How to Protect and Share a Workbook in Microsoft Excel 2003

Many companies and small businesses rely on spreadsheet software to create their daily reports, financial projections and more. The advanced software of today allows users to share these reports over a network. Creators of workbooks who use this software in a shared environment are even able to protect the contents of the workbook and share it with other users on the same network, without having to worry about the data inside the workbook being compromised.

Instructions

1. Open the workbook by running your application and then scrolling to the “File” tab and selecting “Open.”

2. Access the security properties menu. Scroll to the “Tools” tab on the command bar and then select “Protection.” A submenu will open.

3. Select “Protect and Share Workbook.”

4. Set protect and share properties. Make sure you check the box labeled “Sharing With Track Changes.” This will allow you to see all changes made by users who work on the book. Finally, enter the desired password in the “Password” field and then click "OK" to protect and share the workbook.

Tips & Warnings

• Protecting a workbook for sharing ensures that the main data inside of the workbook cannot be compromised by other users.

• Make sure you check the box labeled “Sharing With Track Changes” so you can see the changes that are made by other users; Excel will highlight these.