Open Password Protected Word Document [Easy]

How to open password protected Word documents with or without a password? This post will walk you through several workable ways to open and unblock your precious and critical files.

Nowadays, users tend to encrypt their files to protect their original content better. But what if you are eager to check the file without permission? This post will help you open password protected Word document with or without a password.

How to Open Password Protected Word Document with Password

Things are a lot easier if you already have the password to the locked Word document. However, note that the method differs depending on the version of your Microsoft Word.

Part 1. Unlock Word Documents in Word 2010/2013/2016/2019/Microsoft 365

If you are running Word2010/2013/2016/2019/Microsoft 365, follow the steps here:

Step 1. Launch Microsoft Word and enter the necessary password.

Step 2. Navigate to "File" > "Info" > "Protect Document" > "Encrypt with password".

Step 3. Now, when the new window pops out, delete the password and click "OK" to open this encrypted Word file.

You can refer to this post if your Word has stepped working when you make changes:

Part 2. Open Word Documents in Word 2007 and Earlier

If you are still using Word 2007 or an earlier version, you need to follow the instructions here:

Step 1. Open the Word document and enter the password. Click the orange icon at the top left and select "Save As."

Step 2. When the new window appears, go to "Tools" > "General".

Step 3. Delete the password in the Password to open and the Password to modify. Click "OK" to confirm. 

Step 4. Click the "Save" button and check your open Word file now.

🙏Note: You had better change the name of this Word document to avoid overwriting the data.

It would be great if you share this post with your friends who also want to unprotect Word document without password:

How to UnProtect Encrypted Word Documents Without Password

It is relatively easy to open locked Word documents with passwords, but it is not that you cannot open encrypted Word files without a password. You can try the following two methods:

Method 1. For Raed Only Files: Open Word Document With Google Docs

You may use Google Docs as your assistant if your document is read-only. Do as follows:

Step 1. Sign in with your Google account in Google Drive.

Step 2. Tap on the "Folder" icon from the lower right corner. 

Step 3. Choose "Upload" and select "Browse" to upload the Word document you want to open.

Step 4. Right-click on the file and choose "Open with Google Docs".

You can now open and edit your password-protected documents.

Method 2. Unlock the Word Document With Notepad

You can also use the notepad to help unlock a Word document. Here is the step-by-step guide:

Step 1. Open the Word file you want to open in Microsoft Word. Navigate to "Save As" > "Save as Type" > "Word XML Document (*.xml)".

Step 2. Exit Word and locate the new .xml file you just created.

Step 3. Right-click on your file to open it with NotePad or another TXT editor.

Step 4. Hold Ctrl + F to open Find dialogue. Type enforcement in the box, and you can find w: enforcement="1" or w: enforcement="on".

Step 5. Now, in the search results. replace "1" with "0" and "on" with "off". Do not forget to save this .xml file.

Step 6. Now, open this document again using Microsoft Word. Go to "File" > "Save As" > "Word Document (*.docx)." Click "Save," and you can now open this Word document without a password.

This method is also workable when you try opening password-protected Zip files.

Do not forget to share this post with your friends and colleagues on your social media, like Twitter:

Bonus Tips: How to Repair Corrupted Word Documents

If you have tried the methods above but cannot open the Word document, your Word file is likely damaged and corrupted. You can open and repair corrupted Word documents with the help of Microsoft repair software like EaseUS Fixo Document Repair. 

Besides mending broken Word files, this file repair software can handle more Word-related cases perfectly. You can have a brief look at it here:

• Fix Microsoft Word won't open
• Repair unreadable content in Word
• Solve Word cannot open the existing files

Step 1. Download and launch Fixo on your PC or laptop. Choose "File Repair" to repair corrupted Office documents, including Word, Excel, PDF, and others. Click "Add Files" to select corrupted documents.

Step 2. To repair multiple files at once, click the "Repair All" button. If you want to repair a single document, move your pointer to the target file and choose "Repair". You can also preview the documents by clicking the eye icon.

Step 3. Click "Save" to save a selected document. Select "Save All" to save all the repaired files. Choose "View Repaired" to locate the repaired folder.

FAQs on Open Password Protected Word Document

This part is about some frequently asked questions on opening password-protected Word documents.

1. Is there anyway to open a password protected Word document?

Sure, you can open read-only files with Google Docs. Or you can try a slightly more complex method: replace some elements in Notepad or another TXT editor.

2. How can I remove password protection from a Word document?

Follow the steps here:

• Open the document by entering its password
• Navigate to "File" > "Info" > "Protect Document" > "Encrypt with Password"
• Delete the password in the box and tap on "OK"

3. How do I unlock a Word document if I forgot the password?

You can reset your password by opening the document in the text editor and removing or modifying the password-protected section.

Final Words

You can learn how to open password-protected Word documents with or without the password. If you cannot open the encrypted Word files no matter what you do, use EaseUS Fixo Document Repair to fix the possible file corruption.