Suddenly unable to leave a column of cells unlocked before adding protection to a sheet.

Question

In the last couple weeks Excel online has been unable to recognize my office script for leaving a column of cells unlocked and therefore editable after I password protect the sheet. The cells that should be unlocked in Excel online give this error, "This sheet is protected. Some parts may be view-only and can't be changed. The user now has to download the sheet to desktop app to be able to edit the unlocked cells on the protected sheet.

This script worked perfectly up until 12/10/2023. What changed?

Here is the script that was used:

sheet.getRange("F:F").getFormat().getProtection().setLocked(false);
sheet.getProtection().protect({ allowFormatColumns: true,}, "*******");

Answer 1

It seems like you are facing an issue with Excel online not recognizing your Office script for leaving a column of cells unlocked and editable after password-protecting the sheet. The cells that should be unlocked are giving an error message, “This sheet is protected. Some parts may be view-only and can’t be changed.” This issue can occur due to permission issues or syncing problems ¹²³.

To resolve this issue, you can try the following steps:

1. Check if the desktop folder is synced with OneDrive. If it is not synced, you can try syncing it again.
2. Check if the desktop folder is selected for backup in OneDrive settings. If it is not selected, you can select it and try syncing it again.
3. Check if the desktop folder has the necessary permissions. You can try giving your user account full control over the desktop folder ¹.
4. Try resetting OneDrive and then restarting it. This can help clear the cache and resolve any syncing issues ³.

If the above steps do not resolve the issue, you can try reaching out to the OneDrive support team for further assistance.

I hope this helps! Let me know if you have any other questions.