WPS Allow Edit Area helps you assign separate editing permissions and passwords to different worksheet ranges; this guide covers 4 core tasks, with 4 available without membership and 0 membership-related items.
At a Glance
| Metric | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Core tasks | 4 | Matches the number of rows in the How-to Index |
| Available without membership | 4 | Matches the number of Free rows in the index |
| Membership-related items | 0 | Matches the number of membership-related rows in the index |
| Version limit | No specific version limit stated | No version threshold is described for this feature |
About This Feature
Overview
Allow Edit Area is a worksheet protection feature in WPS Spreadsheet that lets you open specific ranges for editing while keeping the rest of the sheet protected. After you set it up, you can assign different passwords to different ranges and use it together with Protect Sheet for more detailed editing control.
Core capabilities include:
- Create an editable range for selected cells.
- Set a separate password for a specific range.
- Manage multiple editable ranges with different rules.
- Keep selected ranges editable after worksheet protection is enabled.
This feature is useful for team data entry, section-based collaboration, template distribution, and protecting sensitive formulas or fields.
System Requirements
| Item | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Operating system | A Windows device that can run WPS Office normally |
| App version | The latest version of WPS Office is recommended |
| Network | No mandatory internet connection is required for local range setup |
| Other | Open the workbook in WPS Spreadsheet; if the worksheet is already protected, unprotect it first |
Download & Installation
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Official download | WPS Office Free Download |
| Post-install check | Open WPS Spreadsheet, go to the Review tab, and confirm that the Allow Users to Edit Ranges entry is available |
Source: WPS Download Center
Compare with Alternatives
| Dimension | WPS | Microsoft | Notion | Adobe | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capability Summary | Supports separate editable ranges and range passwords inside a worksheet, and keeps selected ranges editable after sheet protection is turned on. | Excel supports locking or unlocking specific areas in a protected worksheet and also supports Allow Edit Ranges for selected ranges. | Google Sheets supports protected ranges and protected sheets, and can keep unprotected ranges editable inside a protected sheet. | Notion mainly provides sharing and permission controls at the page, teamspace, and database level rather than spreadsheet cell-range protection. | Adobe Acrobat mainly uses passwords and permissions to restrict PDF editing, copying, or printing rather than worksheet range editing. |
| WPS Advantages | Advantage: separate passwords can be assigned directly to worksheet ranges; Distinct: multiple editable ranges can work together with overall sheet protection. | Compared with WPS: Excel also supports range-level editing control, but some user-permission scenarios rely on a Windows domain environment. | Compared with WPS: Google Sheets focuses more on online collaboration and protected-range management, and range passwords are not the main interaction model. | Compared with WPS: Notion permissions are centered on page and database access, so it is not designed for cell-range protection inside spreadsheets. | Compared with WPS: Adobe is better suited to PDF document restrictions than section-based editing inside a worksheet. |
| Official Source | — | Lock or unlock specific areas of a protected worksheet | Control protected ranges and sheets in Google Sheets | Sharing & permissions settings | Password protected PDFs and PDF security |
Overall Conclusion
For workflows that need editable sections inside the same worksheet, WPS Allow Edit Area is well suited to section-based spreadsheet control. If your main focus is page collaboration, browser-based sharing, or PDF distribution security, the other products fit different use cases.
Use Cases
| No. | Scenario | Suitable For | Main Challenge | How This Feature Helps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Team data entry | Project members, administrative staff | People may accidentally edit someone else’s section in a shared sheet | Create separate editable ranges for each person or group |
| 2 | Template distribution | Teachers, trainers, HR teams | The template structure must stay fixed while input areas remain editable | Protect the worksheet and leave only input ranges editable |
| 3 | Sensitive data protection | Finance and operations teams | Key formulas must stay unchanged while the file is still shared | Lock critical cells and open only the entry ranges |
| 4 | Cross-team collaboration | Multi-department teams | Different teams need different editing boundaries in one worksheet | Create separate ranges with different passwords |
| 5 | Approval forms | Managers and process owners | Approvers and submitters need different editable areas | Split editable ranges by role and combine them with sheet protection |
Membership & Benefits
Free vs WPS Premium
| Capability | Free Users | WPS Premium |
|---|---|---|
| Basic Allow Edit Area setup | Available | Available |
| Works with worksheet protection | Available | Available |
| WPS cloud storage | 1 GB | 20 GB |
| Templates and extended benefits | Basic templates | More advanced templates and extended benefits |
| AI-related tools | Some tools are limited | More AI-related tools are available, depending on the plan |
Source: WPS Office pricing page
Recommendations
| Usage Scenario | Recommended Plan | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Everyday worksheet protection and section-based editing | Free | Allow Edit Area itself can meet basic worksheet permission needs |
| More cloud storage and broader office benefits | WPS Premium | Suitable if you also need more storage, templates, and other extended features |
How to Subscribe
- Membership purchase: Subscribe to WPS Premium
Source: WPS Office pricing page