How to unprotect excel worksheet - Word и Excel - помощь в работе с программами

To prevent other users from accidentally or deliberately changing, moving, or deleting data in a worksheet, you can lock the cells on your Excel worksheet and then protect the sheet with a password. Say you own the team status report worksheet, where you want team members to add data in specific cells only and not be able to modify anything else. With worksheet protection, you can make only certain parts of the sheet editable and users will not be able to modify data in any other region in the sheet.

Important: Worksheet level protection is not intended as a security feature. It simply prevents users from modifying locked cells within the worksheet. Protecting a worksheet is not the same as protecting an Excel file or a workbook with a password. See below for more information:

To lock your file so that other users can’t open it, see Protect an Excel file.
To prevent users from adding, modifying, moving, copying, or hiding/unhiding sheets within a workbook, see Protect a workbook.
To know the difference between protecting your Excel file, workbook, or a worksheet see Protection and security in Excel.

The following sections describe how to protect and unprotect a worksheet in Excel for Windows.

Here’s what you can lock in an unprotected sheet:

Formulas: If you don’t want other users to see your formulas, you can hide them from being seen in cells or the Formula bar. For more information, see Display or hide formulas.
Ranges: You can enable users to work in specific ranges within a protected sheet. For more information, see Lock or unlock specific areas of a protected worksheet.

Note: ActiveX controls, form controls, shapes, charts, SmartArt, Sparklines, Slicers, Timelines, to name a few, are already locked when you add them to a spreadsheet. But the lock will work only when you enable sheet protection. See the subsequent section for more information on how to enable sheet protection.

Worksheet protection is a two-step process: the first step is to unlock cells that others can edit, and then you can protect the worksheet with or without a password.

Step 1: Unlock any cells that needs to be editable

In your Excel file, select the worksheet tab that you want to protect.
Select the cells that others can edit.

Tip: You can select multiple, non-contiguous cells by pressing Ctrl+Left-Click.
Right-click anywhere in the sheet and select Format Cells (or use Ctrl+1, or Command+1 on the Mac), and then go to the Protection tab and clear Locked.

Step 2: Protect the worksheet

Next, select the actions that users should be allowed to take on the sheet, such as insert or delete columns or rows, edit objects, sort, or use AutoFilter, to name a few. Additionally, you can also specify a password to lock your worksheet. A password prevents other people from removing the worksheet protection—it needs to be entered to unprotect the sheet.

Given below are the steps to protect your sheet.

On the Review tab, click Protect Sheet.

In the Allow all users of this worksheet to list, select the elements you want people to be able to change.

Option	Allows users to
Select locked cells	Move the pointer to cells for which the Locked box is checked on the Protection tab of the Format Cells dialog box. By default, users are allowed to select locked cells.
Select unlocked cells	Move the pointer to cells for which the Locked box is unchecked on the Protection tab of the Format Cells dialog box. By default, users can select unlocked cells, and they can press the TAB key to move between the unlocked cells on a protected worksheet.
Format cells	Change any of the options in the Format Cells or Conditional Formatting dialog boxes. If you applied conditional formatting before you protected the worksheet, the formatting continues to change when a user enters a value that satisfies a different condition.
Format columns	Use any of the column formatting commands, including changing column width or hiding columns (Home tab, Cells group, Format button).
Format rows	Use any of the row formatting commands, including changing row height or hiding rows (Home tab, Cells group, Format button).
Insert columns	Insert columns.
Insert rows	Insert rows.
Insert hyperlinks	Insert new hyperlinks, even in unlocked cells.
Delete columns	Delete columns. Note: If Delete columns is protected and Insert columns is not protected, a user can insert columns but cannot delete them.
Delete rows	Delete rows. Note: If Delete rows is protected and Insert rows is not protected, a user can insert rows but cannot delete them.
Sort	Use any commands to sort data (Data tab, Sort & Filter group). Note: Users can’t sort ranges that contain locked cells on a protected worksheet, regardless of this setting.
Use AutoFilter	Use the drop-down arrows to change the filter on ranges when AutoFilters are applied. Note: Users cannot apply or remove AutoFilter on a protected worksheet, regardless of this setting.
Use PivotTable reports	Format, change the layout, refresh, or otherwise modify PivotTable reports, or create new reports.
Edit objects	Doing any of the following: Make changes to graphic objects including maps, embedded charts, shapes, text boxes, and controls that you did not unlock before you protected the worksheet. For example, if a worksheet has a button that runs a macro, you can click the button to run the macro, but you cannot delete the button. Make any changes, such as formatting, to an embedded chart. The chart continues to be updated when you change its source data. Add or edit notes.
Edit scenarios	View scenarios that you have hidden, making changes to scenarios that you have prevented changes to, and deleting these scenarios. Users can change the values in the changing cells, if the cells are not protected, and add new scenarios.

