XL97: Cells in Protected Worksheet May Be Unmerged (172035)
The information in this article applies to:
- Microsoft Excel 97 for Windows
This article was previously published under Q172035 SYMPTOMS
In Microsoft Excel 97, if you cut and paste or drag a range of cells from
one worksheet to another worksheet, you may receive the following error
message:
The cell or chart you are trying to change is protected and therefore
read-only.
To modify a protected cell or chart, first remove protection using the
Unprotect Sheet command (Tools menu, Protection submenu). You may be
prompted for a password.
When you click OK, merged cells in the destination worksheet may become
unmerged. If you click the Edit menu, you cannot undo the operation.
CAUSE
This problem occurs if the following conditions are true:
- You cut and paste or drag a range of cells from one worksheet to another
worksheet.
-and-
- The destination worksheet is protected.
-and-
- The destination range of cells includes one or more merged cells that
are locked.
Note that this problem does not occur if you copy and paste a range of
cells from one workbook to another.
WORKAROUND
If this problem occurs, use either of the following methods.
Method 1
Manually merge the unmerged cells. To do this, select the cells and either
click Merge And Center on the Formatting toolbar or click the Merge Cells
check box in the Alignment tab of the Format Cells dialog box.
Method 2
Close the destination workbook without saving it, and then reopen the
workbook.
IMPORTANT: Use this method with caution because you may lose other changes
to the workbook.
STATUS
Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the Microsoft products
listed at the beginning of this article.
| Modification Type: | Major | Last Reviewed: | 10/22/2000 |
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| Keywords: | kbbug KB172035 |
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