Excel – Allow Certain Users to Edit Cells Range


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Excel offers you an ability to assign user-level permissions to different areas on a protected spreadsheet. You can specify which users (usually local or Active Directory ones) can edit a particular range while the spreadsheet is protected.

In general, a protected workbook cannot be edited by others unless they have the password. But sometimes, you may allow certain users to edit a cells range of the protected workbook. Now, following this tutorial, you can get this operation done in Excel.

Before you allow certain users to edit the range of cells, you should make sure that the workbook has not been protected.

Open the worksheet you want certain users to edit cells range, and click Review > Allow Users to Edit Ranges. See the following screenshot:

Excel - Allow Certain Users to Edit Cells Range

In the Allow Users to Edit Ranges dialog, click New button. See the following screenshot:

Excel - Allow Certain Users to Edit Cells Range

Then a New Range dialog pops out, and type the name for the range can be edited in the Title text box, and select the range by click the Collapse dialog button, and enter the password into the Range password dialog.

Note: If you do not enter the password, anyone can edit the range. See the following screenshot:

Excel - Allow Certain Users to Edit Cells Range

Click Permissions. A Permissions for Range1 (Range1 is the name you type into the Title text box in the previous step) dialog pops out, click Add to open Select Users or Groups dialog, and then type the user’s name you will allow to edit the range. See the following screenshots:

Excel - Allow Certain Users to Edit Cells Range

If the name you typed can’t be found, please click the Advanced button in the Select Users or Groups dialog firstly, secondly click the Find Now button in the new dialog, next click to highlight a user or user group from the Search Results box, and then click the OK button. See screen shot below:

Excel - Allow Certain Users to Edit Cells Range

Then click OK to close Select Users or Groups dialog, and you can see the user name has been added into the Permissions for Range1 dialog, and you can define whether this user needs the password to edit the range or not. See the following screenshot:

Excel - Allow Certain Users to Edit Cells Range

Click OK > OK, then a dialog pops out for you to re-enter the password for confirm. This is required by Excel to be sure that no unauthorized user is bypassing the password using this method (for example modifying an already opened file that is using this kind of protection). See the following screenshot:

Excel - Allow Certain Users to Edit Cells Range

Click OK to close the dialog. At this point you will have to come back to Allow Users to Edit Ranges dialog, and you can click Protect Sheet to protect the sheet, or you can close it by clicking OK.

Excel - Allow Certain Users to Edit Cells Range

Changing Passwords

If you need to change a password simply:

  • Go to the Review tab > Click Unprotect Sheet > enter your password.
  • Again, on the Review tab > Allow Users to Edit Ranges.
  • Click on the range you want to edit > Modify > Password > enter your new password:

Excel - Allow Certain Users to Edit Cells Range

Another Example

For example, you want to allow user to edit range A2:A9, without specifying users explicitly, which is Name column and protect all other cells of this worksheet:

Excel - Allow Certain Users to Edit Cells Range

Now select the range A2:A9:

Excel - Allow Certain Users to Edit Cells Range

As specified before, go to Review > Changes field and select Allow Users to Edit Ranges.

Excel - Allow Certain Users to Edit Cells Range

Excel will launch dialog box. Generally Excel will automatically takes the selected range. If not, click on New and select required range for editing in protected sheet. You can add more than one range.

Excel - Allow Certain Users to Edit Cells Range

Now, to provide password click on the Protect Sheet button. Provide password and click on check box for the things you want to allow users to do.

Excel - Allow Certain Users to Edit Cells Range

Once inserted the wanted password, on the Confirm Password window click OK.

Excel - Allow Certain Users to Edit Cells Range

Now the result will be that you can now edit cells from A2 to A9. Here we have changed a name, but if you try to edit any other cell, Excel will display an error message.

Notes

  1. Keep the password in mind and in a safe place (especially if your file is important) because, after you set it, you will not be able to edit the workbook and there will be not-so-fast methods to recover the password, and it is clear that will bring you a lot of inconvenience.
  2. Besides, users could set multiple editable ranges, and you could set different passwords for different ranges. And let different authorized people edit in different ranges. For example, in the "Employee Info" workbook, you could set different editable ranges for different departments, such as Human Resource, Business, or Sales department. So that different department can only edit in their relative ranges.
  3. The password is optional. If you don't supply a password, then any user can unprotect the sheet and change the protected elements.