1. Lock data: restrict user edit permission ✏️
Scenario
As a store manager, I need to track product sales volume and revenue, so I created a Mooncake Sales List for store staff to fill in together. However, I want only myself and the deputy manager to be able to edit the Sales Volume, Unit Price, and Amount columns, while everyone else can only view them. The Lock feature lets you set this up.Steps
Confirm the lock area
Select the cell range you want to lock. For example, in the scenario above, you need to lock the three columns Sales Volume, Unit Price, and Amount. Select the three columns, then click Toolbar — More — Lock — Lock Cell or Right-click menu — Lock Cell to configure the lock rules.Configure the lock rules
After clicking Lock Cell as described above, the Lock Cell dialog appears. Configure the rules in the panel:- Cell range: Confirm or modify the cell range you want to lock. Click the edit icon to change the selection.
- Add specified users: Add users who have permission to the current range. The process is the same as setting document permissions. Click Add to select from the list of existing document collaborators, or search directly to add users.
- In the scenario above, as the store manager and the Owner of the spreadsheet, I appear in the specified user list by default. I need to add Deputy Manager Silai and grant him edit permission. Other users can only view.
Notes
- The document Owner and Admins appear in the range dialog by default and cannot be modified, because they hold the highest document permissions.
- When adding specified users, only Admins and the Owner can add users from outside the document.
- When adding external users, you must first grant them overall document permissions, then set their cell range permissions. Permissions follow the inheritance principle: for the same user, cell range permission ≤ overall document permission.
2. Lock data: restrict user view permission 👁
Scenario
As a store manager, I need to track product sales volume and revenue, so I created a Mooncake Sales List for store staff to fill in together. However, I want only myself and the deputy manager to be able to edit the Sales Volume, Unit Price, and Amount columns, while everyone else is blocked from viewing them to prevent core data leaks. The Lock feature also handles this.Steps
Confirm the lock area
The same as Restrict user edit permission. First, select the cell range you want to lock, then click Toolbar — More — Lock — Lock Cell or Right-click menu — Lock Cell to configure the lock rules.Configure the lock rules
In the scenario above, as the store manager and the Owner of the spreadsheet, I appear in the specified user list by default. I need to add the Deputy Manager and grant him edit permission, while setting other users to No View.Notes
- After No View is set, users without view permission cannot view the range data. They also cannot download or copy spreadsheet data, view History, or retrieve the locked cell data through Formulas.
- The Find / Replace feature ignores locked range data by default.
3. View and manage existing lock rules
- All collaborators on the spreadsheet can view the lock rules in the spreadsheet.
- Only the creator of a lock rule, the Admin, or the Owner of the spreadsheet can manage (edit and modify) the lock rule.
- To view and manage: select the locked range and click Right-click menu — View existing locked ranges, or click Toolbar — More — Lock — View existing locked ranges. The Lock panel opens and shows all lock rules in the current worksheet.
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