Q3: Can I buy your software to recover someone's password? Legally recovering your own password is certainly a legitimate practice! However, recovering someone else's password without their permission is quite probably illegal! We do not advocate, do not support and even do not agree with this behavior at. Delete the Encrypted Password (Open Locked Microsoft Excel) If it requires a password to open a. Recovery of excel 2016 password for MAC I recently spent 65 hours working on a large excel 2016 workbook of which many of the sheets are password protected. This behavior occurs because the password that is used to protect an Excel worksheet or workbook is not recoverable. If the password is lost, there is no way to open the document. Excel Password Recovery. Add-on 3 Password Attack Types. Optimized for three intelligent attack types, this Excel password recovery tool can easily recover lost opening password in Excel workbook regardless of password complexity. Just choose the method then you are able to easily have access to Excel. The Mac will boot into Recovery (we have a separate article about how to boot a Mac in Recovery). When you see the load bar appear you can let go of the keys. It may take a few minutes to load.

Protecting any kind of document with a password is absolutely recommended by every computer expert. The sole reason of password-protecting a computer is to keep it safe from hackers and intruders that may steal the information from those documents. Excel sheets are often used to create databases which stores the most valuable information about any aspect. So, considering the importance of these documents, one must absolutely password-protect them.

But the real issue arises if we forget password of excel sheet and unable to open password protected Excel file when we need it urgently. Now, resetting excel file passwords are not similar to resetting email or computer password since excel sheets are documents that are stored in database format. In this tutorial, we will teach you how to open a password protected excel files so that you can regain the access to your document and retrieve the data from the file.

Method #1: View/Open Protected Excel by Modifying the File Extension

This method is perfectly working with Microsoft Office 2010 or previous versions. Please keep in mind, this may or may now work with the latest Microsoft office versions. But if you are using an older version of MS office then feel free to apply the following steps to unlock your excel file.

Step 1. First, create a backup of the excel file that is password-protected.

Step 2. Next, right-click on the excel sheet and hit the rename button.

Step 3. Change the file extension to '.zip' from '.csv' or '.xls'

Step 4. Unzip the content from the zip file now.

Step 5. Look for the file that ends with '.xml' format.

Step 6. Now, double-click on the XML file and open it with XML editor.

Step 7. Press 'Ctrl + F' and find the word 'SheetProtection'. Search for the line that begins with ' <sheetProtection algorithmName='SHA-512″ hashValue='.

It will look something like:

Step 8. Remove that word from the file and save it.

Step 9. Now change the '.zip' file to '.csv' or '.xls' and hit enter. Now, all of yourworksheets will be uprotected and you can be able to open your protected Excel file without tying password. Then you can view your Excel content.

Cons:

• Only works with MS office 2007 or older version.
• Not a reliable method.
• Too complex.

Also read: How to remove password protected Excel file

Method 2. Open Password-Protected Excel File Using Excel Password Recovery

If you are looking for a guaranteed way to open and view password protected Excel then it is recommended to use an iSeePassword Excel Password Recovery tool. Honestly speaking, using this tool will save countless time on recovering lost Excel password without distorting the original data and it provides the highest password recovery success rate in this industry. It uses the most powerful algorithms to crack down your password in minimum time. Compared with other tools, it is the most effective and smartest Excel password recovery tool available online as It offers 3 ways to recover lost Excel password including brute-force, mask, dictionary and mask attacks. Each type of attack is specially designed based on user's different situation. For example, if you can recall any part of password clue and provide exact information, like password length, range, lowercase and uppercase letters, numerals, and special characters, then mask attack would be the best choice for you.

The user interface of this Excel password recovery tool is very simple and it doesn't require to have any technical skills to operate this program. You can customize the tool settings as much as you can and the more precise information you feed in, the faster this program will crack the password. Moreover, it is not limited to Microsoft office 2003/2007, it is even supported in Microsoft office 2017/2016/2013/2010 and old versions as well.

Feature 1 Recover Open Password on Excel

Step 1. Install and Run Excel Password Recovery Tool

Download the program and run the executable file on your PC. Once the installation is finished, you will be able to see the main UI of this program.

