{"id":33324,"date":"2023-12-06T15:26:19","date_gmt":"2023-12-06T14:26:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/?p=33324"},"modified":"2024-03-22T16:14:55","modified_gmt":"2024-03-22T15:14:55","slug":"access-password-protected-excel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/blog\/access-password-protected-excel\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Access Password Protected Excel Files"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Losing a password to your Excel workbook or worksheet can be a daunting experience, but there are certainly solutions and methods to recover or bypass these passwords. The process is similar for gaining access to an Excel worksheet vs an Excel workbook. In this article, we’ll walk you through step-by-step instructions on how to access password protected<\/a> Excel worksheet or workbook –<\/p>\n

Recovering Lost Excel Worksheet Password<\/span><\/h3>\n

Launch Microsoft Excel<\/a> and open<\/strong> the workbook containing the password-protected worksheet.<\/p>\n

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Navigate to the Search Box<\/strong> and type in Protect Sheet<\/strong>. If it is password protected, you will be prompted for the worksheet password.<\/p>\n

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Since you’ve forgotten the password, we’ll explore methods to recover or test the worksheet without it.<\/em><\/p>\n

Now, let\u2019s save a copy of the password-protected worksheet to avoid any potential data loss. Go back to File Explorer<\/strong> and Right-click<\/strong> on your file to Copy<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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Then, Right-click<\/strong> again on an empty space in the folder to Paste<\/strong> a copy of the file.<\/p>\n

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As you can see, a duplicate of the worksheet has been saved.<\/p>\n

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Left-click<\/strong> once on the duplicate<\/strong> worksheet file. Pause for a second. Then, click once again. Highlight<\/strong> the \u201cxlsx<\/strong>\u201d extension.<\/p>\n

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Note<\/strong>: If you can\u2019t see the file extension, go up to the View<\/strong> tab, then click on Options<\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\n

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From there, click on the View<\/strong> tab, and make sure the \u201cHide extensions for known file types<\/strong>\u201d is unchecked<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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Replace the \u201cxlsx<\/strong>\u201d extension name with \u201czip<\/strong>\u201d and hit Enter<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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Click Yes<\/strong> when prompted with this message:<\/p>\n

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As you can see, the Excel icon<\/strong> has been changed to the zip file<\/strong> icon.<\/p>\n

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Click the Extract<\/strong> button to reveal a new pop-up window displaying the file contents.<\/p>\n

Double-click<\/strong> on the zip file and click on the XL folder<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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Find the Worksheets folder<\/strong> within the XL<\/strong> directory, which contains individual worksheets labeled “sheet1.xml,” “sheet2.xml,” and so on.<\/p>\n

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Right-click<\/strong> on sheet1.xml<\/strong>, go to Copy<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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Then, Paste<\/strong> a copy of sheet1.xml onto the Desktop<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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From there, go to the Notepad<\/strong> application. Go to File<\/strong>, Open<\/strong>, and Desktop<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Go down to where it says Text Documents<\/strong> and click All Files<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Double-click<\/strong> on the file.<\/p>\n

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The coding text may look a bit complex. But we don\u2019t need to know how to read any of these.<\/p>\n

Click CTRL + F<\/strong> on your keyboard to do a text search. Type in the word \u201cprotect<\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\n

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Go to Find Next<\/strong>. As you can see, the word \u201cprotect<\/strong>\u201d will be highlighted.<\/p>\n

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We will be looking for the character “<<\/strong>.” It is beside \u201csheetProtection<\/strong>.\u201d Identify the end of this code by locating the first “><\/strong>” following it.<\/p>\n

Highlight and delete all text<\/strong> within this code, starting from “<” and ending with “>” in Notepad.<\/p>\n

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Save the modified XML file by clicking the File<\/strong> button in the top left corner of Notepad and selecting Save<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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Right-click<\/strong> on the file on the Desktop<\/strong> and go to Cut<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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Go back to File Explorer<\/strong>. Right-click<\/strong>, then go to Paste<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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You will be prompted with this message:<\/p>\n

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Select Copy and Replace<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Hit the back button 3 times<\/strong> until you are back to where we started.<\/p>\n

