How to Tell If a Worksheet Is Protected in Microsoft Excel 2003

Microsoft Excel 2003 is spreadsheet software that helps you to organize large amounts of data. You may want to protect that data from unauthorized use or modification. You can protect an individual worksheet in Excel, or you can protect the entire workbook. Each level of worksheet protection requires a different method, and in turn, a different method is required to determine the protection.

Instructions

Single Worksheet

1. Click on the "Tools" menu.

2. Select "Protection->Protect Sheet."

3. Read the dialog box. If "Protect worksheet and contents of locked cells" is checked, the sheet is protected.

Workbook (All Worksheets)

1. Open the workbook. If you cannot open the workbook, it is protected at the file level.

2. Add another worksheet to the workbook. If you can't add another sheet, the workbook is protected.

3. Resize the Excel window. If you can't, the workbook is protected.

Tips & Warnings

• If a workbook is protected, it usually requires a password to unprotect. Worksheet protection can be turned off from the protection menu, and may or may not require a password.

References

• University of Wisconsin: Excel 2003