Double protecting a worksheet

[Lost_in_Excel]

Hi all

I'm developing a planning tool for multiple areas. I've got it to do what I want and I've protected it appropriately. The tool needs to be available to a large number of people but there are a few columns with sensitive data (salary, etc) that I'd like to be visible to only a few people.

My question. Is there a way to have two (or more) levels of protection. One to lock the sheet down to prevent the formula being changed and a separate level of protection to allow columns to be hidden/unhidden whilst leaving the formula protection untouched.

Thanks for any help.

 

[Joe4]

You probably aren't going to want to hear this, but if you have sensitive data that you really do not want people to see, Excel is probably not the answer for you.
Excel's security is pretty poor. Even with using the built-in security features, security can be hacked by anyone willing to to do a little research on the internet.

And hiding columns certainly wouldn't be the answer anyway. Let's say you managed to hide and protect column A so no one can see it.
All they have to do is enter a formula like this:

=A1

in any other column, and then can see what is in column A.

If security is a prime concern, Excel may not be the tool for you.

 

[Lost_in_Excel]

You probably aren't going to want to hear this, but if you have sensitive data that you really do not want people to see, Excel is probably not the answer for you.
Excel's security is pretty poor. Even with using the built-in security features, security can be hacked by anyone willing to to do a little research on the internet.

And hiding columns certainly wouldn't be the answer anyway. Let's say you managed to hide and protect column A so no one can see it.
All they have to do is enter a formula like this:

=A1

in any other column, and then can see what is in column A.

If security is a prime concern, Excel may not be the tool for you.

Thanks

I know Excel isn't the perfect solution for this but it's what most people are familiar with. I was hoping for an all in one solution but I can set up a secondary spreadsheet with the sensitive data that draws non-sensitive data from the 1st sheet.

 

[Joe4]

Yeah, I love Excel, and it is great and what it does. It is just that security isn't one of those things it does great.

I would think that your latest idea may be good, especially if you put that other file in a restricted folder that only certain people have access to.