How to password-protect an excel file. Setting a password to protect a document in Excel How to put a password on an xls file

You can put a password on an Excel spreadsheet, thereby preventing access for other users. This can come in handy at home or at work. But in this way, it is impossible to seriously protect the table. Because Excel uses a very weak form of encryption, it is therefore very easy to access the file. Let's try to understand in more detail.

When it is necessary to block access to an Excel file, at home or at work, from other employees, it is enough to put a password on it. The password is set quite simply, right in the Excel file. But, as mentioned above, a protected Excel file is very easy to access. A few minutes is usually enough to hack an Excel file.

However, later versions of Excel have more sophisticated encryption methods. Plus, a complex and long password. Together, this will better protect the table. The older the version of Excel, the easier it is to crack the password. Therefore, you must use a version not lower than Excel 2010, better - 2013 and beyond.

Also with the password, the more complex it is, the better. ? - in this topic, we discussed in detail what you need to rely on when creating a complex and secure password. Another topic that may come in handy when creating protection -? Rely on the tips that are given in the articles on the links above and you will have a really good password, and protection along with that.

Put a password on an excel file

And so, let's get down to business. You can set a password for an Excel file in the Microsoft Excel program itself.

There are two ways to protect a file: the first is to put a password on the entire workbook (the entire Excel file), the second is to protect a specific sheet (tab).

Protect a sheet in Excel with a password

All the password for the Excel sheet is set, now when you open this sheet, Excel will ask for a password.

Protect an entire workbook in Excel with a password

Now let's set a password for the entire Excel file.

The entire Excel workbook is now password protected.

The next time you open a protected Excel file, you will be prompted for a password, without entering which you cannot edit anything and even see the contents of the table.

I never tire of repeating that you need to use strong passwords. Even in this case, if you want to get a protected Excel file, you need not just 12345678, qwerty123, date of birth or the name of your favorite dog, but something more “hard”, like: f0P!LgkTr& - do not try to decrypt, it's just a set of characters: )

And of course, I repeat once again: it is impossible to reliably protect information in an Excel file. But at least using a newer version of Microsoft Excel and a good, strong password will help against accidental hacking, something like that.

In the following articles, we will look at how you can access a protected Excel file and you will see for yourself that it is not enough just to put a password in Microsoft Excel to save confidential information.

We figure out how to put a password on an Excel file, because protecting information in our time is an integral part of the work. Since Excel is often used to create tables and financial and economic reports, the tables may contain confidential information. Information requires protection, so let's figure out how to put a password on a sheet, document (book) and cells in Excel using the built-in tools.

Protecting an Excel File with a Password

Passwords are used to protect a file, book, or parts of it. Moreover, the levels of this protection vary, ranging from restricting individual actions on a sheet to blocking access to a file. With the help of passwords, you can manage the circle of people who have the right to open, modify and work with a file, sheet of a book or a separate cell.

Important note. All passwords created for protection cannot be recovered by Microsoft services. Therefore, it is necessary to independently provide a way to restore them in case of loss or forgetting.

How to set a password on an Excel file

Protecting a file with a password is an alternative to blocking free access to a file. You can assign password access restrictions to open a file or edit it. The second method of protection will allow you to open the file in read-only mode.

To protect an Excel file with a password, follow these steps:

If you check the box next to the "Always create a backup copy" line, after saving the file, a backup file will be automatically created.

Protecting an Excel file with a password will help prevent unauthorized access by third parties, so this procedure should not be neglected.

Put protection on the book

This type of protection imposes a restriction or prohibition on deleting, moving or viewing hidden sheets. That is, the user will be able to open the Excel document, as opposed to using the option to include a password on the file.

Password protection can be done in two ways:

Method number 1. Protecting a book from Excel tape.

Method number 2. Protecting a book from the "File" menu.

A similar way to protect a book can be done from the "File" menu, therefore:

When setting a password to perform actions in the working field of the sheet, a complete or partial prohibition on editing and formatting will be introduced.

You can set a password to protect a sheet of an Excel document as follows:

An alternative option for setting a password through the "File" tab: from the "Details" item, select the "Protect book" section, then "Protect current sheet". Then enter the password and confirm it as described above.

Protecting cells in Excel from editing

A password for changing a cell is set, as a rule, to protect against accidental erasure, change, deletion of a formula or cell contents, as well as a ban on editing. This is done by using the "Protect Sheet" command.

