XL: Protected Workbook Windows Can Be Collapsed

• Microsoft Excel for the Macintosh, versions 5.0, 5.0a
• Microsoft Excel 98 Macintosh Edition

SYMPTOMS

In Microsoft Excel for the Macintosh, if you double-click the title bar of a workbook window, or if you click the collapse box in the upper-right corner of a workbook window, the workbook window collapses into the title bar. This behavior occurs even if you protect the workbook by pointing to Protection on the Tools menu and clicking Protect Workbook.

CAUSE

This behavior occurs because the WindowShade feature (Collapsing Windows in Mac OS 8.0) that is available on a Macintosh computer affects all windows, including windows of protected workbooks.

RESOLUTION

You cannot prevent this feature from affecting protected workbooks. To resolve this behavior, save your work, quit any running programs, and then disable the feature. In Mac OS 8.0 (System 8.0), click Control Panel on the Apple menu, double-click Appearance, and then clear the "Double-click title bar to collapse" check box. In earlier versions of the system software, use the Extensions Manager to disable the WindowShade extension, and then restart the computer.

Note that although you can collapse the window of a protected workbook, you cannot resize, move, hide, or close the window.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the Microsoft products listed at the beginning of this article. We are researching this problem and will post new information here in the Microsoft Knowledge Base as it becomes available.

MORE INFORMATION

In Microsoft Excel, you can protect a workbook by following these steps:

1. Point to Protection on the Tools menu, and then click Protect Workbook.

2. To protect the structure of the workbook, click to select the Structure check box.

   This step prevents sheets from being moved, hidden, unhidden, renamed, added, or deleted.

   To protect the workbook windows, click to select the Window check box. This prevents the windows from being moved, resized, hidden, unhidden, or closed.

3. When you are done, click OK.