Optionally, enter a password in the Password to unprotect sheet box and click OK. Reenter the password in the Confirm Password dialog box and click OK.
Important:
- Use strong passwords that combine uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols. Weak passwords don’t mix these elements. Passwords should be 8 or more characters in length. A passphrase that uses 14 or more characters is better.
- It is critical that you remember your password. If you forget your password, Microsoft cannot retrieve it.

The Protect Sheet option on the ribbon changes to Unprotect Sheet when a sheet is protected. To view this option, click the Review tab on the ribbon, and in Changes, see Unprotect Sheet.

To unprotect a sheet, follow these steps:

Go to the worksheet you want to unprotect.
Go to File > Info > Protect > Unprotect Sheet, or from the Review tab > Changes > Unprotect Sheet.
If the sheet is protected with a password, then enter the password in the Unprotect Sheet dialog box and click OK.

The following sections describe how to protect and unprotect a worksheet in Excel for the Web.

Select Review > Manage Protection.
To turn on protection, in the Manage Protection task pane, select Protect sheet.

Note Although you can selectively protect parts of the sheet by setting various options in the Options section, these settings only apply when the Protect sheet setting is on.
By default, the entire sheet is locked and protected. To unlock specific ranges, select Unlocked ranges, and then enter a range name and cell range. You can add more than one range.
Optionally, to require a password to edit a range, select Range password, enter and confirm the password, and then select Save. Make sure sheet protection is turned on.
Optionally, to control the ability to edit protections for the entire sheet with a password, select Sheet protection password, enter and confirm the password, and then select Save.

Important
- Use strong passwords that combine uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols. Weak passwords don’t mix these elements. Passwords should be 8 or more characters in length. Make sure the CAPS LOCK key is off and use correct capitalization. Passwords are case-sensitive.
- It is critical that you remember your password. If you forget your password, Microsoft cannot retrieve it.

Optionally, if you want to selectively enable and disable specific sheet elements, select the Options section, and then select one or more options.

Option	Allows users to
Select locked cells	Move the pointer to cells for which the Locked box is checked on the Protection tab of the Format Cells dialog box. By default, users are allowed to select locked cells.
Select unlocked cells	Move the pointer to cells for which the Locked box is unchecked on the Protection tab of the Format Cells dialog box. By default, users can select unlocked cells, and they can press the TAB key to move between the unlocked cells on a protected worksheet.
Format cells	Change any of the options in the Font and Alignment groups of the Home tab. Note If cell formatting and hidden properties were previously protected by using the Format Cells or Conditional Formatting dialog boxes, they remain protected, but you can only modify options in these dialog boxes by using Excel for Windows. If you applied conditional formatting before you protected the worksheet, the formatting continues to change when a user enters a value that satisfies a different condition.
Format columns	Use any of the column formatting commands, including changing column width or hiding columns (Home tab, Cells group, Format button).
Format rows	Use any of the row formatting commands, including changing row height or hiding rows (Home tab, Cells group, Format button).
Insert columns	Insert columns.
Insert rows	Insert rows.
Insert hyperlinks	Insert new hyperlinks, even in unlocked cells.
Delete columns	Delete columns. Note: If Delete columns is protected and Insert columns is not protected, a user can insert columns but cannot delete them.
Delete rows	Delete rows. Note: If Delete rows is protected and Insert rows is not protected, a user can insert rows but cannot delete them.
Sort	Use any commands to sort data (Data tab, Sort & Filter group). Note: Users can’t sort ranges that contain locked cells on a protected worksheet, regardless of this setting.
Use AutoFilter	Use the drop-down arrows to change the filter on ranges when AutoFilters are applied. Note: Users cannot apply or remove AutoFilter on a protected worksheet, regardless of this setting.
Use PivotTable reports	Format, change the layout, refresh, or otherwise modify PivotTable reports, or create new reports.
Edit objects	Doing any of the following: Make changes to graphic objects including maps, embedded charts, shapes, text boxes, and controls that you did not unlock before you protected the worksheet. For example, if a worksheet has a button that runs a macro, you can click the button to run the macro, but you cannot delete the button. Make any changes, such as formatting, to an embedded chart. The chart continues to be updated when you change its source data. Add or edit notes.
Edit scenarios	View scenarios that you have hidden, making changes to scenarios that you have prevented changes to, and deleting these scenarios. Users can change the values in the changing cells, if the cells are not protected, and add new scenarios.

