Hidden Formulas in Excel 97

This isn't ironclad, but you should be able to hide the row/colunm that has the formula and then just refer to that cell where you want the result displayed. For example say you want to sum a1 and b1, enter the formula in c1 and enter d1 as a direct reference to c1, then hide c1. Then the end user can still change a1 and b1 for updated results but not be aware of the formula that is providing those results. This would probably work best if you enter your formulas in a very obscure location in the worksheet and then hide the row/column. As I said this is not ironclad, but it should keep most users from finding the formulas.

If your spreadsheet is up for public display, you may considering copy the spreadsheet with the formulas, then Do a Paste Special, Values followed by a Paste Special, Formats to create a duplicate spreadsheet with the data, but no formulas -- and noreferences to trace back.

Protect the Worksheet.
Go to Format>Cells and put a checkmark in Hidden.
Now when the you apply protection (Tools>Protect) the formula will be invisible.

Try this:

1. Highlight the cells you want hidden.
2. Go to Format->Cells, then choose the Protection tab.
3. Check the "Hidden" and "Locked" checkboxes.
4. Hit OK to return to your spreadsheet.
5. Go to Tools->Protection->Protect Sheet.6. Put in a password (don't leave it blank, although technically you can).

That will lock the cells from being viewed - you can only see the result. The downside here is that if someone guesses/cracks the password, the formulae are visible. I would concur with the folks above if you're displaying this for public view (or your users have a strong desire to figure out those formulae) - make a copy of the spreadsheet, then paste the values (copy all the cells, then immediately do an Edit->Paste Special, select Values, hit OK). Much more secure - they can't see anything but the result. Not interactive, unfortunately, but hides the formulae.

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