How can you identify locked cells in Excel?

Question

Locked cells are highlighted with a specific colour.


Locked cells are formatted with a different font style.


Locked cells are displayed in a separate worksheet tab.


Locked cells have a lock icon displayed next to them.

Answer 1

In Excel, locked cells are not visually highlighted or formatted by default. Instead, you can identify locked cells through the following steps:

1. Check the Cell Format: By default, all cells are locked when the sheet protection is applied, but this does not affect their appearance until you protect the sheet. You can check the locked status by selecting the cell(s), right-clicking, choosing "Format Cells," and then going to the "Protection" tab.

2. Protecting the Sheet: When you protect the sheet, only the locked cells cannot be edited. However, there are no default visual indicators (such as color, font style, or icons) specifically marking locked cells.

3. Using Find and Select: You can use Excel's "Find and Select" feature to find locked cells. Go to the "Home" tab, click on "Find & Select," then choose "Go To Special." In the dialog box, select "Locked" and click "OK." Excel will highlight all locked cells.

In summary, none of the given options accurately describe how to identify locked cells in Excel. The correct way to identify them would be to either check the cell properties or use the "Go To Special" feature to select locked cells.