Unlock VBA Project Password Excel 2010 & 2013 – Solutions to Recover

Troubleshooting Ways to Unlock VBA Project Password Excel 2010 & 2013

"We are using VBA files for our company projects. One of my employees has left the company suddenly and I need some of his files, which are being password protected. The files are needed urgently, so we had tried some solutions to open VBA Excel 2013 file but didn't get successful. Can anyone please help to access VBA project password Excel 2013."

Just like the above-mentioned query, there are several users looking for ways to unlock VBA Project Password Excel 2010 & 2013 documents. This blog has come up with the Excel .xls VBA password recovery solutions.

Method to Remove VBA Project Password in Excel 2010 Document

Follow the steps to recover VBA password .xlsm document:

1.First Download the Hex Editor.

2. Now, Save Workbook as XLS & Then Create a Backup Copy

If, you are working with .xlsm file, then first convert it into .xls format. Remember to create a backup of the sheet for the safer side.

3.Access the Worksheet in Hex Editor

4. Search & Replace the DPB Keyword

Check DPB text string in the Hex Editor.

The text string shows the Excel’s tag for VBA password. To confuse MS Excel & get around VBA Password prompt, just muddle the tag a bit. For executing this, change the DPB to something DPX.

5. Save Changes

Click on Yes button to save the changes and close the Hex Editor.

6. Open a New Diddled Workbook

Now, you will get some messages. Hit Yes on the first message. Then, another message i.e. “unexpected error” will get displayed, hit on OK.

7. Eliminate VBA Password Protection

Go to Visual Basic Editor using Alt+F11. Select View >>Project Explorer.

Now, right click on the VBA Project and choose the VBA Project Properties. You will get a Properties dialog box, click on the Protection tab and erase the text there.

8. Save the New Unprotected Workbook

Finally, save and close the workbook.

You can also make the changes or access the VBA files.

Solution to Unlock Forgotten VBA Project Password in Excel 2013

Perform the following steps to recover Excel .xlsm password:

1. Open Microsoft Excel .xls file using 7-Zip Free Source.

2. Browse a folder where the worksheets are stored.

3. Now, right click on the sheet1.xml and click on the Edit option.

4. Navigate to <sheetProtectionpassword=”YYYY”sheet=”1”objects=”1” scenarios=”1”/>

5. Now, remove the encrypted password for instance if you have created <sheetProtection password=””sheet=”1” objects=”1” scenarios=”1”/>

6. Store the files now.

7. When 7-Zip prompts for an update, allow the archive files.

8. Now, close the 7-Zip file and re-open .xls file. In the Review button, click on the unprotected sheet.

9. Save the files after removing the password of a file.

Wrapping Up

How to troubleshoot 'VBA password not working' error in Excel is one of the common problems faced by the Microsoft users. Considering this user issue, we have discussed two manual solutions to resolve such type of errors. First is to remove VBA project password in Excel 2010 document, and the other is to unlock forgotten VBA project password in Excel 2013 file.