I followed your example but had to go down one more level to get to the worksheets, opened up the file in Notepad and searched for Protection and I removed a line of code between and then did the same for the second xml file. It all works fine...thanks
Beautiful, it worked like a charm. My scenario was a protected worksheet , not the workbook, and I followed JJ's steps, and bingo!!!! All the options when you right click on the sheet tab of the protected worksheet were all available. But worksheet is still password protected... But I could copy it and paste it on a new sheet and dumped the protected sheet and worked fine. Thank you
Worked perfectly! He mentioned it at the end of his video but just as a reminder, make sure you pay attention to what the original extension was! You'll want it to be the same as the one you copied
Thank you so much. It also successfully work for me for Excel 2010; although, I removed the protection on the specific protectected worksheets in the worksheets folder and not on the workbook.xml
Hi Jie, thanks for posting the video explaining how to unlock the excel sheet when a password is forgotten. I am in a situation where my excel workbook is locked and couldn't unlock it with the steps shown in this video. When I convert the excel workbook to .zip and try opening with win rar, I get an error message "This archive is in either unknown format or damaged". I used 7zip to extract and was successful. But, I didn't see the directories that were shown in this video. I am curious to know if there is any other way to unlock the workbook.
I tried this method unsuccessfully. After I have renamed the file extension to a .zip, instead of creating a RAR file, the file became a ZIP folder instead and it can't work from there on. Did you have this problem and overcame it?
I tried this method unsuccessfully. After I have renamed the file extension to a .zip, instead of creating a RAR file, the file became a ZIP folder instead and it can't work from there on. Did you have this problem and overcame it?
Thanks Jie Jenn.. but I failed on final stage during Converting File.. it says "Converting..." but then its said "Something went wrong" Does it require for excel file to connect online using Microsoft Account?
Hi , I have a problem after changing the extension the zip file is not even opening nor extracting . Pc Specs Windows7 Office 2007 Everone is saying it is working but in my case it isn't working.
I have an Excel workbook with about 30 sheets, one of which I imported from online (an amortization table). That sheet came password protected, and it's the only sheet with protection. I don't know the password. Is this preventing me from removing the password for my entire workbook?
Hi, I forgot my password of an excel file and tried to unlock by using your method. But when I open the zip file, it looks different from your video. My file shows 'EncryptedPackage'. I have no idea how to open this. Can you help? Thanks.
amazing just make sure when you delete it in the notepad that you do the entire thing sheet protection scenarios, objects, sheet, spincount, saltvalue, hashvalus and algorithmname
Hi, no need to make the file as a zip file. Just rename the filename.xls as filname.zip and open it. Then you can see the folders. Hope this will help.
Do you know anything about outlook and being able to break the password to an old outlook file where I forgot the password? It's from around 10 years old. thanks
this legit changed my life. i wish i saw this a decade ago. instead of looking for "lockstructure" i deleted the entire filesharing line between the with the username and password
im using notepad and i cant seem to find lockStructure anywhere, i even tried opening it with Wordpad still no luck :/ edit: i figured out that the workbook is not locked. however the sheets are. i unlocked the sheets with the same zip, delete and unzip process.
@@500spectre nope. If you can see the edit i figured out why. And if you are going to contest why the two are different then be my guest cause I am not going to explain you why both of them are .txt file reader and editer.
Hey JJ.. Therer is not lockstructure anywhere in the file. I checked it with notepad++ and the I copied the code and checked it in word as well. What to do now?
in 2021, When you zip Excell workbook which is password protected, and try to open it, it says _"The archive is either in unknown format or damaged"_ . So anyone gets this error? I see it works in old times, but I am not able to open the zipped excell file now.
I am on a mac. after i change the extension to .zip, double clicking will create another zip file. Totally different from this. any solutions for a mac book?
Seems like it is Excel Application password protection, which is different from Workbook protection. There is not a way to crack the password without 3rd party tool.
After renaming the extension, when I tried top open it from WinRAR, it displays “"…../My-File.zip” The archive is either in unknown format or damaged”. Does this depend on what version of WinRAR ?
Mostly depending on which level of password protection you are trying to crack. Excel has 3 different password protections: application, workbook, and worksheet.
