In Excel: every cell is already marked Locked, but locking only takes effect once you turn on Review ▸ Protect Sheet; to lock just some cells, first unlock the rest via Format Cells ▸ Protection (uncheck Locked), then Protect Sheet.
Select all cells, open Format Cells (Ctrl+1) ▸ Protection, and confirm Locked is ticked (it is by default).
Select only the cells people should still edit, reopen Format Cells ▸ Protection, and uncheck Locked.
Go to Review ▸ Protect Sheet, choose what users may still do, and set a password if you want.
Click OK — the locked cells are now read-only while the unlocked ones accept input.
Need it as an auditable file?
Ships inside the linked template — formula-driven, unlocked, audit-ready.
What this does
The mechanism surprises most people: in a new sheet every cell already carries the Locked attribute, yet that attribute does nothing until you protect the sheet. So locking works in two layers. The Locked checkbox under Format Cells ▸ Protection marks which cells should be frozen, and Review ▸ Protect Sheet is the switch that actually enforces it. To make only some cells uneditable, you unlock the ones people should still type in (uncheck Locked for them), then Protect Sheet so the still-locked cells become read-only. The same idea underpins a lot of everyday Excel work, so the few minutes spent getting it right here pay back across every sheet you build afterwards. Treat it as a pattern, not a one-off, and it stops being something you look up and starts being something you reach for. The difference between a quick fix and a sheet you can trust is the extra minute you spend validating “lock formula $ excel dollar sign”. Start on a copy or a tiny sample, keep the affected formula visible, and compare the result with the tool above before you touch the real workbook. When this is a ribbon command, the selection matters more than the button: confirm the range, apply the command, then spot-check the output before saving. The point is a calculation you can defend to a CFO or an auditor, but the practical win is that someone else can open the file and understand what happened without asking you.
A worked example
A form has input cells in column B and a calculated formula in column C that must not be touched. Select B2:B20, open Format Cells (Ctrl+1) ▸ Protection, and uncheck Locked — those input cells are now exempt. Leave column C as-is (still Locked). Now Review ▸ Protect Sheet, optionally set a password, and click OK. People can type freely in column B, but any attempt to edit the formula in C2 is refused with "the cell is protected". Lock cells when you are handing a sheet to other people and want them to fill in some fields without breaking your formulas, headers or layout — budget templates, data-entry forms, shared trackers. It guides input to exactly the right places while keeping the working parts of the model safe. If there is any chance you will reuse this, drop it into a small template tab right now: a labelled input area on the left and the formula beside it, checked once against the tool above. Next time the same question comes up, the answer is a single paste away instead of a rebuild from memory.
In Google Sheets
Google Sheets handles this almost identically to Excel. The formula syntax above is the same, and the menu lives under a slightly different label rather than a ribbon tab. Use the platform toggle at the top of the page to switch every keyboard shortcut between Windows and Mac, and expect at most cosmetic differences in naming. Keep this page bookmarked for the next time the same question comes up. Better still, rebuild the example once in your own sheet — doing it yourself, with the tool above to check against, is what turns a copied formula into a technique you own. If you take one thing from this page on “lock formula $ excel dollar sign”, make it the habit rather than the keystrokes: set the problem up with labelled inputs, reference those cells, and let Excel do the recomputing. Bookmark the page for the syntax, but do the example once in a blank sheet and check it against the tool above — five minutes of hands-on practice fixes the method in memory far better than re-reading, and it surfaces the small snags while they are still harmless. After that the technique is genuinely yours: faster than searching for it again, and reliable enough to drop into work that other people depend on.
Common mistakes
- Ticking Locked and expecting it to work without protecting the sheet — the Locked attribute does nothing until Protect Sheet is on.
- Forgetting that all cells start Locked, so protecting the sheet without unlocking inputs freezes the entire sheet.
- Unlocking the cells you meant to protect by mistake — Locked must stay ticked on the formulas you want read-only.
- Confusing this cell-level locking with file encryption; locking controls editing, not whether the file opens.
Frequently asked questions
Why can I still edit a "locked" cell?
Because the sheet is not protected yet. The Locked attribute is dormant until you turn on Review ▸ Protect Sheet, which is what actually enforces it.
How do I lock only the formula cells and leave inputs open?
Unlock the input cells (Format Cells ▸ Protection ▸ uncheck Locked) while leaving the formulas Locked, then Protect Sheet — only the still-locked formulas become read-only.
Do I have to set a password to lock cells?
No. Protect Sheet works without a password; a password simply stops others from unprotecting the sheet and undoing your locks.
Other ways people ask this
On the way here you may have searched this as “excel function dollar sign”, “lock formula excel dollar sign” and “remove dollar sign excel” — it is all the same task, and this page is the single, complete answer to it.
Why do people search for this in so many different ways?
Because the same task has many names. “excel function dollar sign”, “lock formula excel dollar sign”, “remove dollar sign excel” all point at the one operation explained on this page, which is why they all lead here.