Press Alt + F11 (or go to View Code in the Developer’s Tab).Any protected Excel spreadsheet can be unprotected in three steps. The protect feature even lets the owner set a password so that the more determined meddler can be thwarted and confidential data kept confidential.Įxcept it doesn’t.

Some of the spreadsheets are very sophisticated and Excel offers a “protect” feature that locks down a sheet (or workbooks) and prevents unwanted meddling or fiddling with the data. Of course, it all depends on your definition of a database but the point is made.Įxcel has useful features for developing forms and hiding information so that it’s easy to create mini apps which take user entered information, combine with data stored in the spreadsheet and provide an answer. I seem to recall a survey a few years ago that Excel was the #1 database in the world with Access, Oracle and SQL Server lagging very far behind. Spreadsheets and Microsoft Excel in particular are great tools for any kind of numerical analysis, but they’re good for handling and storing other data as well.