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Word documents are the most used digital documents, and Microsoft Word is the most used word processor. It is given that such a widely used format has some security measures to protect user data. When it comes to Word documents, you can password protect them either fully or by restricting certain permissions. In practice, the most used method is to restrict permissions.
However, like other passwords, there is a high chance of you forgetting the password set up to restrict permission like edit. This article will teach you how to remove protection from Word documents without a password.
Part 1: Remove Protection from Word Document with Word Password Recovery
Using a third-party Word password remover tool is the best way to remove protection passwords from Word documents. It saves you the trouble of running different fixes to get the edit access back for your Word documents. With a trusted and reliable tool like PassFab for Word, you can safely remove the protection without affecting your Word documents.
Steps to Remove Protection from Word Document with PassFab for Word
When using PassFab for Word, removing protection from Word documents becomes a lot easier. Here is how to remove document protection in Word:
Step 1: Install and Launch PassFab for Word
After installing PassFab for Word, launch it and select the “Remove Word Restrict Editing” option. On the next screen, use the “+” icon to choose the targeted Word document.
Step 2: Remove the Password to Enable Editing
Once the file is uploaded, click “Remove” to initiate the password removal. It will take a couple of moments, and the password will be removed. Tap “Open Folder” to find the newly editable Word file.
Part 2: Remove Protection from Word Document by Renaming the File Name
One more way to remove the editing restriction from the targeted Word document is to rename and resave the file in the ZIP format. While it doesn’t always work, trying it does no harm. Use these steps to learn how to remove password protection from a Word document by renaming the file:
Step 1: Access the password-protected Word document on your device and select it to enable the editing options of File Explorer. Then tap on the “Rename” option and change the extension from .docx or .doc to .zip.
Step 2: After that, open the created ZIP file on your device. Locate and delete the “settings.xml” from the files to remove the password protection. Following this, change the .zip format back to .doc or .docx according to your requirement.
Part 3: Remove Protection from Word Document by Saving as RTF Text
Rich Text Format is a text document format also developed by Microsoft. It allows the formatting of text, such as bold, italic, and underlined fonts, as well as the insertion of images and other media. That makes it very similar to Word documents, and MS Word allows you to save documents in the Rich Text Format. You can use it to remove protection from Word documents using the following steps:
Step 1: Start by opening the targeted file in MS Word and clicking the “File” from the top left corner. Press “Save As,” choose a location, and save the file in Rich Text Format.
Step 2: Now, open the newly saved file using Notepad, press the “Ctrl + F” key, and search for “Passwordhash.” Once you find it, replace it with “nopassword” and save and close the Notepad.
Step 3: Open the RTF file in MS Word and navigate to the “Review” tab. Here, click “Restrict Editing” and tap “Stop Protection.” Now you can resave the document as a DOCX file and edit it to your heart’s content.
Part 4: Remove Protection from Word Document Using WordPad
If you need to only make minor edits to the Word documents, you can use the other word processor in Windows called WordPad. It allows users to create, edit, and format documents with basic formatting options. Since it lacks password protection or permission restrictions, the Word restrictions don’t apply when you open the file here. Learn how to remove protection from Word documents without a password as below:
Locate the targeted Word file on your computer and right-click on it. Now, select “Open With” and choose “WordPad” to open the file in WordPad. Now you can make the necessary edits in the data of your Word document.
Part 5: Remove Protection from Word Document Using Google Docs
Google Docs is a cloud-based word processor which you can use to edit restricted Word files. Since it is a different word processor and based on the cloud, the permission restrictions don’t apply there. Moreover, it has all basic editing features along with the ability to access files from anywhere. Discover below how to remove document protection in Word via Google Docs:
Step 1: On your computer’s browser, open docs.google.com and click the “Folder” icon to open the file picker. Move to “Upload” and use “Browse” to upload the targeted file.
Step 2: Once the file is uploaded, you can make the required edits. If you don’t want to do edits here, click the “File” tab and choose the option of “Microsoft Word” from the “Download” sub-menu to download the file as a .docx document. Now you can open it in MS Word to edit it.
Part 6: Remove Protection from Word Document Using Word Password Remover Online
When looking for how to remove password protection from Word documents, you will find many online tools that can help bypass password restrictions. One of these is “LostMyPass,” which can help you remove the password. It promises a 100% success rate in removing the permission password of your Word document. Follow these steps to remove password protection from Word files using an online tool:
Step 1: Access the LostMyPass in your computer’s web browser and upload the targeted file using the drag-and-drop method or tapping the “or click here” button.
Step 2: As soon as the file is uploaded, the unlocking procedure will get initiated. Once it is complete, you can download the file using the “Download Unlocked File” option.
Part 7: Frequently Asked Questions About Protection on Word Document
In case you have more queries about how to remove protection from Word documents without a password, we have answered a few FAQs below on this topic:
Why would someone want to remove protection from a Word document?
Multiple reasons can force someone to find a way to remove protection from a Word document, with the chief being the forgotten password. Other include if you have received the Word document, which is already locked, and you can’t access the owner.
What’s the best way to remove password protection from the Word document?
There are multiple ways to remove the password from the Word document, but the most reliable one is PassFab for Word. It can remove the protection from the document within a matter of seconds. You can check the steps in this article to learn more about this tool.
Can I remove protection from a Word document without a password?
Removing protection from a Word document is possible even if you don’t have the password. While there are many tricks and workarounds with varying degrees of success, the best method is to use a reliable third-party tool like PassFab for Word. With it, you can remove protection without affecting file format or data.
Conclusion
To sum this discussion up, it is common to forget your passwords, and it doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t add protection to your Word documents. Even if you forget your password, there are many ways to access the file data, as demonstrated by this article. When looking for how to remove protection from Word documents without a password, the best way is to use PassFab for Word.
