jay_tech JA

Forgot the password I put on my own Excel sheet

Protected a household budget sheet years ago so I wouldn't overwrite the formulas. Now I need to change them and can't remember the password. The file is mine. Any legitimate way to get editing back?
unprotect excel sheet
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dasy_71 Nov 12, 2026
jay_tech
if the file is an old .xls, the zip trick won't work as is. open it, save as .xlsx first (sheet protection doesn't stop that), then do the rename. if it's the whole workbook that's locked (can't add or rename sheets) instead of one sheet, the tag is workbookProtection in xl/workbook.xml. same idea.
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irai Oct 19, 2026
jay_tech
Depends which kind of password. If it's sheet protection (file opens fine but you can't edit cells), that's easy to remove on an .xlsx. Make a copy, rename it to .zip, open xl/worksheets and edit the sheet's .xml in Notepad. Delete the whole tag, save, put it back in the zip and rename to .xlsx. If it asks for a password just to open the file, that's real encryption. No trick for that one, only guessing.
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