Since when this function is executed, the protection setting is set for all cells, you must first remove it, and then set the protection again only for the necessary cells. Therefore, you need to do the following:

Step #1. Remove default protection from all cells:

Select a sheet with the key combination "Ctrl" + "A".
Call the context menu and select "Format Cells" or execute "Home" → section "Cells" → "Format" → "Format Cells".
In the "Protection" tab, uncheck the box next to the "protected cell" / "hidden" line and click "OK".

Step #2. Set cell or range protection:

Important!!! If the "Hide formulas" checkbox is checked, then the user will not be able to view the formula of this cell.

Step #3. Set sheet protection:

Run in sequence: "Review" → "Protect Sheet" or "Home" → section "Cells" → Format → "Protect Sheet".
Set a password in an empty line, if necessary, remove or set permissions for actions from the list, click OK.
Confirm the password and click OK.

Protecting cells from editing is very often used in tables in which certain formulas are specified. The developer himself can deny access to certain cells, so as not to spoil the created document.

Let me give you an elementary example. Before us is the vacation schedule of the company's employees. In the line "January total", we display the data using the formula. You cannot edit this line, so it is most logical to protect the cell (or range of cells) with a password.

Install macro protection

Since macro files obtained from untrusted sources have the ability to harm your computer when opened, Excel provides varying degrees of macro security settings.

You can manage them by doing:

"File" → "Options" → "Trust Center" → "Security Center Settings".
In the window that opens, select the desired level and put a mark on it.

Remove password from excel file

Suppose the user created a document in Excel, installed formulas and set a password for editing. But, at some point in the work, I realized that the file needs to be corrected.

In this case, you need to understand how to remove the password from the Excel document.

In fact, everything is very simple and below, point by point, we will figure out how to do it.

Important addition!! To remove the password from the Excel file, you need to know the set password.

Go to "File" → "Save As" → "Tools" and select "General Options".
If a password is set for the file, then asterisks will be put in the window that appears. Our task is to remove the asterisks and leave empty values.

How to remove password from excel sheet

To unprotect a sheet, follow these steps:

Sheet protection removed.

How to remove a password from an Excel document (book)

Similarly, we can remove the password from the workbook of the Excel document. Enough:

As you can already understand, the process of removing protection, whether it be a file, book or sheet, is exactly the opposite of the process of setting a password. The most important thing is to know the password.

But what if the password is either lost or not known at all, but the document needs to be opened and edited? Let's figure it out.

How to open an excel file if you forgot your password

Unfortunately, as mentioned at the beginning of the article, it is impossible to recover the password set to protect files or parts of them. It is not saved by Microsoft services. Therefore, it is highly recommended to come up with a secure password storage system.

Opening files if the password is forgotten is possible only with the help of programs that use decryption methods (password cracking). I liked Accent EXCEL Password Recovery.

Instant delete passwords in Excel (trifle passwords) are:

Password to Modify (Password to Modify);
Password to Protect sheet;
Book protection password (Password to Protect workbook);
VBA project password (Password to VBAProject);
Password to Open (Password to Open) in Excel 2-95 (yes, this is perhaps an exception due to old age and by mistake).

Any such passwords are really deleted (or found) instantly, one has only to open the Excel file in a suitable password recovery program.

And it works for all versions of Excel! Let me give you an example of work. Let's say we have a password-protected file, but we don't know the password. We do the following:

Therefore, if you have an Excel file for which you need to find out the password, do not panic. Use Accent EXCEL Password Recovery.

That's all for me. I hope the article was helpful.

Most computer users use the Microsoft Office suite in their daily work. Quite often, documentation files may contain important information that needs to be protected from third parties. In order for your documents to be opened and edited only by you, the system has the ability to close them with a password. Not all users are aware of this.

However, we have such an opportunity. In fact, it is quite easy to put a password on an Excel or Word file and thereby protect it, it is enough to do simple manipulations.

How to put a password on an excel 2007 file

These actions are performed after you have created a document with the above title. First you need to open the item using the menu Save as.

In the window that appears, we find the button in the lower left part Service, press and in the list that appears, find Common parameters. In the newly opened window we find the line Password to open.

It is recommended that you come up with a medium to high complexity containing letters and numbers to reduce the chance of an Excel file containing sensitive information being hacked. After you have entered the password in the appropriate line, you will need to re-enter it, after clicking on OK. This operation exists in order to exclude an input error. The above steps are exactly the same with Word documents.

