Your Excel workbook opens, but protection stops you from changing its sheet tabs. You can unlock the workbook structure through Review > Protect Workbook using its password. If locked cells or a password prompt before the file opens is blocking you instead, follow the matching steps below.
Workbook structure, worksheet protection, and file-opening encryption are separate layers and may use different passwords. Use the password for the particular layer you want to remove.
Unprotect workbook structure on Windows or Mac
This works in Excel for Microsoft 365, Excel 2024, and Excel 2021 on Windows and Mac.
- 1.Open the workbook you want to unprotect.
- 2.Select Review > Protect Workbook.
- 3.Enter the workbook-structure password.
- 4.Select OK to remove structural protection.
- 5.Save the workbook to retain the change.
Removing structural protection lets you change the arrangement of sheet tabs. If locked cells still prevent editing, remove protection from the affected worksheet separately.
Open a browser workbook in desktop Excel
Microsoft states that passwords can't be added, changed, removed, or recovered from Excel for the web, so for workbook-structure protection in the browser, use the desktop handoff. You need an installed, licensed desktop Excel application and permission to edit the file.
If your Microsoft 365 account has Office Scripts on the Automate tab, Microsoft also documents a script method that unprotects the workbook: workbook.getProtection().unprotect(password). Office Scripts depends on an eligible license and on your admin allowing scripts.
Select Open in Excel to open the workbook in the desktop application.
Select Review > Protect Workbook.
Enter the workbook-structure password.
Select OK.
Save the workbook to retain the change.
Unprotect workbook structure with VBA
Desktop Excel also supports removing workbook-structure protection through VBA when VBA is available. This applies to Microsoft 365, Excel 2024, and Excel 2021. The keyboard steps here are for Windows.
Activate the workbook you intend to unprotect before running the command. The command acts on the active workbook.
Press Alt+F11 to open the VBA editor.
Press Ctrl+G to open the Immediate window.
Execute ActiveWorkbook.Unprotect Password:="YOUR_PASSWORD", replacing YOUR_PASSWORD with the actual workbook-structure password. If the password contains quotation marks, double each quotation mark inside it.
Return to Excel and save the workbook to retain the change.
This method removes structural protection, not file-opening encryption. The same Unprotect method can also be called from a macro.
Unlock protected cells on Windows or Mac
Sheet tabs unlocked, but cells still protected? Worksheet protection is separate from workbook structure. Select the affected worksheet in desktop Excel on Windows or Mac.
Choose Review > Unprotect Sheet.
Enter the worksheet password when prompted, even if you used a different password for workbook structure. On Windows, confirm with OK.
Save the workbook. Repeat the procedure for any other protected worksheets you need to edit.
Remove sheet protection directly in the browser
Select the worksheet you want to unprotect in Excel for the web.
Choose Review > Manage Protection.
In the Manage Protection task pane, turn off Protect sheet.
Enter the existing sheet-protection password if prompted.
Use this control for locked cells; it removes worksheet protection only and leaves workbook-structure protection in place.
Stop Excel from asking for a password to open the file
Use the encryption settings in Excel for Microsoft 365, Excel 2024, or Excel 2021 on Windows.
- 1.Open the file using its current opening password.
- 2.Select File > Info > Protect Workbook > Encrypt with Password.
- 3.Clear the Password field.
- 4.Select OK.
- 5.Save the workbook. This removes file encryption but leaves any separate worksheet or workbook-structure protection in place.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I unprotect workbook structure using the keyboard?
Yes. In Windows Excel, press Alt+R to open Review. Use Tab, Shift+Tab, or the arrow keys to reach Protect Workbook, then press Enter or Spacebar. Enter the workbook-structure password, confirm with Enter, and save. These shortcuts assume a US keyboard layout.
Can I temporarily edit a protected worksheet without removing protection permanently?
Yes. In Excel for the web, select Review > Pause Protection and enter the worksheet password. Make your edits, then select Review > Resume Protection. Pausing applies to your current editing session and preserves protection for other users.
What if I need permission to edit the file?
Select Viewing > Request more access to request file access. Sharing permissions are separate from workbook protection, so gaining edit access does not remove workbook-structure protection.
Can an organization policy replace the workbook password?
No. Organization policy is not a substitute for the workbook-structure password. Policy restrictions on scripts, macros, and file access are separate controls.