Microsoft Excel is a popular tool used for data analysis and calculations. However, due to the nature of Excel, changes to a cell or worksheet can affect the resulting output. Therefore, most people use the Protect Sheet or Protect Workbook feature in Excel to prevent unwanted changes. If you need to unprotect a workbook or worksheet, we are here to provide you with the best ways to unprotect a Microsoft Excel workbook or worksheet on Windows 10.
What happens when you need to unprotect an Excel worksheet or workbook? Of course, nothing will happen if you try these methods, and we'll show you how.
1. Unprotect Microsoft Excel with password
If you have the password for a protected Microsoft Excel worksheet, removing the protection is very easy. Here's how it works:
Step 1: Launch the Microsoft Excel file.
Step 2: To select a locked or protected worksheet, click any of the cells and you should get a dialog box indicating that the sheet is locked. Click OK to close the dialog box.
2. Unprotect Microsoft Excel without password
What if you don't have the password for a protected worksheet or workbook? You can still unprotect an Excel workbook or worksheet using VBA (Visual Basic for Applications) or another spreadsheet program like Google Sheets.
Unprotect Microsoft Excel by uploading to Google Sheets
This last method requires an internet connection and a Google account. Here's what you need to do:
Step 1: Visit Google Sheets on a web browser.
Unprotect Microsoft Excel using Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications (VBA)
You can easily unprotect a password-protected worksheet or workbook using VBA code. However, this method is only available for Microsoft Excel 2010 or earlier. Here's how it works:
Step 1: Create a copy of the Microsoft Excel file and start the copy.
Creating a copy ensures that you have a backup in case your VBA coding fails.
Step 2: Check the file extension of your workbook. If it has an .xlsx extension, you'll need to resave it in xls format by clicking File and then Save As.
The xlsx format is intended for workbooks created, edited, or saved in newer versions of Excel (Microsoft 2013 or later). The VBA method will not work for such workbooks.
Sub PasswordBreaker() Breaks worksheet password protection. Dim i As Integer, j As Integer, k As Integer Dim l As Integer, m As Integer, n As Integer Dim i1 As Integer, i2 As Integer, i3 As Integer im i4 As Integer, i5 As Integer, i6 As Integer On Error Resume Next For i = 65 To 66: For j = 65 To 66: For k = 65 To 66 For l = 65 To 66: For m = 65 To 66: For i1 = 65 To 66 For i2 = 65 To 66: For i3 = 65 To 66: For i4 = 65 To 66 For i5 = 65 To 66: For i6 = 65 To 66: For n = 32 To 126 Activesheet. Chr(j) & Chr(k) & _ Chr(l) & Chr(m) & Chr(i1) & Chr(i2) & Chr(i3) & _ Chr(i4) & Chr(i5) & Chr(i6) & Chr(n) If ActiveSheet.ProtectContents = False Then MsgBox "Password is " & Chr(i) & Chr(j) & _ Chr(k) & Chr(l) & Chr(m) & Chr(i1) & Chr(i2) & _ Chr(i3) & Chr(i4) & Chr(i5) & Chr(i6) & Chr(n) Exit Sub End If Next: Next: Next: Next: Next: Next Next: Next: Next: Next: Next: Next End Sub
Protect Google Sheets
These were the ways to unprotect a Microsoft Excel worksheet or workbook in Windows 10. Google Sheets also provides a way to restrict edits to cells and rows. You can do this by: Lock cells and rows in Google Sheets.