lock formulas

Hi Johnny,

You cannot lock a "whole Sheet", nor can you lock a single cell..

You can lock an object on a sheet, preventing that object from being moved or edited.

"Objects" include text boxes, shapes, images, charts, and Tables.

To lock one or more formulas, the best path is to use two or more tables, organized to reserve one table for data entry and use the other for most calculations. The calculation table may be locked, preventing accidental damage to formulas on that table.

Locking the table where the calculation is done locks all the formulas on that Table, but has no effect limiting your entry or editing of data on the data entry table, and no effect preventing formulas on the locked table picking up information from the cells on the unlocked table where you entered them.

For an example, see the Personal Budget template in the Template Chooser.

The Transactions Sheet in that template contains an unlocked table where data is entered (and, in columns to the right of all data entry columns, some calculations are done.

The second Sheet contains a Summary table, Summary by Category, where, once the table has been set up, and until some long-term fixed values (category names, etc) require editing, no entry or editing activity is needed. This table (and the chart which the data on this table feeds) may be safely locked until such editing is needed.

Regards,

Barry