How to Properly Open Password Protected Excel | 2024 Best Guide

In everyday office and data analysis, password protection is a security feature provided by Excel to restrict unauthorized access and editing. However, it can become a challenge when users forget or need to unlock password-protected Excel files. This article aims to provide users with a complete set of solutions of how to open password protected Excel files.

Method 1: Open Password Protected Excel File with A Known Password

Opening a password-protected Excel file with a known password can be one of the easiest, fastest and simplest ways. You can follow the steps below to open password protected Excel file (e.g., .xlsx or .xls):

1. Open the Microsoft Excel application.
2. Click on the File menu and select the Open option.
3. Navigate to the target file and select it, click on the small arrow to the right of the Open button, select Open and Repair (for potentially corrupted files); or double-click on the file name.
4. When prompted for a password, enter the correct password in the pop-up window.
5. After confirmation, Excel will decrypt the file and allow you to view and edit the contents.

But in many cases, people who want to solve the problem of how to open password protected Excel files often lose or forget the password for Excel files. And what can be done about it? Read on, there will be more quick solutions below.

Method 2: Cancel the Password Protection of Excel through VBA Code

If you need to know the password in the case of lifting the password protection at the worksheet level, you can use Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) to write code to achieve:

Follow the above code to remove the password protection from the specified worksheet. Then, the issue of how to open password protected Excel files successfully solved.

Method 3: Open Password Protected Excel by Changing the File Extension

Trying to open a password protected Excel file by changing the file extension is an unconventional method, and in most cases will not directly help users obtain or bypass the password. However, this method is based on the principle that Excel files are essentially XML-structured compressed packages.

Theoretically, for some older Excel file formats (e.g. .xls format), it is possible to try to unzip the file and look at the internal structure for possible clues to the password, but this does not apply in all cases, especially for newer formats such as .xlsx, which have stronger modern encryption algorithms.

Note: This method is more applicable to older Excel files. And improper operation may lead to file corruption, please make sure you have the appropriate file backup before operation.

The specific steps are as follows:

1. Change the file extension. First of all, the password-protected Excel file (eg: protected_file.xls) renamed to a RAR or ZIP extension, such as protected_file.rar. If the system hides the file extension, you need to set the option to display the extension in the file manager to change.
2. Unzip the file. Double-click on the file that has been changed to RAR or ZIP format, and open it with decompression software (e.g. WinRAR, 7-Zip). In the extracted folder, look for XML files related to the contents of the worksheet, such as xl/worksheets/sheet1.xml.
3. Search for password information. Open the XML file and try to find sections that may contain password hints or encrypted parameters, but usually, this information is encrypted and difficult to decipher. For earlier versions of Excel, the password may be stored with weak encryption and there is some possibility of cracking it, but for newer Excel files that use strong encryption, it is difficult to get the password in this way.
4. Recover the password. If you find relevant clues, you can try to use online tools or specialized password recovery software to recover the password based on the information found.

How to Open and Repair Corrupt Excel Files

MTM File Recovery for Excel is a professional-grade data recovery software that specializes in repairing and recovering Microsoft Excel files. When an Excel file becomes impossible to open properly or displays garbled code due to various reasons (such as accidental closure, virus infection, hard disk damage, system crash, etc.), the software is able to analyze the file structure in depth and attempts to rebuild the corrupted portion to maximize the recovery of data.

The specific steps to open and repair corrupt Excel files using MTM File Recovery for Excel are as follows:

Step 1: Download and install MTM File Recovery for Excel software on your Windows computer. Follow the installation wizard to complete the installation process.

Step 2: Select the corrupted Excel file. Click on the “Add” button at the top of the software interface to browse and locate the corrupted Excel file (.xls or .xlsx format) that needs to be repaired.

Step 3: Wait for the software to scan and analyze. The software will automatically start deep scanning and analysis of the selected Excel file.

Step 4: Preview & Recovery. After the scanning is completed, if the files have been successfully recovered, the software will provide a preview window in the right area showing the recovered data content. After verifying that the preview results are correct, click on the “Export” button above, according to the software prompts to select the appropriate output location and method to perform file recovery operations.

Tip: About dealing with password protection

• If the damaged files are protected by passwords and you know the passwords, the software may ask you to enter the passwords during the recovery process in order to decrypt and reorganize the file contents correctly.
• If you do not remember the password, the software itself does not directly support cracking the password, but you can try to get the password in other legal ways first and then use it in this session.

Conclusion

Managing the security of Excel files is critical. Knowing how to properly open password protected Excel files is an important skill that every frontline law enforcement, government, and business must have. At the same time, when encountering corrupted or locked files, you should rely on reliable professional tools for recovery to ensure data security and compliant use.