Notes

If you don’t want other users to see your formulas, you can hide them from being seen in cells or the Formula bar. For more information, see Display or hide formulas.
ActiveX controls, form controls, shapes, charts, SmartArt, Sparklines, Slicers, Timelines, and so on, are already locked when you add them to a spreadsheet. But the lock works only when you enable sheet protection. For more information, see Protect controls and linked cells on a worksheet.

There are two ways to unprotect a sheet, disable it or pause it.

Disable protection

Select Review > Manage Protection.
To turn off protection, In the Manage Protection task pane, turn off Protect sheet.

Pause protection

Pausing protection turns off protection for the current editing session while maintaining the protection for other users in the workbook. For example, you can pause protection to edit a locked range but maintain protection for other users.

To pause sheet protection, select Review > Pause Protection.

Note If the sheet has a protection password, you must enter that password to pause protection.
To resume sheet protection, select Review > Resume Protection.

At the bottom of the sheet, the sheet tab displays a locked icon if the sheet is protected (Sheet1), and an unlocked icon if it is paused (Sheet2).

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Article SummaryX

To unlock a sheet in an Excel workbook, right-click the sheet’s tab and click Unprotect sheet. Enter the password, if prompted.

If you don’t know the password, upload the sheet to your Google Drive, open it in Google Sheets, then re-download it to your computer.

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Password protection in Microsoft Excel is often used in workplaces to protect important data. Microsoft Excel allows users to protect the worksheets and prevents others from making changes to the original data.

There are two ways a spreadsheet can be secured. One of the ways is using no password, which can be unprotected by anyone. In the other case, the worksheet or workbook is password protected, which means you’ll need to have the password to unlock it. In this article, we will show you how to unprotect worksheets or workbooks with or without a password in Excel.

Unprotect Worksheets/Workbook in Excel. One of the best features of Excel is that it can protect your Excel files at the cell, spreadsheet, and/or workbook level. After locking and protecting worksheets or workbooks, if you want to allow others to edit data, you need to unprotect them.

If you know the password it’s really easy to unprotect a worksheet. Though unlocking an Excel spreadsheet without a password is not simple but you can still do it by using the following tricks.

How to Unprotect Excel Sheet with Password/No Password

It’s very easy to unprotect an Excel sheet and allow users to edit and modify the spreadsheets. If you already know the password of the protected sheet, you can easily remove protection. Just follow any of these steps:

Open the protected spreadsheet, and switch to the ‘Review’ tab and click the ‘Unprotect Sheet’ icon in the Changes group.

You can access the same above option by right-clicking the protected spreadsheet tab, then select the ‘Unprotect Sheet’ option from the context menu.

If your sheet is a password-protected worksheet, Excel will prompt you to enter the password. Type the password in the Unprotect Sheet dialog box and click ‘OK’.

If your worksheet was not protected with a password, clicking the ‘Unprotect Sheet’ option is enough to unlock your sheet.

How to Unprotect Excel Workbook with Password/No Password

When your password-protect your Excel workbook, you can’t change the structure of the workbook, such as add, move, rename, or delete worksheets, and view hidden sheets. But you still are able to edit the data on the worksheets even if your workbook is password-protected. If you wish to change the Excel workbook structure like adding or removing worksheets, you must unprotect the Excel Workbook structure first.

To remove the workbook protection, open the protected workbook, and click the ‘Protect Workbook’ button (option would be highlighted in gray color) under the Review tab.

Type the password in the Unprotect Workbook prompt box and save the workbook.

Now your workbook is unlocked, you are free to edit the Excel Workbook structure.

