How to unlock a folder & File?

Hello Larry,

Thank you for your description. It seems that the issue is not caused by Office encryption but by Windows user management and file permissions settings. I am not sure what you have already tried, so the troubleshooting steps provided may be repetitive. If so, please ignore them.

1. Changing Permissions

1. Right-click the affected folder.
2. Click "Properties".
3. Go to the "Security" tab.
4. Click the "Edit" button.
5. Here, you can find the permissions for home users and administrators. Make sure there is a check mark in front of "Full control" for the user.
6. Close the window to return to the folder properties. Now click "Advanced".
7. Click the "Change" button in front of the user.
8. In the provided text field, enter your username and click "Check Names", then select your username from the pop-up window.
9. Make sure to check "Replace owner on subcontainers and objects" under the owner name.
10. If you receive a pop-up window asking you to confirm the permission changes, select "Yes".

2. Using Commands to obtain Permissions

1. Press Win+S to open the search box, type cmd, and run the command prompt as an administrator.
2. Type the following command and press Enter:

    TAKEOWN /F path of the file (or folder)\file (or folder) name /R /D Y
   

   (Please replace the path of the file (or folder)\file (or folder) name with the actual path or name of the file or folder)
3. Type the following command and press Enter:

    ICACLS path of the file (or folder)\file (or folder) name /grant administrators:F
   

   (Again, replace the path of the file (or folder)\file (or folder) name with the actual path or name of the file or folder)

Then, please try to open the folder again to see if you can access it normally.

3. Windows clean boot.

Some protection applications may also cause changes in file permissions. You can also try starting Windows with a clean boot to see if the issue encounters the same problem. How to perform a clean boot in Windows - Microsoft Support

Please feel free to let us know if you need further assistance or if any of the above steps are unclear.

Best regards,

Ian - MSFT | Microsoft Community Support Specialist

Correction - I cannot attach it to an email as it gives me the same error as I noed above.

Hello Larry,

Welcome to the Microsoft Community.

This issue can be due to several different reasons. I suggest you first refer to several of the troubleshooting mentioned in this document below in turn to see if they help.

Why did my file open read-only? - Microsoft Support

If all have been checked but don't work, try the following:

• Try restarting your computer
• Install Office updates
• Perform an online repair of Office
• Check your internet connection

If that doesn't work, you can help us understand the problem by providing more information.

• Create a new Excel document in that folder. Does the problem persist?
• While trying to protect, can you recall what steps you performed took and share them with us.
• You can also try to see if you can open it in Office Web or send it to another computer to see if it opens.

You can also share the document that is having issues with us via private messageso that I can look at it from my side and help check the issue.

Looking forward to any response from you.

Best regards,

Ian - MSFT | Microsoft Community Support Specialist

Hi,

Thanks for the reply. I tried everything I could find in an internet search to no avail.

I tried what you suggested - creating a new Word doc & Excel file within the folder & those two new files are not locked. I tried uploading a locked file to Office Web & it gave me an error message (attached). I don't see a way to attach a file so I'll email it.

Hello Larry,

Welcome to the Microsoft Community.

This issue can be due to several different reasons. I suggest you first refer to several of the troubleshooting mentioned in this document below in turn to see if they help.

Why did my file open read-only? - Microsoft Support

If all have been checked but don't work, try the following:

• Try restarting your computer
• Install Office updates
• Perform an online repair of Office
• Check your internet connection

If that doesn't work, you can help us understand the problem by providing more information.

• Create a new Excel document in that folder. Does the problem persist?
• While trying to protect, can you recall what steps you performed took and share them with us.
• You can also try to see if you can open it in Office Web or send it to another computer to see if it opens.

You can also share the document that is having issues with us via private messageso that I can look at it from my side and help check the issue.

Looking forward to any response from you.

Best regards,

Ian - MSFT | Microsoft Community Support Specialist