Articles Office How to Open a Password Protected Excel File if Forgot Password

How to Open a Password Protected Excel File if Forgot Password

Updated: By Yvonne Keller

open excel

When we are creating password protection on our Excel workbook, Microsoft warns us to keep our password in a safe place, because they can't help to find back the password if it is forgotten or lost.

However, if you are unfortunate to forget your Excel file protected password, how to open it?

wordbook is protected

If there are a lot of important data on the Excel workbook, deleting it directly will cause an amount of loss. Is there any way to unlock it without losing data? Follow this article, and use the software on the method to open your Excel file without or with password efficiently and no any damage.

Methods to open Excel file:
Method 1: Open a password protected excel file without password
Method 2: Open your Excel workbook with the encrypted password
Method 3: Unprotect Excel spreadsheet without software by VBA code

Method 1 only works on Excel (*.xls) file; method 2 works on Excel (*.xls ,*.xlsx) file; method 3 only works on Excel spreadsheet. Read and choose the appreciate way to unlock your Excel file.

Open a password protected excel file without password

The Office Password Remover only works for (.xls and .doc files) on the lower version of Office 2003 . If you are using the higher version of Excel (.xlsx) file on Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, go and see the next method.

1. Download Office Password Remover, install and launch it.

2. Click Open button and select the Excel (.xls) file which you want to unlock.

select excel file to remove password

3. Click Remove Password button, the protected password will be removed from your Excel workbook in a soon.

click remove password button

4. Click on Open, you will find the Excel file is unlocked without password.

click open button to unlock excel file

Open your Excel workbook with the encrypted password

If you forgot protected password to open .xlsx file on Excel 2007/2010/2013/2016, follow this way:

1. Get the Cocosenor Excel Password Tuner and install it on your computer.

2. Click on Open to select the Excel file that needs to be unlocked. (The first two steps are similar with Office Password Remover)

3. Select the appropriate recovery type and adjust settings.

select attack type

Select which recovery type?

4.1 Normal type?

If don't know or remember any thing about the password for your Excel file, choose the Normal recovery type, which will try all the probable combination to recover password for you.

But remember to set the password range and password length to improve the recovery efficiency.

password range

password length

4.2 Normal with Mask type?

If some parts of the password character are still remembered by you, select the Normal then Mask. This may be faster than the Normal recovery type only.

First choose the Normal to set the password range and password length.

Then choose Mask to specify the password, use the "?" symbol to replace with the character you don't know.

specify password with symbol

4.3 Dictionary type?

If your password is note on a document, create a password dictionary with it, and then choose the Dictionary recovery type, that will find your password in a soon. You also can use the dictionary created by the password program.

dictionary attack

4.4 Smart type?

If your password is complicate, and you don't remember any thing about it, select Smart, which will try all the printable characters in all combinations.

5. After adjusting settings, click on Start button, the recovery program will begin.

start to recover password

6. After a while, when your Excel encrypted password is recovered, click on Copy, click on Open, and then paste the password to open your Excel workbook.

excel password is recovered

The Excel Password Tuner is applied to all versions of Excel file, such as *.xlsx file on Excel 2016/ 2013/ 2010/ 2007, and the *.xls file on Excel 2003/2000.

Unprotect Excel spreadsheet without software by VBA code

If you are only setting the password to protect your Excel sheet to be edited, and you forgot the unprotect password, unprotect it with VBA code instantly.

Step 1: Open the Excel file, and press Alt + F11 to open VBA window.

Step 2: Click on Insert, select Module.

insert module

Step 3: On the General window enter the VBA code.

vba code

Step 4: Click on "Run" button (or press F5 key) to run it.

Step 5: In a second, a small box pops up, in spite of the password, just click on OK to close it. Close the VBA window, you will find your Excel sheet has been unprotected without the password.

unprotect excel sheet

Isn't it so easy? Just have a try!

Tips: You can't use the VBA code to open a password protected Excel file when you forgot the encrypted password, because you can't insert a module when the file is not opened.

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