Thx Jie, it is Workbook as I’m unable to open the Excel file as it asks for a password to open it. In this case, will this method work ? Or I have to use a third party software to recover the password?
I tried this method unsuccessfully. After I have renamed the file extension to a .zip, instead of creating a RAR file, the file became a ZIP folder instead and it can't work from there on. Did you have this problem and overcame it?
Hum... Interesting, that's what I use too. Is your file name extension name showing by default? If it is, if you want, you can send me your file to UA-cam@learndataanalysis.org I can take a look at it.
@@ayazhussain3635 I see. Then this is as far as I can help. Your best bet would probably be asking someone on ExcelForum.com for help. That's where all the TRUE experts are hanging out.
I followed your example but had to go down one more level to get to the worksheets, opened up the file in Notepad and searched for Protection and I removed a line of code between and then did the same for the second xml file. It all works fine...thanks
Beautiful, it worked like a charm. My scenario was a protected worksheet , not the workbook, and I followed JJ's steps, and bingo!!!! All the options when you right click on the sheet tab of the protected worksheet were all available. But worksheet is still password protected...
But I could copy it and paste it on a new sheet and dumped the protected sheet and worked fine. Thank you
Worked perfectly! He mentioned it at the end of his video but just as a reminder, make sure you pay attention to what the original extension was! You'll want it to be the same as the one you copied
Thank you so much. It also successfully work for me for Excel 2010; although, I removed the protection on the specific protectected worksheets in the worksheets folder and not on the workbook.xml
It worked perfectly and I am amazed how simple it is to remove the protection. My Excel is version 2016. Thank you Jie Jenn.
Glad my video helped!
Perfect worked a treat. good job there are people like you who will teach others.
Glad the video helped.
Hi Jie, thanks for posting the video explaining how to unlock the excel sheet when a password is forgotten. I am in a situation where my excel workbook is locked and couldn't unlock it with the steps shown in this video. When I convert the excel workbook to .zip and try opening with win rar, I get an error message "This archive is in either unknown format or damaged". I used 7zip to extract and was successful. But, I didn't see the directories that were shown in this video. I am curious to know if there is any other way to unlock the workbook.
I think it doesnt work on new excels without tools
it worked perfectly. how can i also remove worksheet protection? Thank you so much.
You are the most awesome person who has ever lived. You've saved me a week of work!!!
I recieved a Password Protected Excel file without the password, followed these steps and it worked a dream
Jie Jenn thank you for sharing
Glad my video helped!
Very helpful and good learning
AWESOME!!!!!! This saved me from having to create an ENTIRE BRIGADE’S MANNING REPORT....sheeeeeessshhhh!!!!!
Wonderful, brilliant, an absolute life saver. Worked perfectly!! Possibly the most useful video I've ever watched
I tried this method unsuccessfully. After I have renamed the file extension to a .zip, instead of creating a RAR file, the file became a ZIP folder instead and it can't work from there on. Did you have this problem and overcame it?
Thank you, it worked perfectly.
Just what I was looking for. Thanks.
very helpful. I can remove mine. Excellent video. Thank you so much. Subscribed & definately liked
Thank you . It worked !! Its been 3 days since i was trying to remem ber my workbook password. You rock guy
I tried this method unsuccessfully. After I have renamed the file extension to a .zip, instead of creating a RAR file, the file became a ZIP folder instead and it can't work from there on. Did you have this problem and overcame it?
Amazing video thanks so much. you saved a big headache of having to reproduce a big document.
Great work and this is worked for me. Simple and easy work. Thank you for upload this.
Outstanding. Its very informative video. 😊 Big Thanks. 👏👏👏👏👏
Hey man great Video, I applied your suggestions but my workbook did not have any locked structure details after pasting it on notepad, please help
It worked for me. Thank you so much!
Thanks Jie Jenn.. but I failed on final stage during Converting File.. it says "Converting..." but then its said "Something went wrong"
Does it require for excel file to connect online using Microsoft Account?
it worked perfectly..thanks a lot...
This was really helpful. Thank you!
Hi ,
I have a problem after changing the extension the zip file is not even opening nor extracting .
Pc Specs
Windows7
Office 2007
Everone is saying it is working but in my case it isn't working.
even I'm facing same issue
Amazing!! Thank you very much!
