Can cell tab order be set in a protected worksheet?

While this may not be the most elegant or efficient method, I have created a simple overnight shipment form in Excel97. I am simply using various worksheet cells as entry fields, which I have unlocked. I then protected the worksheet to only make those cells available for data entry. I would like to be able to override the default tab order of left to right, and instead specify the exact order in which I want the fields(cells) to be tabbed to.
I thought I remembered being able to do something like this in an earlier version, but am at a loss as to how, or even if, it was done.
Any ideas or advice?
Thanks,
Steve