Almost everyone has a Windows account, a password on their macOS, and even a lock code on their smartphone. Some Word, Excel or PowerPoint files deserve the same precaution because we are never safe from snags or risk falling into someone else’s hands if we move them to a USB key or external hard drive. If these documents contain confidential or sensitive data, this constitutes a double penalty.
Excel, Word, PowerPoint: How to password protect an Office document
this Passwords over Word, Excel file Where Power point is case sensitive and limited to a maximum of 15 characters. Please make a note of the code in a safe place because Microsoft Office does not offer any time to get it back in case you forget it. Therefore, the document becomes permanently inaccessible. Here we are using a Word document for drawing, but the process is the same for Excel and PowerPoint.
- Open the Office file you want to password protect
- enter inside File > Info > Protect Document. In the drop-down menu, Encrypt with password
- Enter the password of your choice and then confirm it. For added security, feel free to refer to our advice on choosing a strong password.
How to remove password from a Word or Excel file
Let’s say right now. If you want to remove the password from an Office file that you don’t own, it’s impossible. To do this, you must first enter the code that protects it.
- Open the Office document.
- Enter the password.
- enter inside File > Info > Protect Document. choose option Encrypt with password.
- delete password and leave the field blank.
- Click OK.
It’s that simple. You can now set a password and remove it from an Office document. Microsoft provides other options for protecting Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files. In particular, it is possible to force their opening in “read-only” mode, or to restrict change (controlling the types of changes other people can make). These options are also available in the File > Info > Protect Document drop-down menu.
