This article explains how to unprotect a Microsoft Excel sheet or workbook on both Windows and Mac. If the sheet in question is protected by a password you don't know, you can use Google Sheets or a VBA script (from English "Visual Basic for Applications") to remove the protection.
Steps
Method 1 of 3: Use Microsoft Excel
Step 1. Open the Microsoft Excel file which contains the protected sheet
Normally you have to double-click the icon of the file stored in a folder on your computer.
Step 2. Select the protected sheet name with the right mouse button
The labels of the sheets that make up an Excel workbook are displayed in the lower left part of the program window. Protected sheets are often indicated with a small padlock icon on some versions of Excel. Select the sheet tab (or the lock icon) with the right mouse button to display the appropriate context menu.
If there are more than one protected sheets, you will need to remove protection from one sheet at a time
Step 3. Click the Unprotect Sheet button
If the sheet in question is not protected with a password, it will be unlocked immediately. Otherwise you will be asked to enter the security password.
Step 4. Enter the password and click the OK button
If the password you provided is correct, the sheet will be unlocked automatically.
- If you don't know the password, try using this method. The file will be loaded and opened with Google Sheets, a program capable of removing all protections entered through Microsoft Excel.
- If you're using Excel 2010 or earlier and prefer not to use Google Sheets, you can remove the protection by running a VBA script.
Method 2 of 3: Using Google Sheets
Step 1. Paste the URL https://drive.google.com into the address bar of your internet browser and press the "Enter" key
If you have a Google account, you can use the Google Sheets web app (a completely free Excel-like program) to remove protections from all sheets in a workbook, even if you don't know the login password.
- If you haven't already signed in with your Google account, follow the on-screen instructions to do so now.
- If you don't have a Google account, read this article to create one.
Step 2. Click on the + New button
It is located in the upper left corner of the page.
Step 3. Click on File Upload option
The operating system "Open" window will appear.
Step 4. Select the Excel file you want to edit, then click the Open button
The chosen file will be uploaded to Google Drive.
Step 5. Double-click the Excel file icon that appeared within the Google Drive web interface
If there are many items you may need to scroll through the list before being able to select the correct file. This will display a preview of the file.
Step 6. Click the Open With menu
It is located at the top of the file preview window. A small drop-down menu will appear.
Step 7. Click on the Google Sheets item
At this point the selected file will be opened within Google Sheets and will be ready to be edited. Any protection added by Excel will be removed automatically.
Step 8. Download the edited file from Google Sheets to your computer
If you want to continue editing the file using Microsoft Excel instead of Google Sheets, you can download it to your computer by following these instructions:
- Click on the menu File placed in the upper left corner of the sheet.
- Click on the option Download as.
- Click on Microsoft Excel (.xlsx).
- Select the folder on your computer to store the file. If you don't want to change the original version of the file (the protected one), also type a new name to assign to the document.
- Click on the button Save to finish downloading the file to your computer.
Method 3 of 3: Use a VBA Script in Excel 2010 and Earlier Versions
Step 1. Open the Microsoft Excel file which contains the protected sheet
Double-click the file icon stored in a folder on your computer. Normally Excel files have the following extensions:.xls or.xlsx.
- Try using this method if you've already tried to manually unprotect your spreadsheet, but it turns out you need to enter a security password that you unfortunately don't know.
- This method does not work in Excel 2013 and later versions.
Step 2. Save the file in xls format
If the file you are working on is in ".xlsx" format (this is a common scenario if it was created or edited with newer versions of Excel), you will need to convert it to Excel 97-2003 (.xls) format first. Below you will find the instructions to follow to carry out the conversion:
- Click on the menu File located in the upper left corner of the window.
- Click on the item Save with name.
- Navigate to the folder on your computer where you want to save the file.
- Select the format Excel 97-2003 (.xls) from the "Save as type" or "File format" drop-down menu.
- Click on the button Save.
Follow the instructions that appear on the screen to complete the conversion process.
Step 3. Press the key combination Alt + F11 to open the Visual Basic version editor included with Excel
Step 4. Select the workbook file name displayed in the "Project - VBAProject" panel
It is located in the upper left of the editor window. Make sure you right-click the entry that contains the file name with the ".xls" extension. It should be the first on the list of options. A menu will appear.
Step 5. Click on the Insert item of the appeared menu
A second menu will appear.
Step 6. Click on the Form option
This will create a new module in which you can paste the code reported in this method of the article.
Step 7. Copy the code from the following script
Select the code shown in this step, then press the key combination Ctrl + C (on Windows) or ⌘ Command + C (on Mac) to copy it:
Sub PasswordBreaker () Breaks worksheet password protection. 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 "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 8. Select an empty spot inside the new module with the right mouse button and choose the Paste option
The code will be automatically inserted into the form box.
Step 9. Press the F5 function key to run the code
Excel will execute the entered code. This step may take several minutes to complete; when it is complete, a pop-up window will appear showing the password to unprotect the sheet.
The new password will consist of a random series of characters and will not match the original one
Step 10. Click on the OK button in the pop-up window that appears after the script has finished running
In this case you do not need to make a note of the new password. By clicking on the button OK the protection will be automatically removed from the selected workbook.
