pen wrote...
I need to protect only certain cells in a spreadsheet (mainly those that
contain a formula) so that no one can accidentally delete them. *However, I
need all of the other cells to allow input (eg: *dates) and even formatting
(bold, etc...) without a password. *How can I do this?

Modify the Normal style so that the default cell protection setting is
unlocked (Format Style..., select Normal in the Style name drop-down
list, click the Modify button, select the Protection tab in the Format
Cells dialog, uncheck the Locked checkbox, click OK). Now select the
cells you want to protect, run Format Cells..., and check the Locked
checkbox in the Protection tab of the Format Cells dialog.

For worksheets with existing contents, you may need to select
formatted cells that you want protected/unprotected and change their
protection 'format' to locked/unlocked, respectively. This would be
necessary because formatted cells by virtue of having been formatted
won't be in Normal style.