Hooray for Microsoft, seems the much loved MS Word password protection is pretty lame (it's not like anyone would trust this would they? The mind boggles)
Example 1
1) Open MS Word with a new/blank page
2) Now select "Insert" >> "File" >> browse for your password protected doc select "Insert" & "Insert" password protected doc into your new/blank doc
3) Now select "Tools" & Whey hey, voila, there's no longer an "Unprotect document" ... password vanished ...
Read the full sad story here
This doesnt work, it just asks for the password to open the file when you insert the file, and you cant select "Tools" until you've either entered the correct password or you close the dialog box requesting the password...
This actually does work fine for documents that are password protected to edit. If it is protected to open then you are prompted with a password.
Just save the document as an rtf, then uprotect it.
This does not work. You have to be able to open the doc to save it and "David" is correct, I came across the same issue.
Ok, this worked for me. Doc was locked just for editing, i could easily open in. I did the procedure, new doc, insert file and thet was it.
Thanks, worked fine, but some subtle formatting differences... nothing a bit of toying around won't solve...
This worked wonders for me in Tokyo.
i needed to translate something and needed to have access to the file text. Worked wonders. Thank you for posting this trick. Very happy.
good stuff! Thank you. Same goes for Excel - password protected, just copy into new doc and you're laughin'. I've done this for years, now I've cracked the Word password problem. (this is the first Word doc I've ever had to do it with and it's only because it belongs to a company who sold me something.) Thanks again.
No, this does NOT work for a Word file with a password to open. Looks like it's not as "lame" as you thought, eh?
the author of this 'solution' sounds like a guy that picked up my mobile phone in 1993 and proudly informed me that he had cracked the keylock. (you know, press any button and it says press menu then *)
if the original document is only locked for editing then no one is trying to prevent anyone getting at the information, they just dont want anyone mucking about with their file.
There are countless ways of copying/resaving/exporting this info, then saving it. Leaving you with your own file to do with what you like.
My frustrated friends are trying to express that when a document is password protected (i.e. you cant open it without one) then it is an effective way of keeping people out. There are still ways of getting though this encryption, but, if you think you have 'cracked' microsoft's password system by pressing - ctrl+c on one document and ctrl+v on another- then i think fully protected documents will be safe from you.
There are many third party brute force password 'recovery' programs availible.
goodnight and farewell.......
works fine for removing read only protection.