How To Lock Cells In Google Sheets | Complete Tutorial

One of the features of Google Sheets is its ability to lock a cell. Having that feature removed means you no longer have to worry about the others messing up your data without your consent. However, today we are going to learn the best way to do that.

Throughout this section, we’ll walk you step by step through it, so we’ll explain our reasoning behind the decision to lock columns first, as well as why you’d want to create reports using Google Sheets.

How To Lock Cells In Google Sheets

What Does Locking Cells Mean?

Locked cells make sure that only the right people can read files contained within that specific part of the dictionary. Different methods are used to accomplish this, depending on the recorder application used.

Essentially, this kind of security is different from other types of safeguards against tampering recorder files. For instance, it makes sure that only a certain amount isn’t tampered with rather than locking the entire document.

There are cases where it may not just be the cells, but the entire report will be unavailable. Likewise, with tools like Google Sheet, you will find cases in which shareable access may be achieved. But it is possible to restrict access to as little a number of people as possible.

However, cells that are locked can not be accessed by anyone but are the only cells locked. The rest of the sheet is accessible, and any other locked cells are free.

What Are the Benefits of Locking Cells in Your Spreadsheet?

It’s all about maintaining high quality, reliability, and accuracy in the report, that’s why locking cells is so important. Doing so prevents the introduction of inaccurate data into the report, whether sabotaged accidentally or intentionally.

It is crucial to consider that in circumstances where a report could greatly affect the future of a massive business. In the event that a report contains errors from the decimal point, the results could be very disastrous for the bottom line. The fact of the matter is that an additional anti-virus is rather easy to overlook if the document recorder already collects significant amounts of data.

You can use this to protect your sensitive accounts and the information they hold if nothing else. Even if you don’t pay attention, this will ensure that you won’t ruin them if you are not paying attention. A written report doesn’t have to be caused by an evildoer for it to be called a waste of paper; it may as well have been generated by human error.

Step by Step Method: How to lock cells in Google Sheets

Click on the Google Sheet document to open it

Choose either an existing Google Sheet document or create a new one, but keep the report important for the latter. You might end up screwing this up if you choose the former.

Click on Named Range

The Data menu on the taskbar can be displayed once the document is opened. Once the data menu is displayed, you can select the Named ranges option in the dropdown.

Set Named Range

Using the Named Ranges editor, you can type the name of the cell you want to lock, along with the cell address where it should be placed.

Named Ranges and Protected Sheets

After creating the name for the cell, you can then choose Protected Sheets and Named Ranges from the dropdown menu on the Data menu that appears on the taskbar.

Setting Protected Sheets and Named Ranges

When the Protected Sheets and Named Ranges editor is open, you select a cell and then click the Change Permissions button to lock it.

Set the permissions

After clicking the Change Permissions button, a window will appear with settings where you can then control who can access the cell.