How to only allow changes to certain cells in Excel?

In some cases, you don’t want your worksheet to be changed except certain cells in Excel, what can you do to achieve it? Actually, formatting these certain cells to unlock status and protecting the worksheet with password can solve this problem.

Only allow changes to certain cells with Excel build-in feature
Only allow changes to certain cells with Kutools for Excel

Only allow changes to certain cells with Excel build-in feature

You can use the Format Cells feature and the Protect Sheet feature to only allow changes to certain cells in Excel.

1. Select the cells which you only allow to change in a worksheet, right click on the selected cells, and then click Format Cells from the right-clicking menu. See screenshot:

2. In the Format Cells dialog box, go to the Protection tab, uncheck the Locked box, and then click the OK button.

3. Click Review > Protect Sheet. See screenshot:

4. Enter your password into the Protect Sheet dialog box, and confirm this password in the Conform Password dialog box.

Now changes only be allowed to the unlocked cells in this worksheet. If you change other cells except the unlocked ones, you will get a dialog box as below screenshot shown.

Only allow changes to certain cells with Kutools for Excel

The Design tab of Kutools for Excel gathers the unlock cells and the protect sheet utilities. You can simplify the steps with these two utilities under one tab. Please do as follows.

1. Firstly, you should enable the Design tab with clicking Kutools Plus > Worksheet Design.

2. Select the cells you only want to make changes in current worksheet, and then click Selection Unlock under the Design tab. See screenshot:

3. Then a dialog box is popping up to tell you how many cells have been unlocked, please close this dialog box. Go ahead to click Protect Sheet under Design tab, enter your password into the Protect Sheet dialog box and confirm it in the Confirm Password dialog box. See screenshot:

The worksheet has been protected, and only your unlocked cells can be modified by other users.