How to Unprotect Excel Worksheet Without Password

If you have a password secured worksheet and you have no idea what the password is or you haven’t unlocked it for a long time and you forgot it, there are few ways to unprotect that excel sheet.

Unprotect Excel Worksheet with VBA Code

Excel’s worksheet protection is based on a simple encryption algorithm. Even when you protect your Excel worksheet with a password, anyone with the below VBA code can crack it in minutes.

You can unlock a password-protected sheet by using a VBA code as a macro to identify the password. Here’s How:

Open the password-protected sheet and go to the ‘Developer’ tab and click the ‘View Code’ button on the ribbon. This will open up the code editor window in Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications.

Or you can go to the ‘Developer’ tab and click the ‘Visual Basic’ button. In the Visual Basic code editor, expand the ‘Microsoft Excel Objects’ option on the left pane, right-click the worksheet that is password-protected, and select Insert –> Module from the context menu.

In the Code window of the protected sheet, copy and paste the following VBA code:

Sub PasswordBreaker()
Dim i As Integer, j As Integer, k As Integer
Dim l As Integer, m As Integer, n As Integer
Dim i1 As Integer, i2 As Integer, i3 As Integer
Dim i4 As Integer, i5 As Integer, i6 As Integer
On Error Resume Next
For i = 65 To 66: For j = 65 To 66: For k = 65 To 66
For l = 65 To 66: For m = 65 To 66: For i1 = 65 To 66
For i2 = 65 To 66: For i3 = 65 To 66: For i4 = 65 To 66
For i5 = 65 To 66: For i6 = 65 To 66: For n = 32 To 126
ActiveSheet.Unprotect Chr(i) & Chr(j) & Chr(k) & _
Chr(l) & Chr(m) & Chr(i1) & Chr(i2) & Chr(i3) & _
Chr(i4) & Chr(i5) & Chr(i6) & Chr(n)
If ActiveSheet.ProtectContents = False Then
MsgBox "One usable password is " & Chr(i) & Chr(j) & _
Chr(k) & Chr(l) & Chr(m) & Chr(i1) & Chr(i2) & _
Chr(i3) & Chr(i4) & Chr(i5) & Chr(i6) & Chr(n)
Exit Sub
End If
Next: Next: Next: Next: Next: Next
Next: Next: Next: Next: Next: Next
End Sub

Click the ‘Run’ button on the toolbar and select the ‘Run Sub/UserForm’ option or press ‘F5’ to execute the code.

The code will take a couple of minutes to crack the password. Once it’s done, you’ll receive a pop-up with a cracked password, which is not the original one (it’s usually some combination of A’s and B’s), but still, it works. Click ‘OK’ and the sheet will be unprotected.

You need to save the Excel file before closing (as Macro-Enabled Workbook) after pasting the code to the module.

Unprotect Excel Sheet Without Password Using Zip

There’s another trick you can use to Unprotect a worksheet. Just follow theses steps:

First, navigate to Control Panel and open ‘File Explorer options’.

In the File Explorer Options window, uncheck the ‘Hide Extensions for known file types’ to enable your file extensions. Then, click ‘Apply’ to apply the changes and click ‘OK’ to close the window. Now your file extensions of files will be visible.

Now located your protected excel file in your drive and rename and change its extension from .xlsx to .zip.

To change extension, right-click on the file, select ‘Rename’ option and replace ‘.xlsx’ with ‘.zip’. Then hit ‘Enter’ and click ‘Yes’ in Rename prompt box.

Now, your Excel file is a Zip file.

Next, extract the Zip file as shown below. In our case, the most important files to open are located in the /xl/ folder, where we have basically all that has been included in our Excel workbook. Now we can see it as separate .xml files.

Now navigate to ‘xl –>worksheets –> sheet 1.xml’ (which is the protected sheet). When you open the ‘/xl/worksheets/’ directory, you will see the list of all sheets (in XML format) available in your workbook. Then, open the sheet 1.xml file with Notepad or WordPad (right-click on the file and select a text editor from the ‘Open with’ context menu).

Find the following tag and delete it:

<sheetProtection password=… />

If you have a large amount of information in the worksheet, it will be hard to locate the ‘sheetProtection’ tag. So press Ctrl + F to open the Find feature, type ‘protection’ in ‘Find what’, and click ‘Find Next’. It will find the word ‘Protection’ and highlight it. Now, you can select the ‘sheetProtection’ and delete it.

