Protection in Blazor Spreadsheet component

23 Jul 20268 minutes to read

Sheet and workbook protection are used to prevent unauthorized modification of data within a sheet or the structure of a workbook.

Sheet Protection

The Protect Sheet support helps prevent accidental changes such as editing, moving, or deleting data. Protection is applied using the default protection settings.

Protecting a sheet via the UI

The active sheet can be protected using any of the following ways:

• Go to the Review tab in the Ribbon and select Protect Sheet.

• Right-click the sheet’s tab at the bottom of the workbook and select Protect Sheet from the context menu.

In the Protect Sheet dialog, perform the following steps:

1. Open the Sheet Options tab and select or deselect the actions that users are allowed to perform while the sheet is protected.

2. Click OK to apply the protection.

Protecting a sheet programmatically

The ProtectSheetAsync() method protects a specific worksheet using the default protection settings. This method provides a programmatic way to protect a sheet without using the UI. The available parameters in the ProtectSheetAsync() method are:

Parameter	Type	Description
sheetName	string (optional, default null)	Specifies the name of the sheet to protect. If null or empty, the entire workbook (all sheets and the workbook structure) is protected instead.

Examples

Index.razor

@page "/"
@using Syncfusion.Blazor.Spreadsheet
@using Syncfusion.Blazor.Buttons

<SfButton OnClick="ProtectHandler" Content="ProtectSheet"></SfButton>

<SfSpreadsheet @ref="SpreadsheetInstance">
    <SpreadsheetRibbon></SpreadsheetRibbon>
</SfSpreadsheet>

@code {

    public SfSpreadsheet SpreadsheetInstance;

    public async Task ProtectHandler()
    {
        // Protect a specific sheet by name.
        await SpreadsheetInstance.ProtectSheetAsync("Sheet1");
    }
}

Unlocking cells or ranges via the UI

To allow editing of specific cells or ranges in a protected sheet:

1. Open the Protect Sheet dialog from the Review tab in the Ribbon.

2. Select the Unlock Range tab.

3. Enter a unique Range Name in the corresponding field.

4. Enter the cell reference (for example, B2:D5) in the Range Value field.

5. Click Add Range to include the range in the unlocked-ranges list.

6. Optionally, repeat steps 3–5 to add additional unlocked ranges.

7. Click OK to apply the protection with the specified unlocked ranges. The selected ranges remain editable while the rest of the sheet stays protected.

Protection settings in a protected sheet

By default, when a sheet is protected, the actions listed below are restricted while cell selection and navigation remain allowed. The allowed-action set can be customized per sheet from the Sheet Options tab of the Protect Sheet dialog.

To enable specific functionalities while the sheet is protected:

• Open the Protect Sheet dialog from the Review tab.

• In the dialog, navigate to the Sheet Options tab to view available protection settings.

• Select or deselect the desired options to allow or restrict specific actions.

• Click OK to apply the protection settings.

The available protection settings in the Spreadsheet are listed below. Each setting applies to the sheet that is currently protected; settings are not shared between sheets in a workbook.

Options	Description
Select Cells	Allows cell selection.
Format Cells	Allows cell formatting.
Format Rows	Allows row formatting.
Format Columns	Allows column formatting.
Insert Columns	Allows inserting new columns.
Insert Rows	Allows inserting new rows.
Insert Hyperlinks	Allows adding hyperlinks.
Sort	Allows sorting data.
Filter	Allows filtering data.

Unprotect Sheet

The Unprotect Sheet support restores access to all actions that were previously restricted by sheet protection. Once unprotected, users can edit, format, insert, and delete content.

Unprotecting a sheet via the UI

In the active sheet, sheet unprotect can be performed using any of the following ways:

• Select Unprotect Sheet from the Review tab in the Ribbon.

• Right-click the sheet tab and select Unprotect Sheet from the context menu.

