To prevent others from accidentally or unauthorizedly modifying data in our daily work, we often need to set protection for multiple Excel workbooks uniformly. Excel, as a widely used spreadsheet tool, is suitable for handling data such as financial statements and statistical reports. However, in general read-only mode, Excel allows modifications at will, with all cells being editable, which is not conducive to protecting important data.
In this situation, how should we enable worksheet protection to lock cells, allowing viewing while efficiently preventing changes to table data? This article introduces a method to batch-disable editing of Excel sheets by adding a restriction password, effectively protecting users' file data. Let's try it out together!
Preview of the effect when editing is restricted in Excel sheets
After processing:
Steps to batch add read-only restriction passwords to Xls and Xlsx files
1. Open [ HeSoft Doc Batch Tool ], select [Excel Tools] - [Add Password Protection to Excel].
2. Choose a method from [Add Files] or [Import Files from Folder] to import the Excel sheets you don't want others to modify. You can also drag and drop them into the area below. After confirming the files are correct, click Next.
3. Enter the settings options, activate the [Restrict Editing Password] button, select Read-only as the type, enter the password for removing the restriction below, and finally click Next again. Then click Browse and choose a save location for the new file.
4. After processing is complete, click the red path to open the folder and view the successfully password-protected Excel files.
The difference between adding a read-only password and adding a restriction password in Excel
Functions and characteristics of adding a read-only password
In Excel, after adding a read-only password, users can still modify the content when opening the file, but direct saving to the original file is prohibited. When the viewer opens the file with the read-only password, although they can change cell contents, they can only use "Save As" to save the file as a new one and cannot overwrite the original file. This method is typically used when the file needs to be viewed by others but you want to protect the original file from modification, avoiding data loss due to misoperation.
Functions and characteristics of adding a restriction password
Unlike a regular read-only password, setting a restriction read-only password directly locks the content in the file, preventing anyone from making any modifications to the cells. Usually, when enabling the worksheet protection feature, we need to set protection in the file properties, then add a password to restrict editing permissions. When the file is opened, all cells are locked, and content cannot be changed unless the correct password is entered to unlock. Compared to a read-only password, a restriction password provides higher security, not only preventing misoperation but also effectively preventing arbitrary modification of the file, making it the best choice for data protection.