How do I access an Excel workbook protected with a password I created and I forgot the password?

Question

I created an Excel workbook today and protected the Excel workbook with a password. When I tried to access the workbook later today, no versions of the password I created work and I cannot access the file. Any solutions?

Answer 1

If you have forgotten the password for an Excel workbook, unfortunately, there is no built-in way to recover it. Microsoft does not provide a method to bypass or recover passwords for protected workbooks. Here are a few options you might consider:

1. Check for Backups: If you have a backup of the workbook that is not password protected, you can use that version.
2. Password Recovery Tools: There are third-party software tools available that claim to recover or remove passwords from Excel files. However, use these with caution as they may not always be reliable and could pose security risks.
3. Contact Support: If the workbook is critical, consider reaching out to Microsoft Support for guidance, although they may not be able to assist with password recovery.

It's important to keep a record of passwords for important documents in a secure place to avoid such situations in the future.

Answer 2

Dear @William McAlpine,

Thank you for posting your question in the Microsoft Q&A forum.

I understand how frustrating it can be to lose access to an important Excel workbook. Unfortunately, Microsoft does not provide a way to recover or bypass a forgotten password for a fully encrypted Excel file, as this is designed to protect your data.

In the meantime, here are some steps I recommend you try:

Step 1: Check for backups or previous versions

If the file is stored on OneDrive or SharePoint, you may be able to restore an earlier version that wasn’t password-protected.

In Excel, go to File > Info > Manage Workbook > Recover Unsaved Workbooks to see if older versions are available. For reference: Recover an earlier version of an Office file

Step 2: Verify password variations

Double-check Caps Lock and keyboard layout. Then, try common variations of your passwords or check your password manager/browser-saved passwords.

Step 3: If it’s sheet or workbook structure protection (not full file encryption)

You can remove protection using VBA. Therefore, I recommend creating a new question on the https://stackoverflow.com/ where many experienced developers share advanced techniques and scripts for Excel password recovery. Be sure to include details like your Excel version and whether the protection is for the entire file or just the sheet. You can post VBA programming questions to Stack Overflow by using the vba tag, along with any other relevant tags: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/tagged/vba

Please note that Stack Overflow has guidelines such as requiring a descriptive title, a complete and concise problem statement, and sufficient details to reproduce your issue. Feature requests or overly broad questions are considered off topic.

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I'm looking forward for your reply.

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