Step 2. Add Password Protected Excel to the Program

From the main screen, click Add File button then an Open File Dialog pops up. Locate the password protected Excel file and click the file to import it into the program.

Step 3. Choose the Type of Attack

Choose the type of attack from the given options: Dictionary Attack, Brute-Force with Mask Attack and Brute-Force. It will be better to select the most appropriate option to fasten the password cracking process. It will be helpful if you can knows the password length, range, strength and all other information that you could provide. Customize the settings as accurately as you can.

Step 4. Start Recovering Password from Microsoft Excel File

Finally, click on the 'Start' button and let the program search the password of your Excel file. The progress indicator will be shown in real time and once the password is found it will be displayed on the screen of the program. You can click on 'Copy' and paste it on a textbook then use it to open the excel file again.

Please remember that it is not easy to crack excel passwords but yet iSeePassword Dr.Excel makes it extremely easier to open password protected Excel file even if you forget it. Also, it is recommended to keep a backup of your passwords on a cloud server or e-mail account so that you can retrieve it whenever you forget them. Also, it is better to write down the passwords on a piece of paper or text file so that you can recover the password whenever it is needed.

Feature 2 Remove Worksheet/Workbook Restrictions

For some reasons you’ve set a passwords to prevent your sheet or workbook from unauthorized changing, editing or modifying, but now you forgot the password and can't change anything for your data unless view it in read-only mode. Here Dr.Excel program also gives you ability to how to remove sheet & workbook protection in Excel without a password.

Step 1. After you installing the Dr.Excel software on your computer, launch it! And choose the second option from the main interface.

Step 2. Click the Add File button to import your target Excel files to program, you can add multiple files a time. All the files you added will be listed in the program and will be marked with lock icon if the it has password protected.

Step 3. Now, don't need to choose, just click Start button, all of your Excel password will be removed in the first few seconds, and open your file, edit your sheet and workbook without any protection. Pretty cool! Hope the example make you better understand how to simply unprotect excel sheet password. And for that matter, add password protection to your spreadsheet next time you save it.

Sep 06, 2020 • Filed to: Solve Mac Problems • Proven solutions

Have you ever been in trouble due to the loss of unsaved files? There must have been times when you have wondered about how to recover unsaved excel file on Mac. The different answers to the problem of recover Office files that have been lost without saving would be discussed in the following piece of information.

Imagine working on a very significant document on Excel for many hours or creating a highly detailed and complicated graph! Now, just think about what would happen if the system crashes abruptly or you close the file without saving.

The following discussion on how to recover excel file on Mac would go through an overview of different situations where Excel file is not saved and an introduction of the methods that can be used for recovery.

Overview of Unsaved Excel File on Mac

Excel is one of the great spreadsheet software, and every Excel user must know about its functionality. On the other hand, you must have encountered situations in which the complete excel file you were working on remains unsaved and cannot be accessed. This can be a pretty harassing scenario, wouldn’t it? So, let us look at the different situations in which some of your important Excel files might remain unsaved. After all, understanding the problem is the first step to find the solutions to recover excel file on Mac, isn’t it?

The foremost and most common reason for an Excel file not being saved is abrupt system crashes or failures. System crashes are inevitable processes in which the system shuts down abruptly cannot be predicted, and this can lead to loss of any unsaved work on the Excel files that a user is working on.

The next prominent cause for the unsaved files on Mac is a program crash in which the Excel program stops working suddenly. The sudden crash of Excel could lead to loss of the file that you are working on.

Sometimes, files are not saved upon asking for confirmation when closing the excel file. The user can accidentally prefer to cancel saving any of the new work in a workbook, and this can lead to the work remaining unsaved.

Excel may display a message showing “Document not completely saved” or “Document not saved.” This error can happen in cases where the process of saving is interrupted at the instance of the creation of a temporary file upon pressing the “ESC” key.

Another common error message that can result in an unsaved file or lost excel file on Mac is “Document not saved. Any previously saved copy has been deleted”. This error is the result of interruption in the process of deleting the original file or renaming the temporary file.

