Clint Westwood

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By RichardSchollar
25th Feb 2010 15:13

Not improved...

 In reply to Clint sheet/workbook protection in xl2007 has not been improved over earlier versions: it's still based on a 16bit hash and hence is still very easy to break.

Excel is an unsecure medium and if you really want to protect confidentiality then don't include this data in a workbook that you distribute to others.

 

Richard

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By ACDWebb
25th Feb 2010 16:05

If you go to the VB editor

and look at the sheet properties you will find that as well as a Hidden attribute there is a VeryHidden attribute

If you set the sheet you want to hide as VeryHidden it will not appear if one merely tries to Unhide a sheet in Excel. One has to go into the VB Editor to change the attribute back to Visible, which requires a bit more knowledge on the part of those that you do not want to see the sheet. You can then password protect the Project. Whilst any number of password crackers for sheet protection can be found on the internet with a Google search IME finding something similar to crack a VB Project or Workbook password that is free is much more difficult, if not impossible.

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