After that, save the XML file and re-zip all the extracted files into a zip file again. Then, change the extension back from .zip to .xlsx.

Now, open and check your spreadsheet. It will be unprotected.

This method only works in password-protected workbooks. If the file is protected with the ‘Encrypt with Password’ feature, this method won’t work.

Unprotect an Excel Sheet with a Google Sheets

Yet another workaround that allows you to unprotect an Excel worksheet without a password. You’ll need a Google Drive account to do this.

Open your Google Drive account and click the ‘New’ button at the top left corner.

From the New menu, select ‘Google Sheets’ and click ‘Blank spreadsheet’.

In the blank spreadsheet, click ‘File’ in the toolbar and select ‘Import’.

In the Import file dialogue box, select the ‘Upload’ tab from the menu and click the ‘Select a file from your device’ button.

Browse and find the Excel workbook on your local drive, select it, and click ‘Open’ to upload. Or you can simply drag and drop the excel file into the Import file box.

In the Import file window, select the ‘Replace spreadsheet’ option and click the ‘Import Data’ button.

This will import your protected Excel worksheet into your Google Sheets with all the data. Now, you’ll notice that the worksheet is no longer protected and you are free to edit the data.

You can now export the worksheet back to Excel format again.

In the now unprotected Google sheet, click the ‘File’ menu from the toolbar and select the ‘Download’ option. Then choose ‘Microsoft Excel (.xlsx)’ from the context menu.

Then give the file a new name and click ‘Save’.

Now you have the same exact Excel sheet, but it is no longer password-protected.

How to Unprotect an Excel Workbook Without Password

If you have a password protected workbook for which you can’t remember the password, then use the VBA Code and ZIP methods to unprotect the workbook as discussed below.

Unprotect Excel Workbook Without Password Using VBA Code

You can also unprotect workbook structure in Excel using Microsoft Visual Basic for Application (VBA) feature. Here’s How:

Open the Excel file with the protected workbook structure and then go to the ‘Developer’ tab and click the ‘Visual Basic’ button.

In the Visual Basic code editor, click the ‘Insert’ tab and select ‘Module’ option.

On the popup module (code) window, copy and paste the following code to unlock the workbook structure.

Sub Shareus()
        ActiveWorkbook.Sheets.Copy
          For Each sh In ActiveWorkbook.Sheets
            sh.Visible = True
          Next
        End Sub

Hit the ‘F5’ button or click the ‘Run’ button on the toolbar and select the ‘Run Sub/UserForm’ option to run the macro.

Then a new workbook opens up with a different name. It is the same as the original workbook but without workbook structure protection. Now you unprotected the workbook structure in Excel without knowing the password.

Unprotect Excel Workbook Without Password Using Zip

You can unprotect the Excel workbook safely without a password by changing the file extension and manipulating its constituents.

Get the excel file with the protected workbook structure, rename and change its extension from .xlsx to .zip as we did earlier for the protected worksheet. Before you do that make a copy of it for backup.

Then extract the zip file using some file archiver software like WinRAR or 7zip and you’ll get some folders and files as shown below.

Then open the ‘xl’ folder and open the ‘workbook.xml’ file with Notepad (which contains protection tag)

Now find and select this whole protection tag and delete it:

<workbookProtection workbookPassword= …/>

If you are having a hard time finding this tag, just press Ctrl + F to open the Find dialog, type ‘protection’ in ‘Find what’, and click ‘Find Next’. It will find the word ‘Protection’ and highlight it for you. Now, you can highlight the ‘workbookProtection’ tag and delete it.

After removing the protection tag, save the ‘workbook.xml’ file. Then, zip (compress) all the extracted files back into a zip file.

Now all you have to do is change the extension of the file from ‘.zip’ to ‘.xlsx’.

Now the zip file will be converted back to the Excel file and you will find the protected password has been removed from the workbook.

That’s how you unprotect Excel worksheet/workbook.

Источник

I recently had the circumstance where a client sent me a copy of a spreadsheet that was password protected, however the client no longer had the password to unlock the content. They were wondering if there was anything we could do…

Unfortunately, there is no quick and simple way for your to view or recover a lost password in Excel.

So what do you do when you need to unprotect an Excel spreadsheet but you have lost or don’t have access to the password?

