I'm confused about the order in which you protect a worksheet and activate the protection - I think there are two steps to the lockng process and I'm getting them mixed up. I just want to protect entire worksheet, apart from one column.

Hello Amie,

Hope you enjoyed your Microsoft Excel course with BEST Training.
Thank you for your question regarding locking worksheets

Yes, there are two steps.

1. CELLS
First step is to lock or unlock the cells you want to protect.
All cells are LOCKED by default.

To unlock a cell (or column in your case), simply select the cells you want to leave open for editing, and then RIGHT-CLICK > FORMAT CELLS. Then Select the last tab called PROTECTION.
Untick the box that says locked.

2. WORKSHEET
Once you have set the cells, you can then protect the worksheet.
Select TOOLS > PROTECTION > PROTECT WORKSHEET
Add a password, then OK.
This will switch the worksheet protection on.
Test your settings, by clicking on cells and try to edit them.

I hope this resolves your question. If it has, please mark this question as resolved.

If you require further assistance, please reply to this post. Or perhaps you have another Microsoft Office question?

Have a great day.
Regards,

Richard
Microsoft Office Specialist Trainer