Microsoft Excel lets you easily password protect and encrypt any spreadsheet containing sensitive data. This is an effective way to keep confidential information private. You can also protect the structure of an Excel workbook – to keep users from adding, moving, or deleting worksheets.
Both of these methods provide protection at the workbook level. They protect the contents and structure of your entire Excel file.
What if you want to remove the password? How do you remove protection from an Excel workbook?
At the risk of stating the obvious, it’s a lot easier to remove protection from an Excel workbook if you know the password. If you’re locked out of an Excel file and you don’t have the password, you could try a utility like Dr. Excel. I don’t have any experience with this tool but, if you need access to a password protected Excel file, it might be worth a look.
Let’s go over the processes for removing protection from your Excel files!
Options in the Protect Workbook Menu
Microsoft has centralized the various workbook (and worksheet) protection options in the File > Info group. Here are all of the options in the Protect Workbook menu.
Removing the Password from a Protected Excel Workbook
If an Excel workbook has been encrypted with a password, the Protect Workbook button will say A password is required to open this workbook.
To remove the password:
- Click the Protect Workbook button in the File > Info group.
A drop-down menu appears. - Click the Encrypt with Password button to reveal the Encrypt Document dialog box.
- Drag to select the circles representing your hidden password then press delete.
- Click OK.
After completing the above steps, your file will no longer be password protected (or encrypted).
Microsoft assumes that if you are able to open a password-protected file, you obviously must know the password and will let you remove it without further validation.
Unlock the Structure of a Workbook
If the structure of your workbook has been locked, you’ll see the following message on the Protect Workbook button.
To unlock the structure of your workbook:
- Click the Protect Workbook button in the File > Info group.
A drop-down menu appears. - Click Protect Workbook Structure.
The Unprotect Workbook dialog box appears. - Enter your password and press OK.
Note: It’s possible to protect the structure of your workbook without specifying a password. If you don’t enter a password, clicking Protect Workbook Structure once turns the feature on. Clicking it again turns it off.
What’s Next
I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about removing protection from an Excel workbook.
If you want to learn about other security features in Microsoft Excel, you might want to check out How to Lock Cells in Excel to Protect Data and Formulas.
See you next time!
