XL97: Cells in Protected Worksheet May Be Unmerged

ID: Q172035

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Excel 97 for Windows

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.

Additional query words: XL97

Keywords          : xlformat 
Version           : WINDOWS:97
Platform          : WINDOWS
Issue type        : kbbug

Last Reviewed: November 2, 1998