Lock Specific Cells in Excel Using Java

In Microsoft Excel, you can lock specific cells to prevent the data or formulas in them from being modified by other users. In this article, you will learn how to achieve this task programmatically using Free Spire.XLS for Java.

Install the free API (2 Method)

1# Download the free API and unzip it, then add the Spire.Xls.jar file to your project as dependency.
2# Directly add the jar dependency to maven project by adding the following configurations to the pom.xml.

<repositories>
    <repository>
        <id>com.e-iceblue</id>
        <name>e-iceblue</name>
        <url>http://repo.e iceblue.com/nexus/content/groups/public/</url>
    </repository>
</repositories>
<dependencies>
    <dependency>
        <groupId>e-iceblue</groupId>
        <artifactId>spire.xls.free</artifactId>
        <version>5.1.0</version>
    </dependency>
</dependencies>

Steps and Sample Code

Normally, the locked option is enabled for all cells in a worksheet. Therefore, all cells must be unlocked before locking a cell or a range of cells. Also kindly note that locking cells doesn’t take effect until the worksheet is protected.

1. Create an instance of Workbook class.
2. Load the Excel file using Workbook.loadFromFile() method.
3. Get the desired worksheet using Workbook.getWorksheets().get(sheetIndex) method.
4. Access the used range in the worksheet and then unlock all the cells in the range using XlsRange.getStyle().setLocked() method.
5. Access specific cells and then lock them using XlsRange.getStyle().setLocked() method.
6. Protect the worksheet using XlsWorksheetBase.protect() method.
7. Save the result file using Workbook.saveToFile() method.

import com.spire.xls.*;

import java.util.EnumSet;

public class LockCells {
    public static void main(String []args){
        //Create a Workbook instance
        Workbook workbook = new Workbook();
        //Load an Excel file
        workbook.loadFromFile("test.xlsx");

        //Get the first worksheet
        Worksheet sheet = workbook.getWorksheets().get(0);

        //Unlock all cells in the used range of the worksheet
        CellRange usedRange = sheet.getRange();
        usedRange.getStyle().setLocked(false);

        //Lock specific cells
        CellRange cells = sheet.getRange().get("D2:D9");
        cells.getStyle().setLocked(true);

        //Protect the worksheet with password
        sheet.protect("123456", EnumSet.of(SheetProtectionType.All));

        //Save the result file
        workbook.saveToFile("LockCells.xlsx", ExcelVersion.Version2016);
    }
}