Can I prevent a spreadsheet from being copied?

[Nest Egg George]

I'm going to publish a retirement nest egg calculator to the web and want to
know if I can prevent buyers from copying it, or if I can restrict them to
being only able to use it on one computer. I plan to supply any purcashed
copies by email.

Thanks, George Forbes

 

[Harald Staff]

Hi George

This needs a lot of creative, part evil, VBA programming, and you must
ensure that macros are enabled for the file to work. Very complicated.

HTH. Best wishes Harald

 

[Bill Sharpe]

I'm going to publish a retirement nest egg calculator to the web and want to
know if I can prevent buyers from copying it, or if I can restrict them to
being only able to use it on one computer. I plan to supply any purcashed
copies by email.

Thanks, George Forbes

Here's one approach:
http://xcellcompiler.com/

Not sure it's worth the effort, though. Copy protection can be a real
hassle, both for the seller and the buyer. How much are you planning to
charge for this calculator?

Bill