Protect from edits but allow searching via File Explorer

[Terry Echols]

Hi All:

I need some help with something. I have our Purchases in a Workbook with a sheet for every month and a workbook for every year. I have them available in a shared drive so they are accessible to everybody on the network. I'm having a problem with locking them but still allowing them to be searched using File Explorer. I have the cells locked on every sheet and I have selected the following options:

Select locked cells
Select unlocked cells
Sort
Use AutoFilter

Here is the problem I'm having with searching:

They can open the workbook and use Ctrl+F and search the entire workbook which is working fine but they can't find by using File Explorer to find which workbook (year) the information is in. Nothing gets returned.

How can I protect the entire workbook from being edited but have them searchable using File Explorer?

Example:
We have workbooks for sales by year

I want to find the date of a purchase but don't know what year to look in.
They open File Explorer to search but nothing is found on a protected book/sheet. Ctrl+F works if the book is opened but they would have to open, then search, in every year.

I want them to be able to search using File Explorer (which works until the book/sheet is protected) to find which year the searched data is in but can't seem to get that to work.

Am I doing something wrong? Am I missing something in the locking/protecting?

I'm using Office 365 (I think) it's 2016 version.

Thanks,
Terry Echols

Please help.

 

[Chihiro]

Check the folder option. Is it set to Always search file names and contents?


I've tested and was able to search contents of protected worksheet.

 

[Terry Echols]

That did the trick. I never would have thought about folder options.

Thank you.

 

[Chihiro]

Also, you can edit Indexing option in Control Panel to tell windows to index Excel file's contents as well. This can speed up search.

https://www.tekrevue.com/tip/windows-search-indexing/

However, do take note of the warning given.

Note, however, that the more information that Windows search has to index, the larger the master index will be, from a few megabytes to hundreds of gigabytes depending on the amount and complexity of the indexed files. Therefore, be sure to strike a balance between convenience and your system’s resources, and don’t simply tell Windows to index the contents of every single file on your drive.