Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Excel in Microsoft 365. If you are using an earlier version (Excel 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Excel, click here: Visually Showing a Protection Status.

Visually Showing a Protection Status

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated January 22, 2022)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Excel in Microsoft 365


1

Todd has developed a workbook used by others. To prevent data from being ruined, he's protected the worksheet as well as the workbook. The problem is, Todd sometimes forgets to protect the worksheet and workbook after making changes. He is wondering if there is a way to create a visual indicator that shows whether the worksheet/workbook is currently protected or unprotected.

Of course, the easiest way to check to see if something is unprotected is to just start looking at the tools on the various ribbon tabs. If the full range of tools is there, then the worksheet and workbook are unprotected. If there are significant numbers of tools that are unavailable ("grayed out"), then protection is turned on.

Another easy solution is to create a user-defined function that returns a value indicating whether the workbook or worksheet are protected. The following will do the trick:

Function WksProtected(rng As Range) As String
    Application.Volatile
    If rng.Parent.ProtectContents Then
        WksProtected = "Protected"
    Else
        WksProtected = "Not Protected"
    End If
End Function
Function WkbProtected(rng As Range) As String
    Application.Volatile
    If rng.Parent.Parent.ProtectStructure Then
        WkbProtected = "Protected"
    Else
        WkbProtected = "Not Protected"
    End If
End Function

To use the macros, just include formulas like the following anywhere in the worksheet:

=WksProtected(A1)
=WkbProtected(A1)

The result of the formulas is either "Protected" or "Not Protected," depending on the state of the worksheets and workbook. You could use conditional formatting to highlight the cells based on what is returned by the functions.

Remember: The value from the functions is only updated if the worksheet is recalculated. If all you do is protect (or unprotect) the worksheet, that doesn't result in the worksheet being recalculated. So to see the proper results after changing the protection status, you'll need to make sure you recalculate the worksheet.

Note:

If you would like to know how to use the macros described on this page (or on any other page on the ExcelTips sites), I've prepared a special page that includes helpful information. Click here to open that special page in a new browser tab.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (9639) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Excel in Microsoft 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Visually Showing a Protection Status.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Counting Characters in Text Boxes

When you do a word count, the value that is returned does not include any text contained in text boxes. This may not be a ...

Discover More

Turning Off Worksheet Tabs

Look at the bottom of a worksheet and chances are you will see tabs for all the worksheets in the current workbook. Want ...

Discover More

Printing Just the Changes and Comments

Word allows you to use its Track Changes feature to add markup to your document. This is great when you have a group of ...

Discover More

Best-Selling VBA Tutorial for Beginners Take your Excel knowledge to the next level. With a little background in VBA programming, you can go well beyond basic spreadsheets and functions. Use macros to reduce errors, save time, and integrate with other Microsoft applications. Fully updated for the latest version of Office 365. Check out Microsoft 365 Excel VBA Programming For Dummies today!

More ExcelTips (ribbon)

Inserting and Deleting Rows in a Protected Worksheet

You've protected and saved your worksheet with explicit instructions that you be allowed to insert and delete rows. But ...

Discover More

Stopping Worksheets from being Reprotected

Securing worksheets and workbooks is a big concern for many people. If you password-protect a worksheet, you expect that ...

Discover More

Stopping a Worksheet from being Moved or Copied

Want to stop a user from moving or copying a worksheet? This task (like many) can be more complex than one would hope. ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is five more than 3?

2022-01-22 11:18:16

J. Woolley

My Excel Toolbox includes the following function to return the protection status (TRUE/FALSE) of Target's worksheet or workbook:
=IsProtected([Choice],[Target])
Choice for a worksheet is Contents (default), Shapes, Interface, or Scenarios
and Choice for a workbook is Sheets (structure) or Windows.
Target's default is the formula's cell.
The Tip's two example formulas are equivalent to the following:
=IF(IsProtected("contents",A1),"","Not")&" Protected"
=IF(IsProtected("sheets",A1),"","Not")&" Protected"

My Excel Toolbox also includes this dynamic array function to return the status of the 12 protection options for the formula cell's worksheet:
=ListProtectionOptions()
In older versions of Excel you can use it with the SpillArray function like this:
=SpillArray(ListProtectionOptions())
See https://sites.google.com/view/MyExcelToolbox/


This Site

Got a version of Excel that uses the ribbon interface (Excel 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the menu interface.

Newest Tips
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.