Let user edit sheet, but no permission to download or copy

Hi experts,

I have the following use case:

I have developed a fairly complicated model that does some calculations. I want users to be able to use this model, which means they must be able to input some data so they can see output specific to their situation.

But I do not want them to be able to unhide sheets I have hidden, make a local copy of the workbook or download it as an Excel file. In other words, I want the inner workings of the model to remain secret and only expose its output, but this requires the user to be able to make some inputs. These inputs would be fairly limited - essentially adding some rows in a table.

It appears as if there is no easy way to customise Google Sheets permissions to make this possible.

Can it be done using custom scripts or is there any other workaround you can think of?

Many thanks!

1) You can use VBA to hide your sheets, being sure to employ the VeryHidden option, meaning the sheets cannot be unhidden by hand, but only via VBA.

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2) You can protect your VBAproject with a password so no one can even see the names of the hidden sheets nor the code you have hidden in there for hiding/unhiding the code.

3) You will also need code to disable the SAVE AS function. In the ThisWorkbook module:

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4) Final caveat: as with all "locks", they only keep honest people honest. Any dishonest person with even a little bit of desire will be able to crack into your workbook any number of ways. Excel, like a padlock, is only mildly secure.


Apologies, I just noticed this is an "Other platforms" forum question. Let me know if you want this answer deleted.