PM2 - Management Reporting – IT Office Tools (MS Excel)

Chapter - 14
Sharing and Protecting Workbooks:
Collaborate on a Workbook:
There are three ways to share documents and help in online collaboration.

Sharing a workbook by Inviting People:

Once you have saved your document on your SkyDrive account, you can grant people
access to it so that they can view or edit it.

1. Navigate to and click on the File tab.

2. Click Share.

Trap: Note that in order to share a workbook by sending a Link, you must first save the
workbook on a shared network location like SharePoint. If you have not done this, the Get
a Link option will not be visible as a Share option.

3. Click Invite People, and in the right-hand pane, type the name or email address of the
person or people you want to share with.

4. In the small box to the right, select their permissions from the drop box to either Can edit

or Can view.

5. Include a message with the invitation (optional).

6. If you want the user to sign in before accessing the document, check the Require user

to sign-in before accessing document box.

7. Click Share.

Sharing a workbook by sending a Link

Get a link to your document and send it to those you would like to share it with.

1. Navigate to and click on the File tab.

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2. Click Share.

Trap: Note that in order to share a workbook by sending a Link; you must first save the
workbook on a shared network location like SharePoint. If you have not done this, the Get
a Link option will not be visible as a Share option.

Click Get a Sharing Link, and in the right-hand pane, select Create Link from either the
View Link section or the Edit Link section, depending on the permissions that you set.

3. Once the link has been created under Shared links, right-click the new link and select
Copy Link.

4. Open a new email and paste the link into it. When you’re done composing your email, click
Send.

Tip: To email the link to a contact, click on the contact/s under the Shared with heading
and click the envelope.

Sharing a workbook via Social Networks

Post your document online to your social network of choice.

1. Navigate to and click on the File tab.

2. Click Share.

Trap: Note that in order to share a workbook via Social Networks like Facebook or
LinkedIn; you will need to have activated Social Connector under your Outlook Account
Settings before you will be able to share workbooks via Social Networks.

3. Click Post to Social Networks, and in the right-hand pane select the social network you
wish to post to.

4. Set the permissions of the people who have access to the document by selecting Can

view or Can edit from the drop-down.

5. Include a personal message in the message box (optional).

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Click Post.

Protect Worksheets and Workbooks:

Protecting a Workbook:
Protect entire workbooks from being viewed or modified, as well as protect the structure
of workbooks and the position of workbook windows.

Add password protection:

Set a password so only authorized users can open a workbook.

1. Open the workbook to protect.

2. Click the File tab on the Ribbon and select Info.

The options under the Info sections appear.

3. Click the Protect Workbook button and select Encrypt with Password.
The Encrypt Document dialog box appears.
4. Enter the password to use and click OK.
The Confirm Password dialog box appears.
5. Re-enter the password and click OK.
From now on, Excel requires a password before opening the protected workbook.
Tips:

 To change or remove a password, repeat the workbook protection steps and simply change
or delete the password in the Encrypt Document dialog box.

Protect workbook structure and windows

Secure a workbook’s structure against changes, such as sheets being added or deleted.
1. Click the Review tab on the Ribbon and click the Protect Workbook button in the Changes
group.
The Protect Structure and Windows dialog box appears. Select to protect workbook
structure, windows, or both.
Other Ways to Protect a Workbook: Click the File tab on the Ribbon and select the Info
tab. Click the Protect Workbook button and select Protect Workbook Structure from the
list.
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2. Select the option(s) to use and enter a password.

3. Click OK.
The Confirm Password dialog box appears.

4. Enter the password again and click OK.

The structure and/or windows of the workbook are protected.

Tip: To unprotect the workbook structure or windows, click the Review tab on the Ribbon
and click the Protect Workbook button in the Changes group. Enter the password and click
OK.

Tips:
 Use passwords that combine upper and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols.

Besides protecting a workbook with a password, apply worksheet protection to individual

worksheets and worksheet elements.

Protecting Worksheets and Worksheet Elements:

Prevent unauthorized changes to data by protecting worksheets. In a protected worksheet,
none of its contents—cells or other elements—can be changed. However, it’s possible to
prepare the worksheet so that certain cells and elements can be changed after it is
protected.

Make cells editable in a protected worksheet:

If there are cells that users should be able to change in a protected worksheet, prepare the
worksheet by unlocking the cells.

1. Display the worksheet to protect.

2. Click the Home tab on the Ribbon; click the Format button in the Cells group.

Tip: Notice that “Lock Cell” near the bottom of the list is highlighted. This indicates that
the cells are ready to be locked once the sheet is protected. Unlock the cells so they are
editable.

3. Select Lock Cell.

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Now when the sheet is protected, the cell range won’t be locked.

Tip: Locking and unlocking cells only takes effect once the sheet is protected.

Other Ways to Unlock/Lock Cells: Select the desired cell(s), click the Home tab on
the Ribbon, click the Format button in the Cells group and select Format Cells. Click the

Protection tab. Remove the check mark from the Locked option and click OK.

Make graphics editable in a protected worksheet:

Before protecting the worksheet, unlock any graphic objects that users may need to be
able to modify.

1. Select each object to remain unlocked after having protected the sheet.

The Drawing Tools contextual tab appears.

2. Under Drawing Tools on the Ribbon, click the Format tab and click the Dialog Box

Launcher in the Size group.

Click the Properties tab and uncheck the Locked and Lock text options, as desired.

Click Close.

Hide formulas in a protected worksheet:

Prevent certain formulas from being displayed once the worksheet has been protected.

1. Select the cells containing formulas to hide.

2. Click the Home tab on the Ribbon, click the Format button in the Cells group and select

Format Cells.

The Format Cells dialog box appears.

3. Click the Protection tab, click the Hidden check box and click OK.

Protect a worksheet:
Once finished preparing the worksheet, it’s time to protect the worksheet.
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1. Click the Review tab on the Ribbon and click the Protect Sheet button in the Changes

group.

The Protect Sheet dialog box appears.

Other Ways to Protect the Sheet: Right-click the sheet tab and select Protect
Sheet from the contextual menu.

2. Enter a password in the text box.

Tip: A password isn’t strictly necessary in order to protect the worksheet, but if one is not
entered, anyone can unprotect the sheet.

3. Select the items that users need to be able to change in the “Allow all users of this
worksheet to:” list and click

OK.
The worksheet is protected.

Tip: To unprotect a worksheet, right-click the sheet tab and select Unprotect Sheet
from the contextual menu.