Display Password as Asterisk

Pau

It's easier to use a UserForm to facilitate a masked entry of a password (than use the InputBox method).

Although you haven't said, I believe you are referring to the TeachExcel tutorial here Require a Password to View Hidden Worksheets in Excel - VBA Tutorial

In the attached revised file, I modified this code so it reads as follows (see lines in bold):

Sub ViewSheet()
' Code from: https://www.TeachExcel.com

' Unlock/show the worksheet if the user inputs the correct password.
' launch UserForm to check password entered
    UserForm1.Show

End Sub

This launches a UserForm I created (similar to an InputBox) but TextBox! has its PasswordChar property set to "*" (so as you type the (current) password 123456, it appears as ****** instead).

When passwrod is entered and the OK button is clicked, that triggers this code ("behind" the UserForm1 object):

Private Sub CommandButton1_Click()
    ' Check if the correct password was input.
    ' - Trim() removes any space that might have been accidentally added to the
    '   start or end of the password.
    ' - LCase() ensures that a case-insensitive check is being performed because
    '   it converts the input and the password both to lower case.
    If LCase(Trim(TextBox1.Text)) = LCase(conSheetPassword) Then
        ' Pass - all is good.

        ' Show the Sheet.
        Sheets("Helper").Visible = xlSheetVisible
        Sheets("Raw").Visible = xlSheetVisible

        ' Go to the sheet.
        Sheets("Helper").Select

    Else
        ' Fail - wrong password.

        ' Let the user know.
        MsgBox "Incorrect password. Access Denied."

    End If

    ' close UserForm
    Unload Me

End Sub

All the code there is cut from the original ViewSheet code but is performed using the code entered (taken from the TextBox1.Text property in bold above) rather then that entered in a regular VBA InputBox.

The last bold lines just close UserForm1

If the UserForm is closed with the X button, nothing happens.

Revision #1 06 December 2024

The file now has this additional UserForm code:

Private Sub TextBox1_KeyDown(ByVal KeyCode As MSForms.ReturnInteger, ByVal Shift As Integer)
    ' if Enter is pressed, axt as if OK button was clicked
    If KeyCode = vbKeyReturn Then Call CommandButton1_Click
End Sub

This means that if you type the password, you can quickly press the Enter key (or click the OK button on the form) to reveal the sheets.

Hope this solves your problem. If so, please be sure to mark this Answer as Selected.

 Hello Pau and welcome to the forum,

Masking the input of an input box is not possible. However, you can achieve what you want by creating a UserForm as the input box. It's explained in this TeachExcel tutorial: Mask UserForm Entry with '' * '' An asterisk is the most common but you can use any character.

Also, I don't recommend using Trim() and LCase() in this situation. Passwords are case sensitive, by converting user input and the actual passwrod to lowercase defeats this; decreasing the security. By not using Trim() and LCase() forces the password entry to match exactly the actual password.

Update Dec. 6/24

Hello Pau,

Learning VBA is an on-going process, as you go forward you will always learn something new. This site has a wealth of information to help you learn. The second youtube link you mention is the same video I linked to, except my link is to the video on this site (teachexcel.com). In the attached file I have replicated what Don (the owner of teachexcel.com) shows in the tutorial.

The workbook has 3 worksheets – "Main", "Raw", and "Helper". I created buttons to run the macros. I used the "rounded rectangle" shape for the buttons. On the "Main" sheet both buttons are there – "Show Sheets" and "Hide Sheets". The "Raw" and "Helper" sheets only have the "Hide Sheets" button. The password I used in this example is "123456"; this can be changed in the macro. I used the " # " symbol as the masking character.

To prevent someone from gaining access to the password (and changing it) the VBA Project should also be protected as recommended by Don. This is easily done from within the editor window. At the top select the "Tools" menu and then "VBAProject Properties". In the window that opens select the "Protection" tab and select "Lock project for viewing" and enter a password.

If this solves things, please mark my answer as Selected.

Cheers   :-)