While working on the sharing sheet or at the time of sharing any sheet, you often want to lock some specific cells which could include data or formulas or any important value to be edited accidentally or intentionally by other users.
Google Sheets has the functionality to easily lock a cell or multiple cells of all other users and at the same time to make available those locked cells editable for specific users.
In this tutorial, you will get to know how to lock the cells for all other users and lock cells for all except some specific users.
Lock a Cell in Google Sheets
- First, click on the cell which you want to lock and then go to the “Data” tab and then click on the “Protect sheets and ranges” option from the drop-down menu.
- After that, click on the “Add a sheet or range” option to open the “Protected sheets and ranges” dialog box”.
- Now, in the dialog box, enter the name of the selected cell range if you want to name it or leave it blank and then click on the “Set permissions” button below.
- In the end, choose the “Restrict who can edit this range” option with “Only you” in the drop-down field and then click on the “Done” button.
Cell B11 is now locked and if any other user will try to edit this cell, it will show the below pop-up and not allow them to edit the same.
Lock Multiple Cells in Google Sheets
- First, select the cells or range of cells which you want to lock.
- After that, go to the “Data” tab and then click on the “Protect sheets and ranges” option from the drop-down menu.
- Now, within the “Protected Sheets and ranges” dialog box, provide any name to the selected range and then click on the “Set permissions” button.
- In the end, choose the “Restrict who can edit this range” option with “Only you” in the drop-down field and then click on the “Done” button.
Note: To lock the entire row or column, select that entire row or column then follow the above-mentioned steps.
Lock Cells and Provide Edit Permission to Specific Users
Sometimes you want to lock the cells for all other users except for a few whom you want to provide edit permission of those locked cells. In Google Sheets, you can do the same by following the below steps.
- First, select the cells which you want to lock and go to the “Data” tab and click on the “Protect sheets and ranges” option.
- Or, you can select the cells and then right click and then click on the “View more cells action” option and then on “Protect range”.
- After that, give the name to the selected cells range and then click on the “Set permissions” button.
- Now, select the “Restrict who can edit this range” option and then choose the “Custom” option within the field below it.
- Here, enter the email ids of the users only whom you want to provide the editable permission of the selected range and for the rest of the others those will get locked.
- Once done, click on “Done” and the cells will get locked for all except the users whom you added to the editors’ list.
Show Only Warning Message before Editing the Locked Cells
In Google Sheets, you can choose the cells where you want to pop up the warning message to the users while editing those cells. This option will not restrict them from editing those cells but will display a warning message.
- Select the cells, for which you want to display the warning message, and then go to the “Data” tab and click on the “Protect sheets and ranges” option.
- After that provide the name to the range and click on “Set permissions”.
- Now, choose the “Show a warning when editing this range” option and click on “Done”.
Unlock or Change Locked Cells Permissions
- First, go to the “Data” tab and click on the “Protect sheets and ranges” option to open the defined locked ranges.
- After that, click on the range which you want to delete or change the permissions.
- Now, click on the “Delete” icon to delete the locked cells’ permission to make them editable again for everyone, or click on “Change permissions” to update the permissions.
Lock Cells in Google Sheets Mobile App
Until now, writing this blog, within the Sheets mobile app, there was no such feature available to lock specific cells. From the app you can lock the entire sheet but not the specific cells.