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How to recover lost worksheet protection password in Excel?

Author Xiaoyang Last modified

We always set passwords to protect some important worksheets from being destroyed or modified by others. But if you forget your passwords, how could you do? Fortunately, Excel supports some VBA code to recover your lost worksheet protection password. You can deal with this problem as this:

Recover lost worksheet protection password in Excel with VBA code

Recover lost worksheet protection password in Excel with VBA code

The following VBA code can help you to quickly cancel your original passwords in a worksheet.

1. Open your worksheet which has been protected before.

2. Hold down the ALT + F11 keys, and it opens the Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications window.

3. Click Insert > Module, and paste the following code in the Module Window.

VBA code: recover lost worksheet protection password

Sub PasswordRecovery()
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
Dim 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.Unprotect Chr(i) & 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 "One usable 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

4. Then click F5 key to run this code, and a prompt box will pop out, click OK to close it, and your passwords of the protected worksheet will be canceled at once.

prompt box remind that your passwords of the protected worksheet will be canceled

Notes:

1. With this code, you just only recover one worksheet protection password at a time, if there are multiple protected worksheets, you need to apply this code one by one.
2. The above code comes from http://excelzoom.com/2009/08/how-to-recover-lost-excel-passwords/.

Related articles

How to protect multiple worksheets at once in Excel?

How to unprotect multiple worksheets at once in Excel?

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