How To Open A Password Protected Excel File With Pictures

If the Excel file itself is encrypted and requires a password to even view the contents, this method will definitely not work. You can try using a password cracker, but there are no guarantees. There’s a chance this method won’t work if the file was protected using the Microsoft 365 version of Excel. [1] X Research source

If you’re immediately prompted for a password upon double-clicking the file and not given the option to open it read-only, the file is encrypted and you cannot use this method to open it.

This is necessary in case you accidentally corrupt the original version of the file in the process.

Open File Explorer by pressing Windows key + E. Click View. Check the “File name extensions” box.

Windows — Right-click the Excel file, click Rename, delete the “xlsx” text at the end of the file’s name, and type in zip. Make sure that you keep the period between the file’s name and “zip”. Press Enter and click Yes when prompted. Mac — Select the Excel file, click File, select Get Info, delete the “xlsx” text at the end of the file’s name, and type in zip. Make sure that you keep the period between the file’s name and “zip”. Press Return and click Use . zip when prompted.

Windows — Right-click the ZIP folder, click Extract All. . . in the drop-down menu, and click Extract when prompted. The extracted folder should open. Mac — Double-click the ZIP folder, then wait for the extracted folder to open.

If the extracted folder didn’t open for some reason, first double-click the regular folder with the same name as your ZIP folder.

Windows — Right-click the sheet you want to unlock (e. g. , “Sheet1”), select Open with in the drop-down menu, and click Notepad in the resulting pop-out menu. Mac — Click the sheet you want to unlock (e. g. , “Sheet1”), click File, select Open With, and click TextEdit.

If multiple sheets in the workbook are protected, you’ll need to remove protection from each of them separately. Open any other protected sheet in your text editor and remove the same line, saving each as you go.

If you’re using Windows, you’ve now added the copied folder back into the existing ZIP file. If you’re using a Mac, you’ve added the copied folder to the extracted folder.

Windows — Right-click the ZIP folder, click Rename, replace the “zip” text with “xlsx”, and press Enter. Click Yes when prompted. Mac — Click the ZIP folder, click File, click Get Info, replace the “zip” text in the title with “xlsx”, and press Return. Click Use . xlsx when prompted.

If you receive an error that the Excel sheet is damaged, you probably removed extra code when you were attempting to remove the password protection algorithm. Repeat the above steps, making sure to only remove the text between the brackets (</>) and the brackets themselves.

It is impossible to crack an Excel file without purchasing a password cracker, as free versions of reputable password crackers usually only cover up to Excel 2010. If your Excel file truly is encrypted, double-clicking the Excel file will prompt you for a password before you can view the file’s contents. If this is the case (and you don’t know the password), you’ll need a password cracker to view its contents.

One is that the app only works on Windows, so Mac users will need access to a PC. [5] X Research source There may be a Mac alternative, but none have proven to be as reliable. If you don’t have access to Windows, try searching for another Excel password-cracking app. Just be sure to research the app thoroughly before downloading and installing, as there are many rogue apps out there. The other is that the software is not totally free—there are some basic features in the trial version that may help crack your password, but you’ll need to pay for a license if the password is at all complex. If you just need to crack one workbook, you can go for the one-month option that’s only $15. 95. [6] X Research source Just remember to cancel the subscription before the month ends so you aren’t billed in the future.

If you just need to remove the password from a protected sheet inside a workbook and couldn’t do so by editing the XML file, you can select Remove Excel Restriction Password instead and follow the on-screen instructions.

Dictionary Attack is a good option if you think the password is a simple word from the dictionary. You can also provide your own list of words to add in addition to the dictionary, such as common passwords used by your organization. Just add those potential passwords to a text file, save it, click Settings next to “Dictionary Attack,” and select that file. This is the only free option, and it only includes a limited dictionary. [8] X Research source If you want to gain access to more options, click Upgrade Now to purchase a license. Brute Force with Mask Attack is a great option if you know any parts of the password, or want to include certain letters, numbers, or symbols in your cracking attempt. If you choose this option, click Settings beside it to customize the length of passwords to try, which characters to use, and prefixes and/or suffixes. Depending on the length and complexity of the password, this option can take a long time—hours, days, even weeks! Brute Force Attack is just like the previous option, except it’s best for when you really have no idea what the password could be. It basically tries all possible combinations until it can figure out the password, which can definitely take a long time depending on its length.

This is the only free option, and it only includes a limited dictionary. [8] X Research source If you want to gain access to more options, click Upgrade Now to purchase a license.

This can take a while, and can consume a lot of resource on your computer. If you need to pause the cracking, click the stop button (the square) until you’re ready to resume, and then click the play button to start again. [9] X Research source When PassFab finds the password, it will display it to you in plain text—you can then copy or type the password into Excel when opening the file to view its contents. Depending on the contents of the Excel file, it might be necessary to abandon your efforts if you haven’t found the password within a reasonable period of time.