protect hidden column

I have a "review" column on a daily activity worksheet and for obvious reasons I want to hide that column from prying eyes. can i hide a column and make it so a password has to be used to unhide it?

I cant just password protect the whole sheet as some of the guys need to look at it, but i still want everything on one sheet.

Not sure what version of Excel you are using but with Excel 2003 upward, you can unlock the cells but protect the sheet so your hidden columns cannot become unhidden. Is this what you are asking? Do you want the users to do more than just enter data; ie delete rows, format cells, etc?

oh im sorry, im using 2002 at work but i have 2007 at home. for this issue it is 2002. I want to be able to let my employees look at the sheet but to not be able to unhide the hidden column.

they will not be entering any data at all, just looking at it.

You should be able to protect the worksheet from the toolbar except I don't have 2002 so not sure where it'd be located. That will lock the cells and won't let them mess with the sheet, just view it.

ok, maybe im not explaining it well.

I can protect the whole sheet, but i dont want to. I want to only protect the hidden column. so you would have to have a password to unhide the hidden column.

If the individuals won't be entering data or changing the formatting, what is your objection to protecting the sheet? Everyone will still be able to open it without a password, they just wouldn't be able to unhide the column.

because if i close it and they need to open it to reference it while im not here then they cant.
if I leave it open and they reference it while im away they can unhide the hidden column and see what im writing in the "review" column, and i dont want to have a seperate workbook for reviews. I just want to know if it can be done, thats all.

can i password protect a hidden column.....thats all, it would be a real cool feature to add or write a macro for if you cant.

If you protect a worksheet (not a workbook) from the menu bar within the workbook, it does not prevent the user from opening the workbook/worksheet. It just prevents them from modifying it.

so then is that your way of saying NO you cant do that lol if so thank you for the help.

Tregrad,

Short answer: "NO you cannot protect just one column." Satisfied?

You can protect the worksheet that column is on, which will allow users to open the workbook, view that worksheet and make any edits to cells you have marked as unlocked, but that's it. Without the un-protect password (or a hack) they won't be able to see your hidden column. Not sure what you are not understanding about having other users open your workbook without being able to see your hidden reviews...

For what it is worth. It is you who are failing to understand what is being said here. You can do what you are looking to do , but it does not involve just locking one column. Please read the answers given to you again.

Here is an example of what ChemistB and Paul are saying. To unlock the sheet, enter the password that you would use on your luggage. The password is "12345".

And referance for the password.

ok, i got what you gys are getting at but now i have another problem, I cant for the life of me unprotect the workbook or sheet. I can set a password to protect it but then when i unprotect it, it is still asking me for a password to open the workbook?
sorry to be a pain in the ****, just trying to learn this stuff.

have you considered putting your review on a seperate sheet, and then hiding and protecting that 1 and just leaving the other 1 "open"?

If Excel is asking for a password to open a workbook, that password is set in the general tools when you "Save As" If you didn't set one there, then someone else did. To see what I am talking about. With an open workbook (a blank one is fine), do a "Save As" In the "Save as" window, at the bottom will be a "Tools" dropdown. Click on "General Options" and if there are *'s in either text box, clear them out and hit OK. Did that help?

Thank You Chem B that was it. most appreciated.

sorry double post