Excel gives you several ways to protect a workbook. You can require a password to open it, a password to change data, and a password for changing the file's structure—adding, deleting, or hiding worksheets.

We'll start with requiring passwords for opening the file and changing data.

Click File > Save As.
Click a location, such as Computer or your My Site web page.
Click a folder, such as Documents or one of the folders on your OneDrive, or click Browse.
In the Save As dialog box, go to the folder you want to use, then open the Tools list and click General Options.
The Tools list in the Save As box

You can enter either of two passwords here, one to open the file, another to change the file.

The General Options dialog box.

See the notes below for more.

IMPORTANT Write your passwords down and store them someplace safe. If you lose them, we honestly can't help you find them.

Enter your password, enter it again to confirm, and click OK.
NOTE To remove a password, follow the steps above and delete the password. Basically, just enter a blank password. You can do that for any type of password that you use in Excel.

To protect the structure of your workbook, do this:

Click Review > Protect Workbook.
Click Structure.
See the notes below for more about this option and the Windows option.

Enter a password in the Password box.
IMPORTANT Write your password down and store it someplace safe. If you lose it, we really can't help you find it.

Click OK, and retype the password to confirm it.

Excel gives you several ways to protect a workbook. You can require a password to open it, a password to change data, and a password for changing the file's structure—adding, deleting, or hiding worksheets.

We'll start with requiring passwords for opening the file and changing data.

Click File > Save As.
Click a location, such as Computer or your My Site web page.
Click a folder, such as Documents or one of the folders on your OneDrive, or click Browse.
In the Save As dialog box, go to the folder you want to use, then open the Tools list and click General Options.
The Tools list in the Save As box

You can enter either of two passwords here, one to open the file, another to change the file.

The General Options dialog box.

See the notes below for more.

IMPORTANT Write your passwords down and store them someplace safe. If you lose them, we honestly can't help you find them.

Enter your password, enter it again to confirm, and click OK.
NOTE To remove a password, follow the steps above and delete the password. Basically, just enter a blank password. You can do that for any type of password that you use in Excel.

To protect the structure of your workbook, do this:

Click Review > Protect Workbook.
Click Structure.
See the notes below for more about this option and the Windows option.

Enter a password in the Password box.
IMPORTANT Write your password down and store it someplace safe. If you lose it, we really can't help you find it.

Click OK, and retype the password to confirm it.