ExcelSuperSite – Ultimate Guide
ExcelSuperSite – How to unprotect a password protected worksheet [using VBA code]
ExcelSuperSite – Alternate method

Microsoft’s official stand on this matter is:

[URL] – Microsoft

ExcelSuperSite Ultimate Guide

How to Unprotect an Excel Spreadsheet (when I have forgotten the password)

Here at ExcelSuperSite, we come across many situations where our clients have locked their spreadsheets to prevent access or accidental changes being made, but then, forget or lose access (staff leave and don’t share passwords etc) to the passwords used.

So often in fact that we created the following Ultimate Guide on how to remove passwords from within Excel. Simply click the following link to access the guide.

How to Unprotect an Excel Spreadsheet (when I have forgotten the password)

This guide presents simple to understand and follow, step-by-step instructions to lead you through all the steps you need to regain full access to Excel spreadsheets.

Recover a password to open a workbook or worksheet

Excel lets you easily lock and password protect your workbooks and your worksheets. But, what happens when you forget or misplace these passwords. Unfortunately, if this has happened to you, there is no simple and easy way to recover a lost password.

Excel doesn’t store the passwords you use to lock your spreadsheet nor can Microsoft can “look them up” for you. This is also true for the other software in the Office suite that lets you protect files.

It is always a good idea to make sure you store your passwords someplace safe so you have access to them when required.

So what do you do if you have lost the password to unprotect an excel workbook or worksheet?

The following method MAY work for you if you created and saved your spreadsheet Excel 2003 or earlier versions of the software. We have had a good amount of success using this method but it has not worked 100% of the time. Having said that, the method does not harm your spreadsheet nor data, so you have nothing to lose from trying it.

If you created and saved your spreadsheet in a version of Excel from 2007 to present, we recommend using an alternate method we discuss in the following article to remove the passwords from your spreadsheet.

Click this link to read an alternate method to removing passwords from Excel worksheets.

This alternate method is the primary way we utilise at ExcelSuperSite to help our clients regain access to their spreadsheets.

How to unprotect a password protected worksheet.

Step 1 Press ALT + F11 or click View Code on the Developer Tab.

(Nb: By default, the Developer Tab is not displayed as a menu option in Excel. You can add it by following the steps outlined in this article – How to show the Developer Tab in Excel.)

Step 2 Double click on the worksheet that is password protected.

Step 3 Copy and paste the code below into the (Code) window. (Do not change any of the code, just copy and paste it as it is.)

Sub PasswordBreaker()
Dim i As Integer, j As Integer, k As Integer
Dim l As Integer, m As Integer, n As Integer
Dim i1 As Integer, i2 As Integer, i3 As Integer
Dim i4 As Integer, i5 As Integer, i6 As Integer
On Error Resume Next
For i = 65 To 66: For j = 65 To 66: For k = 65 To 66
For l = 65 To 66: For m = 65 To 66: For i1 = 65 To 66
For i2 = 65 To 66: For i3 = 65 To 66: For i4 = 65 To 66
For i5 = 65 To 66: For i6 = 65 To 66: For n = 32 To 126
ActiveSheet.Unprotect Chr(i) & Chr(j) & Chr(k) & _
Chr(l) & Chr(m) & Chr(i1) & Chr(i2) & Chr(i3) & _
Chr(i4) & Chr(i5) & Chr(i6) & Chr(n)
If ActiveSheet.ProtectContents = False Then
MsgBox "One usable password is " & Chr(i) & Chr(j) & _
Chr(k) & Chr(l) & Chr(m) & Chr(i1) & Chr(i2) & _
Chr(i3) & Chr(i4) & Chr(i5) & Chr(i6) & Chr(n)
Exit Sub
End If
Next: Next: Next: Next: Next: Next
Next: Next: Next: Next: Next: Next
End Sub

Step 4 Click on the Run Button or press F5.

And there you have it.

If this method worked and was able to unprotect your worksheet you’ll a small pop-up window saying “One usable password is XXXYYYZZZXXXY”.

If the above method did not work for you then you can try an updated method for removing passwords from an Excel spreadsheet – Click this link to read an alternate method to removing passwords from Excel worksheets.

This alternate method is the primary way we now utilise at ExcelSuperSite to help our clients regain access to their spreadsheets.