I have an Excel workbook with about 30 sheets, one of which I imported from online (an amortization table). That sheet came password protected, and it's the only sheet with protection. I don't know the password. Is this preventing me from removing the password for my entire workbook?
@Jei Jenn, nice trick. But when i am trying to do the same my zip file is not getting open, its saying unknown format or damaged.
What Excel version are you using?
@@jiejenn 2016
Same as mine
Same with 2010
Perfect. Thank you so much. Very clear--and it worked!
Hi, I forgot my password of an excel file and tried to unlock by using your method. But when I open the zip file, it looks different from your video. My file shows 'EncryptedPackage'. I have no idea how to open this. Can you help? Thanks.
That's new to me. If you want you can send your file to youtube@LearnDataAnalysis.org and I can take a look.
Same
What software you use to open the zip files? Try use Winrar
amazing just make sure when you delete it in the notepad that you do the entire thing sheet protection scenarios, objects, sheet, spincount, saltvalue, hashvalus and algorithmname
worked for me Excel 2016. Thanks for this
It's worked fantastically for me. Thanks👍
Can you do a video on how to get buy the Open password as well?
Why I couldn't find that structure lock in notepad?
cuz it's lockstructure
@Jie Jenn While I tried to open the zip it shows the archive is either in unknown format or damaged
I think there are some file archive software don't work, this is the most common root cause.
@@jiejenn how can we solve it
Very nice, thank you
Great Video - But it doesn't work - When I make the file a zip file and look into the folder it only has the compressed xls file ??
I think for xls files, you will have to use macro. If you do a Google search you should be able to find the VBA code.
Hi, no need to make the file as a zip file. Just rename the filename.xls as filname.zip and open it. Then you can see the folders. Hope this will help.
@@NishanHarshaPerera Hi, I rename it; but it says: "The archive is either in unknown format or damaged" Excel Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2016
With WinRAR says: This archive/split-archive may be corrupted or has missing parts....
Do you know anything about outlook and being able to break the password to an old outlook file where I forgot the password? It's from around 10 years old.
thanks
Not familiar with Outlook password protection unfortunately.
@Jie Jenn What screen recorder have you used? Is it a paid software. please share the URL to download that particular software!!!
OBS
this legit changed my life. i wish i saw this a decade ago. instead of looking for "lockstructure" i deleted the entire filesharing line between the with the username and password
Thankss for sharing!!! Great Help!!
Amazing, thank you!! I got it to work for the workbook protection. How can i unlock worksheet protection?
Check out this video ua-cam.com/video/DvBAGuJts7A/v-deo.html
im using notepad and i cant seem to find lockStructure anywhere, i even tried opening it with Wordpad still no luck :/
edit: i figured out that the workbook is not locked. however the sheets are. i unlocked the sheets with the same zip, delete and unzip process.
me to
notepad and notepad++ are two different things
@@500spectre nope. If you can see the edit i figured out why. And if you are going to contest why the two are different then be my guest cause I am not going to explain you why both of them are .txt file reader and editer.
@@MrUnderEstimated Hey John how did you unlock the sheet. thank you
@@duanetegels2268 yes, its the same in the tutorial, you just need to unlock the sheet
Thank you soooo much! 🙂 this actually worked for me.
Hey JJ.. Therer is not lockstructure anywhere in the file. I checked it with notepad++ and the I copied the code and checked it in word as well. What to do now?
What version of Excel are you using? And are you sure your Excel file is locked?
@@jiejenn I am using 2016 professional plus. And out of the entire worksheet, first sheet is password protected.
I think you are trying to unlock your worksheet protection instead of workbook.
ua-cam.com/video/DvBAGuJts7A/v-deo.html
Thanks a million, pal. It worked like a charm.
It worked. Thanks. New subscriber here.
Glad the video helped me.
wow my friend, awesome, I need to buy you a coffee!!
You are the best bro. Thank you.
Didn't work for me, it shows Encrypted Info/Packages one I view the zipped folder structure
Same for me
i'm sorry but here say "your file is damaged" when I put in zip.
So what can I do ?
Hey. Which Excel version are you using?
