Tired of accidental edits messing up your meticulously crafted Excel spreadsheets? Fear not! Locking cells is your secret weapon for protecting valuable data and ensuring accuracy.
Here's the quick and dirty on how to lock cells in Excel:
1. **Select the cells you *DON'T* want locked.** By default, all cells are locked, so we need to unlock the ones you want editable.
2. **Right-click and choose 'Format Cells'.**
3. **Go to the 'Protection' tab and uncheck 'Locked'.** This unlocks your chosen cells.
4. **Protect the Worksheet:** Go to the 'Review' tab and click 'Protect Sheet'.
5. **Choose your protection options and set a password (optional).** Be careful not to lose that password!
6. **Click 'OK'.**
Now, only the cells you unlocked can be edited! This is perfect for creating templates where users can input data into specific fields without accidentally altering formulas or other critical information. Lock those cells down and keep your Excel masterpieces pristine!