However, there is no reason to worry as there are different methods to recover excel file not saved on Mac devices which can be presented as follows. The first solution is to choose recovery software named “Recoverit” while the second solution implies checking the Trash for recovery of Excel files.

The next solution refers to the use of recent workbooks for the recovery of unsaved files, and the other solution refers to the use of AutoRecover feature for recovering Excel files. The other two solutions discussed in this piece of information include the use of backup to recover lost files and the recovery of unsaved Excel documents from the Temporary folder.

Solution 1: Recover Excel File on Mac with Recoverit

The search for solutions on how to recover lost Excel files on Mac would lead to Recoverit Data Recovery software that is one of the most effective, trusted, and easy-to-use file recovery software. The software could be used in three simple steps for the recovery of any unsaved Excel files on your Mac device.

Step 1: Select the source drive of the unsaved Excel file

To recover an unsaved Excel file on Mac, it is important to select a Mac logical drive that housed the unsaved file. The “All-Around Recovery” tab on the Recoverit software would show the different drives on the Mac device. You should also know to stay calm if the concerned drive is not found on the list- All you need to do is refresh the list!

Step 2: Scan the chosen hard drive

To recover lost excel file on Mac due to setbacks in saving the file, the second step of using Recoverit involves scanning the selected hard drive for searching the unsaved or lost files. You can choose to wait through the complete process of scanning or pause it when you find the desired file.

Step 3: Complete the recovery process

After completion of the scanning process, the different files that can be recovered are displayed. Here you can choose the file that you need and click on the “Recover” button. Then you would be asked for confirmation about selecting the drive for storing the recovered files. Finally, your unsaved Excel files are recovered to the desired location.

Solution 2: Check the Trash Bin for Excel Recovery Mac

Using Recoverit or any other file recovery software would not be the first option to recover unsaved excel file on Mac. The Trash folder is usually the first place everyone should be looking for recovery of unsaved Excel files. However, it should be noted that any unsaved or accidentally deleted files would remain in the Trash only for 30 days.

Step 1: View the Trash

Open the Trash folder through the Mac desktop and search for the unsaved file

Step 2: Identify the unsaved file

Locate and mark the particular Excel file that has to be restored. In the case of multiple files, the search box found at the top left corner of the window can help find out the concerned file through the target search.

Step 3: Drag for recovery

When you find the target Excel file, drag it to a particular location for recovery. On the other hand, you can right-click on the file, and a drop-down menu would appear. In the drop-down menu, click on “Put Back,” and the desired file would be recovered to its original location.

Solution 3: Recover Unsaved Excel File in Recent Workbooks

Excel Password Recovery Tool For Mac

Another proven solution on how to recover deleted Excel files on Mac involves the use of recent workbooks. This method is specifically applicable for the recovery of Excel files which are unsaved due to the crash of Excel program.

Step 1: Open Microsoft Excel

Open Microsoft Excel and click on the “File” tab to access the “Open” button and then click on it.

Step 2: Access “Recent Workbooks”

Upon clicking on the “Open” option, a menu will pop out in which you can find the “Recent Workbooks” option. Click on the “Recent Workbooks” option.

Step 3: Start Recovery

A list would be displayed, and at the bottom of the list, the option for “Recover Unsaved Workbooks” can be found. Select the option to move to the next step for Excel recovery on Mac.

Step 4: Locate the desired file

Find out the unsaved Excel file from the “Recover Unsaved Workbooks” folder.

Step 5: Open the unsaved file

You can double click on the unsaved Excel file to open it. You could also right-click on it to find a drop-down menu. Click on the “Open” option for opening the unsaved file.

Step 6: Recover the file to a specific location

Click on the “Save As” button in the “File” tab of the unsaved file for choosing the location to save the file.

Solution 4: Recover Excel AutoRecover Files on Mac

AutoRecover and AutoSave features are basic features that help in saving files automatically. AutoRecover can be configured for saving the concerned files in Excel, and it can be used for the recovery of unsaved files.