ExcelSuperSite Ultimate Guide

How to Unprotect an Excel Spreadsheet (when I have forgotten the password)

Still stuck trying to unlock your spreadsheet. Download our Ultimate Guide to follow the very same, simple to understand and follow, step-by-step methods we use here at ExcelSuperSite to help our clients. Click the following link to access the guide.

How to Unprotect an Excel Spreadsheet (when I have forgotten the password)

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Since writing this article we have received many, many requests for help from people needing to remove the passwords from their spreadsheets.

To request our help, please click the following link:

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Continue the Discussion

Have you had to unprotect a password protected spreadsheet? If so, how do you do it? Did you use a similar format to above or another method? Continue the discussion and add your thoughts in the comments section at the bottom of this article.

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Unprotect as an owner under the Review tab or without a password using the Visual Basic code editor

Updated on December 4, 2022

What to Know

Unprotect as owner: Select Review > Unprotect Sheet and enter the password.
Unprotect without password: Open Visual Basic code editor by selecting Developer > View code.
Then, enter the code supplied in this article and select Run. In a few minutes, a password is revealed. Choose OK.

This article explains how to unprotect Excel workbooks. The information applies to Excel workbooks in Microsoft Excel 365, Microsoft Excel 2019, 2016, and 2013.

How to Unlock an Excel Workbook as the Owner

Microsoft Excel is packed with features. One such feature is the ability to protect your Excel files at the cell, spreadsheet, or workbook level. Sometimes it’s necessary to unprotect Excel workbooks to ensure data changes apply correctly.

This method assumes that as the owner of the file, you remember the password used to protect the spreadsheet.

Open the protected spreadsheet, and select Review > Unprotect Sheet. You could also right-click the protected spreadsheet, then select Unprotect Sheet.

You can identify a protected spreadsheet under the Changes section of the Review tab on the ribbon. If the spreadsheet is protected, you see the Unprotect Sheet option.
Enter the password used to protect the spreadsheet, then select OK.
Your spreadsheet will now be unprotected and it can be modified.

How to Unprotect an Excel Workbook Without Knowing the Password

You may have protected your Excel workbook or spreadsheet and haven’t had to modify it in some time, even years. Now that you need to make changes, you no longer remember the password you used to protect this spreadsheet.

Fortunately, these steps will allow you to unprotect your workbook using a Virtual Basic script as a macro to identify the password.

Open the protected spreadsheet.
Access the Visual Basic code editor by either pressing ALT+F11 or select Developer > View Code.

In the Code window of the protected sheet, enter the following code:

Sub PasswordBreaker()
Dim i As Integer, j As Integer, k As Integer
Dim l As Integer, m As Integer, n As Integer
Dim i1 As Integer, i2 As Integer, i3 As Integer
Dim i4 As Integer, i5 As Integer, i6 As Integer
On Error Resume Next
For i = 65 To 66: For j = 65 To 66: For k = 65 To 66
For l = 65 To 66: For m = 65 To 66: For i1 = 65 To 66
For i2 = 65 To 66: For i3 = 65 To 66: For i4 = 65 To 66
For i5 = 65 To 66: For i6 = 65 To 66: For n = 32 To 126
ActiveSheet.Unprotect Chr(i) & Chr(j) & Chr(k) & _
Chr(l) & Chr(m) & Chr(i1) & Chr(i2) & Chr(i3) & _
Chr(i4) & Chr(i5) & Chr(i6) & Chr(n)
If ActiveSheet.ProtectContents = False Then
MsgBox "One usable password is " & Chr(i) & Chr(j) & _
Chr(k) & Chr(l) & Chr(m) & Chr(i1) & Chr(i2) & _
Chr(i3) & Chr(i4) & Chr(i5) & Chr(i6) & Chr(n)
Exit Sub
End If
Next: Next: Next: Next: Next: Next
Next: Next: Next: Next: Next: Next
End Sub

Select Run or press F5 to execute the code.
The code will take several minutes to run. Once finished, you’ll receive a pop-up with a password. Select OK and your spreadsheet will be unprotected.

This is not the original password and you don’t need to remember it.

FAQ

How do I protect workbooks in Excel?

To password-protect Excel workbooks, open the workbook and select File > Info > Protect Password > Protect Workbook > Encrypt with Password.
How do I protect cells in Excel?

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