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We have a team working on Excel files online (in the browser). The files:
I have one user who randomly cannot edit unlocked cells on a protected sheet, receiving the error message "This sheet is protected. Some parts may be view-only and can't be changed". The unlocked cells are surrounded by locked cells, and some of the unlocked cells are merged. The issue could appear when opening a file and then not be present when the file is opened again later. It is not specific to any particular file; it can happen to any file.
It's interesting to note that all other users with the same permissions can simultaneously work on these files without the issue, even while the user in question is experiencing the block/issue. Also, the user is able to edit cells with the same protection set up on other sheets, but could later be blocked on these same sheets when re-opening the file at another time. Recreating this issue is not consistent.
The cells locked/unlocked property has been set via 'Protection' tab in the 'Format Cells' dialog in Excel desktop. The sheet's protection has also been set in the desktop app.
I have tried:
Any ideas for why this particular user may be experiencing this issue?
A family of Microsoft spreadsheet software with tools for analyzing, charting, and communicating data
Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.
I have the same problem in our company. Is there any information when it'll be fixed?
Hi Everyone,
We encountered same issue - files in use for a while, recently blocked editing unlocked cells on a protected worksheet, but only in online mode (browser and teams), everything worked fine in app.
The solution I found is to open the file in browser, go to Review tab, then Manage Protection.
In the pane that will pop up on the right-hand side, type in the worksheet password, then in the section Unlocked Ranges add the ranges that should be unprotected.
Hope this helps!
Editing as I see now that DavePorter1 recommended a similar solution before
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> I have the same issue. Unprotected cells in Excel Office 365 are editable in the desktop version of Excel but not when shared via link online. Error to users indicate that sheet is protected even though the cell they are editing is unprotected. The only way to allow online users to edit the already unprotected cells is to view the file Online (can't use desktop version) and use the Manage Protection option when right-clicking the sheet name. Select the unprotected range and apply. Because of the number of files I share, this would be extremely time consuming.
I will do it.
Thank you for providing detailed information about the issue. Based on the information provided, it seems that the issue is specific to the user's account.
Is it possible to create a new user account and migrate all the information to new account?
If you need to find what's wrong in that account, you may need to create a support ticket.
Please contact your admin/IT department create a support ticket via Microsoft 365 Admin Center> Support> New service request. Support team there will have the correct channel and resources to help you investigate more and find what exactly the reason has caused this situation.
i have same issue . can you update on this when this bug resolve from MS.
I am having reports of the same issue. It is impacting only a few accounts but all Excel files in the browser prevent access to certain (not all and it appears different between different users) unprotected cells. I have spreadsheets that have been operating for over two years without issue. The first report I had was today. Many of my users do not have access to desktop applications in Excel as they have Business Basic licenses. The only way around this seems to be to go through every tab in every file and turn the protection off (with all the problems that will cause with inadvertent changes).