To Protect or Unprotect an Area
You protect an area in order to prevent its intentional or accidental editing or deletion.
To Protect an Area
1. Select an unprotected area that you want to protect. The area can be collapsed or expanded.
2. Right-click the 
or 
icon. A menu opens.
or icon. A menu opens.3. Click the Protect Area icon 
. The Protect Area dialog window opens.
. The Protect Area dialog window opens.4. To protect the area without a password:
a. Leave the Password (optional): and the Reenter password: fields blank.
b. Click Protect Area to start area protection without a password.
The Protect Area dialog window closes, the string Protected Area appears above the top-left corner of the area.
5. To protect the area with a password:
a. Enter a password in the Password (optional): field, and reenter it in the Reenter password: field.
b. Click Protect Area to start area protection with a password.
The Protect Area dialog window closes, and the string Password Protected Area appears above the top-left corner of the area.
To Unprotect an Area
1. Select a protected area that you want to unprotect. The area can be collapsed or expanded.
2. Right-click the or icon. A menu opens.
or icon. A menu opens.3. Click the Unprotect Area icon 
. The Unprotect Area dialog window opens.
. The Unprotect Area dialog window opens.4. If the area is password protected, then enter the password in the Password: field.
5. Click Unprotect Area to remove area protection.
The string Protected Area or Password Protected Area disappears from the top-left corner of the area.
Options Available While Protecting an Area
You can add a timestamp to an area or lock its display state.
• If Show timestamp is checked, then the timestamp is displayed above the area according to the format defined in your system’s Region and Language dialog. This timestamp is fixed and does not change if the worksheet containing the area is opened in a different time-zone. Therefore, you can use the timestamp to help colleagues in different time-zones identify a specific area in your shared worksheet.
• If you choose to lock the area display state, then the or icons are replaced by the 
icon. The display state is locked according to the selected option in the corresponding drop-down menu, either collapsed or expanded (for example, if the unprotected area is in the expanded state and you choose Collapsed from the Lock the area display state: drop down menu, then the area is protected in the collapsed state). To re-expand or re-collapse your area, you must first unprotect it.
or icons are replaced by the icon. The display state is locked according to the selected option in the corresponding drop-down menu, either collapsed or expanded (for example, if the unprotected area is in the expanded state and you choose Collapsed from the Lock the area display state: drop down menu, then the area is protected in the collapsed state). To re-expand or re-collapse your area, you must first unprotect it.The Lock the area display state: checkbox is selected by default.