How to put a password on an excel 2003 file

After creating the file, you need to open the menu item File and select the line with the name Save as.
In the window that appears, look for the item Service and in the pop-up menu we find the line Common parameters.
Next, a window appears asking for a password, enter

Security and data protection are one of the main directions in the development of modern information technologies. The urgency of this problem is not decreasing, but only growing. Data protection is especially important for spreadsheet files, which often contain sensitive commercial information. Let's learn how to protect Excel files with a password.

The developers of the program were well aware of the importance of the ability to set a password specifically for Excel files, so they implemented several options for performing this procedure at once. At the same time, it is possible to set the key, both to open the book and to change it.

Method 1: Set a password when saving a file

One method involves setting a password directly when saving the Excel workbook.

Thus, we have protected the Excel file. Now, to open and edit it, you will need to enter the appropriate passwords.

Method 2: Set a password in the Details section

The second method involves setting a password in the Excel section "Intelligence".

Method 3: Set a password and remove it in the "Review" tab

The ability to set a password is also available in the tab "Review".

As you can see, the Microsoft Excel program offers several ways to protect a file with a password at once, both from deliberate hacking and from unintentional actions. You can password-protect both opening a book and editing or changing its individual structural elements. At the same time, the author himself can determine from which changes he wants to protect the document.

Most users have information that they would not like to share with others. Moreover, they try to hide it for reading in every possible way. In this article, we will look at how to put a password on an Excel file. In fact, there is nothing complicated here. There are several ways to do this, and we will analyze each of them.

In the modern Excel editor (2007, 2010, 2013, 2016) you can set a security key for both opening a file and editing it. That is, in one case, an outsider will not be able to do anything (even see the contents), and in the other, only reading information will be available to him.

Document lock

For this purpose, you need to perform the following steps.

Open a document. Click on the "File" menu item.

Then go to the "Save As" section.

Next, click on the "Browse" icon.

In the window that appears, follow these steps:
- Select the desired directory to save the document.
- Specify the desired file name.
- Click on the "Tools" menu.

Then click on "General Settings".

Immediately after that, a small window will appear in which you can specify the key for both opening and modifying the file:

Enter something in the first field and click OK.

After that, you will be asked to confirm the previously specified text. At the same time, they will warn you that there is no way by which you can find out the forgotten key, so it is recommended that you make a list of your frequently used combinations and documents that they correspond to.

Click "OK" to confirm.

In order to save the document, you need to click on the corresponding button.

Close this file.

Try to open it again. You will be asked to enter the password you provided earlier.

To continue working with the document, click on "OK".

Only after these steps this Excel file will become available for work.

Using this method, you completely protect your file from third parties. But there are cases when it is necessary to show the content, but at the same time prohibit editing.

To do this, do the following.

We repeat the steps described above, but this time we enter the password in the second field. To continue, click on the "OK" button.

Confirm the security key and click on "OK".

To save, click on the appropriate button.

We close the document.

Reopen it. As a result, you will see the following window.

If an outsider (or you, but at the same time forgot the code word) does not know the key, then he will have to open the file read-only. To do this, click on the appropriate button.

After opening the document, you will see that it says "Read Only" in the title. This makes it easy to make changes.

Now press the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + S (save document). As a result, you will see the following error message.

This means that you can edit the document, but you won't be able to save it with the same name.

Sheet lock

Sometimes there are cases when you need to ban something specific. For example, editing cells, running vba macros, or something else, but keeping all other functions. In this case, protecting a specific sheet, and not the entire document as a whole, will help.

To do this, follow these steps.

Click the Review tab. Click the "Protect Sheet" button.

Immediately after that, a window will appear in which you will need to specify (uncheck) what exactly you want to prohibit. By default, only cell selection is allowed, but this can be disabled if desired.

In addition, you can allow:
- cell formatting;
- column formatting;
- string formatting;
- insert columns;
- row insertion;
- inserting hyperlinks;
- removing columns;
- deleting rows;
- sorting;
- using an autofilter;
- use a pivot table and a pivot chart;
- changing objects;
- changing scripts.
To save, click on the "OK" button.

The result will be visible without re-closing and opening the document. Almost all tools will be unavailable. This happens on every tab.

Document Encryption

The above protection is not entirely effective. If desired, a knowledgeable person can bypass it without much effort. It is much more efficient to use file encryption.

Moreover, if you open the official help from Microsoft, you will see the following warning.

To encrypt an Excel file, follow these steps:

Click on the "File" menu item.