Since this thread has been resurrected, it's probably worth putting in a pointer to a node I wrote in a similar, later thread: Re^4: Password Protect Excel File. Excel's internal protection is like a knee high fence. It's no more than a polite warning to the law abiding. Files can be properly secured so that they cannot be opened without the password, but sheet and project level protection is extremely weak and can be bypassed trivially. The link provided does not cover project level protection, but JFGI.

Regards,

John Davies