How to password protect an Excel file – Easy Steps

Microsoft Excel is a powerful spreadsheet tool; it is capable of processing a large amount of data, supports macros, and supports a large and diverse number of mathematical and statistical formulas. To that end, it is often used in place of a database because it is easier to use and not many people are familiar with how a database works.

Password protect Excel file

Regardless of the type of data that is stored in an Excel file, you may need to password protect it. To that end, Microsoft Excel has the same document management capabilities as other Microsoft 365 applications have. The ability to add password protection is built in.

How to password protect Excel file

Password protection is available in the Mac and Windows version of Excel. It’s a pretty old feature, so even if your version of Office or Microsoft Office is many years old, you will be able to add password protection to it.

On Windows 10 (or older / newer)

1. Open the Excel file that you want to add password protection to.
2. Go to File> Information.
3. Select Protect Workbook.
4. Select Encrypt with password.
5. Enter the password you want to use and then confirm it.
6. Click OK and the password will be set.

On macOS;

1. Open the Excel file that you want to add password protection to.
2. Go to File> Passwords.
3. Enter the password you want to use and then confirm it.
4. Click OK and the password will be set.

Recover password protected files

The password you set for an Excel file cannot be recovered, not even on the system where you set it. It is not linked in any way to your Microsoft account, and if you forget it, Microsoft cannot help you.

There may be tools that can help you crack the password, but their effectiveness really depends on the tools. Microsoft generally discourages users from submitting sensitive information in password-protected Excel sheets (or Word documents), so the password may be able to be cracked with the appropriate tool.

conclusion

If you choose to password protect an Excel file, you will need to find a secure way to share the password if you plan to share the file. Even if you upload the file to a shared OneDrive folder, everyone with access to the folder will still need the file’s password to open it. The password is not connected in any way to any online account or sharing feature that has Excel or OneDrive. On that note, be sure to use a password that you don’t use for your own personal accounts.