Protection - Allowing update links & Auditing

C

Carl Nicholson

We have a large spreadsheet sent down from HO (3700 lines x 12 columns). The sheet is protected, but I cannot get myself to become just another DC clerk so normally I just crack the sheet protection then update my links, use auditing, find&replace etc.etc. A collegue returned the file to the owner without protection.... now we aren't allowed to crack the password.

Is there a way to protect the sheet but still allow the update links and auditing function to be used by users?
 
A

Andy Wiggins

It must have been protected for a reason and I'm guessing it's to stop
changes being made so that later processes aren't corrupted.

I suggest you make changes according to the rules that HO have given you :)

--
Regards
Andy Wiggins
www.BygSoftware.com
Home of "Save and BackUp",
"The Excel Auditor" and "Byg Tools for VBA"



Carl Nicholson said:
We have a large spreadsheet sent down from HO (3700 lines x 12 columns).
Click to expand...
The sheet is protected, but I cannot get myself to become just another DC
clerk so normally I just crack the sheet protection then update my links,
use auditing, find&replace etc.etc. A collegue returned the file to the
owner without protection.... now we aren't allowed to crack the password.
Is there a way to protect the sheet but still allow the update links and
Click to expand...
auditing function to be used by users?
 
V

Vaughan

Carl

Do you need to derive data from the worksheet, or ar you required to fill data into the worksheet?

If the former, you can still reference any cell in the sheet from another worksheet regardless of protection.

If the former, then what I did in similar circumstances is make an identical copy of the return, do all my work on the copy (obviously keeping the structure unchanged) then create a relative link in the HO worksheet in one of the unprotected cells to the same cell in my copy, and then filled that formula into all the unprotected cells. Specifically, what I did was this:

- Select the whole protected sheet by clicking the button in the top left corner.
- Pressed tab to take the focus to the first unprotected cell.
- Typed "=" and created the link to my copy (pressing F4 three times before filling to remove all the "$" signs)
- Pressed Cntrl+Enter to fill the formula into all the unprotected cells.
- Ignored the message saying I was trying to edit a protected cell (I didn't mind about that.
- Then returned the spreadsheet with links and all.
 
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