Step 1: Find the path for AutoRecover files

The path for AutoRecover files on Office 2016 is considerably different from that of Office 2011 and 2008. Take note of the following paths to find better solutions on how to recover Excel file not saved on Mac.

Office 2011 and 2008:

Users/username/Library/Application Support/Microsoft/Office/Office X AutoRecovery (X denotes the Office version)

Office 2016:

/Users/Library/Containers/com.microsoft.Excel/Data/Library/Preferences/AutoRecovery

Step 2: Find the Excel files

Click on the “Finder” tab and enter the suitable path as mentioned above to find the unsaved files.

Step 3: Recover the files

Recover the files on Mac by double-clicking on them and then copy them to other locations for backup.

Solution 5: Recover Lost Excel Files from Backup

Backups of Excel files can help in situations when the changes in files that are not meant to have been made and are saved. Here are the steps to recover unsaved excel file on Mac 2011 or other versions by accessing the backup versions.

Step 1: Find the “Info”

Excel Open Password Recovery

Select the “File” tab and then access the “Info” option

Step 2: Find the “Manage Versions” option

Clicking on the “Manage Versions” button would provide access to all the backups of the unsaved file. The versions of the backup of the unsaved file would also display the time and date.

Step 3: Choose the backup for recovery

Select the backup Excel files that you need to recover unsaved excel file on Mac 2016 and double click on it. The option for the “Restore” button can be found on the yellow bar. Click on “Restore” for recovering the unsaved file.

Solution 6: Recover Excel Documents from Temporary Folder

Another proven answer to recover excel document not saved on Mac is the Temporary folder. The Temporary folder contains automatically saved versions of the concerned Excel file. The following steps can be implemented for the recovery of unsaved Excel files from Mac devices using the Temporary Folder.

Step 1: Access “Terminal”

Click on “Utilities” option that is available through “Applications” and then click on “Terminal” the following screen

Step 2: Access the Temporary folder

Type “open $ TMPDIR” in the “Terminal” and then click on “Enter”

Step 3: Find temporary items

After opening the “Temporary” folder, you can select the “Temporary Items” folder

Step 4: Locate the unsaved file

Find out the document not saved Excel Mac in the “Temporary Items” folder that has to be restored.

Step 5: Recover the file

Right-click on the file and then click on the “Open With” option in the drop-down menu followed by clicking on “TextEdit” for opening the temporary (.tmp) file in a format that can be edited and saved to the desired location.

Solution 7: Tips for Mac Excel Recovery

The options for recovering excel file disappeared on Mac can help deal with the damage. But, imagine how good it would be to be prepared in advance? Here are five tips that can help in the easy recovery of unsaved files on Mac.

• Configure AutoRecover:

The feature of AutoRecover for Excel in Mac can be configured to save a file according to the desired frequency. AutoRecover can be accessed by clicking on “Preferences” in the Excel menu. Locate the “Sharing and Privacy” tab and then click on the “Save” button. Now, check the box beside “Save AutoRecover info” and you can choose the time-frequency for saving the Excel files in a blank box.

• Keep hitting the “Save” button:

While the tip mentioned above is helpful to recover unsaved excel on Mac, it is advisable to keep saving the work continuously through clicking on the “Save” button frequently during the work.

• Safeguards against virus attacks:

Keep your systems safe from virus attacks as the attacks can corrupt the Excel files and cause frequent system crashes leading to more unsaved or lost Excel files.

• Format and partition drive carefully:

It is also essential to be careful during formatting or partitioning off a drive and observe the implications that may arise. Improper partitioning of drives is accounted for as the most common cause of unsaved and lost Excel files. So, it is better to clarify this mistake.

• Stay away from automated cleanup tools:

Do not use automated tools for cleanup of the system and to increase memory. These tools can delete unsaved files automatically at times, and hence they should be avoided at all costs.

Conclusion

On a concluding note, the above piece of information could be a helpful tool for the recovery of unsaved Excel files and preventing any additional damage in the future. Furthermore, the tips to be careful with the accidental loss of Excel files or files becoming unsaved due to certain reasons can help considerably in staying away from unwanted troubles!

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