- Jun 10
Selecting a Locked Cell in Excel
- Neale Blackwood
- Tips & Shortcuts
- 0 comments
When you protect a sheet in Excel there is a setting to stop users from selecting locked cells. This means when the sheet is protected, they can’t use the keyboard or mouse to select a locked cell. But you can still select a locked cell in a protected sheet – see how.
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1 min read
In the image below I have unlocked the four yellow cells. The other cells are still locked.
When I use the Protect Sheet icon in the Review ribbon tab, I can untick the Select locked cells option (first option) and click OK. You don’t need to a password to protect a sheet.
Now you can’t get out of the yellow cells using the mouse or keyboard – or can you?
Name Box
The Name Box has a few secret techniques, and this is another. The Name Box is on the left of the Formula Bar.
Typing A1 in the Name Box and pressing Enter will select cell A1 – image below.
Not sure if this is a bug or a feature.