To unprotect a sheet that was protected with a password:

1. Select Unprotect Sheet from the Ribbon or the context menu to open the Unprotect Sheet dialog.

2. Enter the password that was set when the sheet was protected.

3. Click OK to unprotect.

When the sheet is protected without a password, no password entry is required and the sheet is unprotected immediately.

Unprotecting a sheet programmatically

The UnprotectSheetAsync() method removes protection from a specific worksheet.

The available parameters are:

Parameter	Type	Description
sheetName	string (optional, default null)	Specifies the name of the sheet to unprotect. If null or empty, the entire workbook protection (structure and all sheets) is removed instead.

Examples

Index.razor

@page "/"
@using Syncfusion.Blazor.Spreadsheet
@using Syncfusion.Blazor.Buttons

<SfButton OnClick="UnprotectHandler" Content="Unprotect"></SfButton>

<SfSpreadsheet @ref="SpreadsheetInstance">
    <SpreadsheetRibbon></SpreadsheetRibbon>
</SfSpreadsheet>

@code {

    public SfSpreadsheet SpreadsheetInstance;

    public async Task UnprotectHandler()
    {
        // Unprotect a specific sheet by name.
        await SpreadsheetInstance.UnprotectSheetAsync("Sheet1");
    }
}

Workbook Protection

The Workbook Protection support restricts structural modifications within a workbook. Actions such as inserting, deleting, renaming, or hiding sheets are disabled when this protection is enabled.

Protecting a workbook via the UI

To protect the workbook:

• Go to the Review tab in the Ribbon toolbar.
• Select Protect Workbook, and then click OK to apply the protection.

Protecting a workbook programmatically

The ProtectSheetAsync() method, when called with a null or empty sheetName argument, applies default protection settings to the entire workbook, including all sheets and the workbook structure. This method provides a programmatic way to protect a workbook without using the UI.

Examples

Index.razor

@page "/"
@using Syncfusion.Blazor.Spreadsheet
@using Syncfusion.Blazor.Buttons

<SfButton OnClick="ProtectWorkbookHandler" Content="Protect Workbook"></SfButton>

<SfSpreadsheet @ref="SpreadsheetInstance">
    <SpreadsheetRibbon></SpreadsheetRibbon>
</SfSpreadsheet>

@code {

    public SfSpreadsheet SpreadsheetInstance;

    public async Task ProtectWorkbookHandler()
    {
        // Protects the entire workbook (structure and all sheets) using the default protection settings.
        await SpreadsheetInstance.ProtectSheetAsync();
    }
}

Unprotect Workbook

The Unprotect Workbook support enables structural modifications within a workbook. Once unprotected, actions such as inserting, deleting, renaming, moving, copying, hiding, or unhiding sheets become available.

Unprotecting a workbook via the UI

To unprotect the workbook:

• Select Unprotect Workbook from the Review tab in the Ribbon toolbar.
• When the workbook is protected with a password, perform the following steps:
  1. Enter the correct password in the Unprotect Workbook dialog.
  2. Click OK to apply the unprotection.
• When the workbook is protected without a password, no password entry is required and the workbook is unprotected immediately.

Unprotecting a workbook programmatically

Workbook unprotection is applied through the same UnprotectSheetAsync() method, called with a null or empty sheetName argument. When no sheet name is provided, all workbook structure protection is removed.

Examples

Index.razor

@page "/"
@using Syncfusion.Blazor.Spreadsheet
@using Syncfusion.Blazor.Buttons

<SfButton OnClick="UnprotectWorkbookHandler" Content="Unprotect Workbook"></SfButton>

<SfSpreadsheet @ref="SpreadsheetInstance">
    <SpreadsheetRibbon></SpreadsheetRibbon>
</SfSpreadsheet>

@code {

    public SfSpreadsheet SpreadsheetInstance;

    public async Task UnprotectWorkbookHandler()
    {
        // Removes protection from the entire workbook (structure and all sheets).
        await SpreadsheetInstance.UnprotectSheetAsync();
    }
}