How to protect a PivotTable from changes using VBA?

To protect a PivotTable from changes using VBA, you can use a combination of VBA code to lock particular elements of the spreadsheet while allowing for specific PivotTable operations. The following steps illustrate how to lock down a PivotTable while still allowing for some user interactions, like refreshing or expanding/collapsing groups:

Protect the Worksheet: Use the `Protect` method on the worksheet that contains the PivotTable. Specify user permissions to restrict certain actions.
Configure the PivotTable: Make sure that the PivotTable settings allow the user to perform necessary actions like refreshing data if needed.

Here’s an example of VBA code to protect a worksheet containing a PivotTable, allowing only specific actions:

Sub ProtectPivotTable()
    Dim ws As Worksheet
    Dim pt As PivotTable

    ' Set your specific worksheet and PivotTable here
    Set ws = ThisWorkbook.Worksheets("Sheet1")
    Set pt = ws.PivotTables("PivotTable1")
    
    ' Protect the worksheet
    ' Allow some user actions like PivotTable use, sorting, filtering, etc.
    ws.Protect Password:="YourPassword", DrawingObjects:=False, Contents:=True, Scenarios:=False, _
               AllowUsingPivotTables:=True, AllowSorting:=True, AllowFiltering:=True
    
    ' Configure PivotTable to maintain functionality
    With pt
        .EnableDrilldown = True ' Allows expand/collapse
        .EnableFieldList = False ' Hides the field list UI
        .EnableFieldDialog = False ' Prevents showing the field settings dialog
    End With
End Sub

Key Points:

Worksheet Protection: When protecting a worksheet (`ws.Protect`), you can specify various options:

`AllowUsingPivotTables` must be `True` if you want users to be able to use the PivotTable.
`AllowSorting` and `AllowFiltering` let users sort and filter data.

PivotTable Properties: Using properties such as `.EnableDrilldown`, you can allow or block specific interactions with the PivotTable’s data.
Password Protection: Always use a password for protection if security is a concern. Replace `”YourPassword”` with your actual password.
Enable/Disable Features: Depending on the user’s needs, enable or disable other features by setting flags, such as hiding the field list.

Remember to adjust the names and permissions to fit your workbook’s specifics. If users need to interact with fields, you might want to reconsider what they can or cannot do based on their requirements.

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