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I want no one to print XLS sheet

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muddyjohn

IS-IT--Management
Apr 10, 2003
116
US
Is there a way to share a Excel sheet but make it so noone can print the page? (besides screen shots)

Hold on! This could Hurt! I ain't certified by Microsoft!

Thanks
 
Someone told me to password protect the print function. Can you put a password on the print function in excel?

Hold on! This could Hurt! I ain't certified by Microsoft!

Thanks
 
John: You can only do that stuff with VBA. So what if I disable macros when I open the file?

You can force them to use VBA to see the file, but still, Office security is very crappy and can be cracked. Why would you want to keep someone from printing information that they can see anyway? I mean...I don't understand the point.

Anne Troy
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i don't know the reasons behind it, It was just a request from up above.

Hold on! This could Hurt! I ain't certified by Microsoft!

Thanks
 
Well, that makes sense then.
Tell them that there's really no one to absolutely make certain no one will print the file, and that attempts to circumvent it could require that everyone else jump through hoops just to use the file. If the information is sensitive, then they should reconsider distributing it in the first place. :)

Anne Troy
Killer Coder Live Chat!
 
thanks for your help.

Hold on! This could Hurt! I ain't certified by Microsoft!

Thanks
 
It wouldn't be enogh to stop them printing it. They could just copy the data into another spreadsheet and print that. The number of possabilities you would have to prevent is v large and probably impossible to prevent them all.

[pc]

Graham
 
SP: Even a simple PrintScreen would do it, regardless what you disable ...

Marc
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what about saving this file to a PDF and then distributing the PDF? You can prevent printing in a PDF, can't you?
 
If I can see it, I can print or capture it, period!!!

Regards
Ken.................

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[peace]It's easier to beg forgiveness than ask permission[2thumbsup]

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Anyone who wants the data bad enough, can get the data they want. It's like any burglary prevention system - the thieves can still get in if they want it bad enough. But, considering that a multitude of people don't know a web address from an e-mail address, some of the above methods can be used. Using the PDF sounds like the best option to me, since noone can mess with your data that way, and you can suppress print on it. But, anyone who wants to, can spend their time doing screen shots and recreating what you have, so it all depends on how sensitive this data is, and why you'd even want to protect it from printing in the first place.
 
PDF, not PDF, password protected or not, Ken has it right...if you can see it...you can capture and print it. Period. There is nothing you can do about it as PrintScreen was designed to do just that...print the screen. It is a literal dump of the current video buffer. It is the one key you can not disable.

Gerry
 
mmmmm, take away their video cards and monitors, too?
I think your ones up above will have to just be sure who they want to see the data - dump the problem back on them. (Okay, not really helpful, sorry...)
 
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