Click the zip file. Highlight \u201czip<\/strong>\u201d and replace it with \u201cxlsx<\/strong>.\u201d Press Enter<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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Click Yes<\/strong> on the warning message.<\/p>\n

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Finally, when you double-click on the xlsx file<\/strong>, you will be able to access your spreadsheet<\/a> without requiring a password.<\/p>\n

To verify that it is no longer password-protected, head over to the search bar<\/strong>. Type in \u201cprotect<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Go to Protect Sheet<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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As you can see, you are now given the option to put the password in. Meaning it is no longer password-protected.<\/p>\n

Recovering Lost Excel Workbook Password<\/span><\/h3>\n

Removing the password protection from an Excel Workbook is very similar to the method we used for the worksheet. With a few key differences:<\/p>\n

Launch Microsoft Excel and open<\/strong> the workbook.<\/p>\n

Navigate to the Search Box<\/strong> and type in \u201cProtect Workbook<\/strong>.\u201d If it is password protected, you will be prompted for the workbook password.<\/p>\n

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Since you’ve forgotten the password, we’ll explore methods to recover or test the worksheet without it.<\/em><\/p>\n

Save a copy of the password-protected worksheet to avoid any potential data loss. Go back to File Explorer<\/strong> and Right-click<\/strong> on your workbook file to Copy<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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Then, Right-click<\/strong> again on an empty space in the folder to Paste<\/strong> a copy of the file.<\/p>\n

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As you can see, a duplicate of the workbook has been saved.<\/p>\n

Left-click<\/strong> once on the duplicate workbook file. Pause for a second. Then, click once again<\/strong>. Highlight the \u201cxlsx\u201d<\/strong> extension.<\/p>\n

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Note<\/strong>: If you can\u2019t see the file extension, go up to the View<\/strong> tab, then click on Options<\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\n

From there, click on the View<\/strong> tab, and make sure the \u201cHide extensions for known file types<\/strong>\u201d is unchecked<\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Replace the \u201cxlsx\u201d<\/strong> extension name with \u201czip\u201d<\/strong> and hit Enter<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Click Yes<\/strong> when prompted with this message:<\/p>\n

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As you can see, the Excel icon<\/strong> has been changed to the zip file icon<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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Click the Extract<\/strong> button to reveal a new pop-up window displaying the file contents.<\/p>\n

Double-click<\/strong> on the zip file and click on the XL folder<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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This time, we are not going the \u201cworksheets\u201d folder. Instead, we will Right-click<\/strong> the \u201cworkbook.xml\u201d<\/strong> file. Click Copy<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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Then, Paste<\/strong> a copy of workbook.xml onto the Desktop<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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From there, go to the Notepad<\/strong> application. Go to File<\/strong>, Open<\/strong>, and Desktop<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Go down to where it says Text Documents<\/strong> and click All Files<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Double-click<\/strong> on the file.<\/p>\n

Click CTRL + F<\/strong> on your keyboard to do a text search. Type in the word \u201clock<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Go to Find Next<\/strong>. As you can see, the word \u201clock<\/strong>\u201d will be highlighted.<\/p>\n

This time, we are not going to delete<\/strong> anything.<\/p>\n

From the lockStructure=\u201c1\u201d<\/strong>, change the 1 to a 0<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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Save the modified XML file by clicking the File<\/strong> button in the top left corner of Notepad and selecting Save<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Right-click<\/strong> on the file on the Desktop<\/strong> and go to Cut<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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Go back to File Explorer<\/strong>. Right-click<\/strong>, then go to Paste<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

You will be prompted this message:<\/p>\n

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Select Copy and Replace<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Hit the back button 2 times<\/strong> until you are back to where we started.<\/p>\n

Click the zip file. Highlight \u201czip<\/strong>\u201d and replace it with<\/strong> \u201cxlsx<\/strong>.\u201d Press Enter<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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Click Yes<\/strong> on the warning message.<\/p>\n

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Finally, when you double-click on the xlsx file<\/strong>, you will be able to access your spreadsheet without requiring a password.<\/p>\n

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As you can see, you are now able to edit the cell freely. Meaning it is no longer password-protected.<\/p>\n

Important Considerations<\/span><\/h3>\n