Unprotecting an Excel worksheet if you don't know the password

Subscriber Amy S. asks 'If we have a protected worksheet and we don't know what the password is, is there any way we can 'unprotect' the worksheet?'

I have had this question in the past and unfortunately the answer hasn't changed.  If there was a way in Excel to bypass the password and therefore unprotect the worksheet, it would render using a password pointless. 

Yet all may not be lost.  By default, when a worksheet is protected, you can still select the protected cells.  So even thought the worksheet may be protected you might still be able to select the whole sheet, copy then paste onto a new sheet.  The sheet you paste the cells onto will not be protected so the data can be used in the normal way.

Note that in recent versions of Excel, when you protect a worksheet the following options are selected:
 - Select locked cells
 - Select unlocked cells

If either or both of these were deselected when the sheet was protected, you may not be able to select the whole sheet.   Of course, you can't copy what you can't select.

As a last resort, utilities can be downloaded from the Internet that claim to hack an Excel password (search for something like 'hack an excel password').  I've not used any of them so can't comment on effectiveness.  If you do decide to go this route, I'd suggest looking for reviews of the programs first to see what experiences others may have had and also to use them with caution.

Any questions, please let me know.

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