@@jiejenn It happen the same with me: "The archive is either in unknown format or damaged" Excel Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2016
same thing happen to me
@@micheleproce4590 to fix it, you need to ensure you "save as" and save it as an xlsx file (aka a more recent version of excel). otherwise wont work
Excellent bro. You saved my Day
works flawlessly !! Great Job
You rock! Thanks!
Worked like a charm. THANK YOU!
Super Brother its really great work thanks so much how to remove excel locked sheets
So if i change it back to 1 will the file go back to its original password state?
This is life-saving! Thank you so much.
Thank you so much
Hi Jie, I cant find the lock structure term. Maybe because I have the Office 365?
Office 365 is a cloud application. Unfortunately this method only works on desktop Excel.
Thank you SO much!
Which version of winrar should i use??
Hi When i open the zip file, it said the file is damaged or corrupt..are there any ways to open the excel file?
What zip software are you using? There are few zip software are incompitable.
Yow mi gee you save my life with this HACK. Much appreciated
THANK you, very helpful!
Can u teach the method for XLS?
Brilliant!
this is perfect 😍
Thank you so much, it has worked !!!
Hey Jie - Shouldn't it be like - How to Remove Forgotten Excel Sheet Password (NOT WORKBOOK) I have problem with Workbook Password, can you help ...?
Workbook and Worksheet use separate password protection mechanism.
in 2021, When you zip Excell workbook which is password protected, and try to open it, it says _"The archive is either in unknown format or damaged"_ . So anyone gets this error? I see it works in old times, but I am not able to open the zipped excell file now.
were you able to find solution
@@surajbhalgotra5933 nope, I remembered the password:)
Thank you very much, it helped a lot.
Thx worked for me!
Thank you !
thanks so much!!
Thank you a lot brother! Everything worked.
Great job🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏 appreciate your work..
Thanks alot bro....life saver
Doesn't seem to work for Excel 365 until I also removed the protection listed in the sheet.xml.
AMAZING !!
Thank you very, very much!!!!
Thanks man worked 100%
I am on a mac. after i change the extension to .zip, double clicking will create another zip file. Totally different from this. any solutions for a mac book?
I am a Windows user unfortunately. Can you ask for someone who owns a Windows PC and try it on his/her laptop?
Hi, the 7zip does not show the xml if it is protected. Is there a work around?
Seems like it is Excel Application password protection, which is different from Workbook protection. There is not a way to crack the password without 3rd party tool.
OMG thank you - life saver!!!!
Glad the video helped.
After renaming the extension, when I tried top open it from WinRAR, it displays “"…../My-File.zip” The archive is either in unknown format or damaged”. Does this depend on what version of WinRAR ?
Mostly depending on which level of password protection you are trying to crack. Excel has 3 different password protections: application, workbook, and worksheet.
Thx Jie, it is Workbook as I’m unable to open the Excel file as it asks for a password to open it. In this case, will this method work ? Or I have to use a third party software to recover the password?
Brilliant, works.
Holy hell this worked. THANK YOU!
I tried this method unsuccessfully. After I have renamed the file extension to a .zip, instead of creating a RAR file, the file became a ZIP folder instead and it can't work from there on. Did you have this problem and overcame it?
Thank you. It works.
ure my hero!
Thanks for saving me
I tried, itworked on protected sheet but not for protected workbook. It show error while opening zip file. I am using excel 2016
What is the file extension? xls or xlsx? And what zip software are you using?
@@jiejenn xlsx and winzip
Hum... Interesting, that's what I use too. Is your file name extension name showing by default? If it is, if you want, you can send me your file to UA-cam@learndataanalysis.org I can take a look at it.
@@jiejenn Actually it's a confidential file. I can't share it outside my organization.
@@ayazhussain3635 I see. Then this is as far as I can help. Your best bet would probably be asking someone on ExcelForum.com for help. That's where all the TRUE experts are hanging out.
Similar to my excel version but there is no 'lockStructure' in file.
True, I tried the same steps and did not find anything related to a password in Notepad++, maybe they patched this?
OMG Thank you ! Thank you !!
Thanks
wow you're incredible thank you
Thank you, you are a life saver
what about if the workbook requires a password to open it? are there any strategies to unlock it?
Unfortunately that's Excel application password protection, I don't believe currently there is any tool can break that level of password.