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You can easily add a password to an Excel spreadsheet from within the document's settings! If you don't have the latest edition of Excel, don't worry–you can password-protect documents in most renditions of Excel.
If you'd also like to know how to unprotect the sheet, check out the article How to Open a Password Protected Excel File.
Steps
Excel 2010/2013/2016
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1Open your Excel document.
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2Click File. This is in the top left corner of the screen.Advertisement
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3Click Protect Workbook.[1]
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4Click "Encrypt with Password".
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5Type in a password. Take care not to forget this password; if you lose it, you won't be able to open your file.
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6Click OK.
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7Re-enter your password.
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8Click OK.
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9Close your document. If prompted, click Save Changes first.
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10Re-open your document. You should see a field that reads "(YourFile).xlsx is protected".
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11Type in your password.
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12Click OK. If you typed in your password correctly, you should now have access to your document!
Excel 2007
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1Open your Excel document.
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2Click the "Review" tab.[2]
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3Click Protect Workbook. This is in the "Changes" section.
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4Check the "Structure" box. If you have also set up specific windows within the file, check the pertinent box as well.
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5Type in your password. You may need to do this twice.
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6Click OK. Your excel file is now password-protected! When you open it, you'll be asked to input your password.
Community Q&A
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QuestionI have made a sheet in Excel which contains 2000 names and addresses, so now I want to make this sequenced. First a, then after that b, c, etc. How do I do this?Sylvia SaltaformajoCommunity AnswerRight-click on the column you want to sort your sheet by. A menu will open. Hover over the "Sort" option in it. You will see another menu, click "Sort A to Z" in it.
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QuestionWhat do I do if I forgot the password?Sylvia SaltaformajoCommunity AnswerUnfortunately you can't recover forgotten passwords for MS Excel spreadsheets. You'll have to recreate a document or recover password using special software. You can find it online, there are many options: Password-Find, Password Lastic, Rixler password recovery, etc.
Warnings
- Write down your password somewhere so you don't forget it.⧼thumbs_response⧽
References
About This Article
1. Open the file.
2. Click File.
3. Click Protect Workbook.
4. Click Encrypt with Password.
5. Enter a password.
6. Click OK.
7. Close the document.
8. Reopen and enter the password.