Unprotect Sheet

Location on ribbon: Tab DVD Addin → Group File and Print → Menu File Tools

Command ID: btnUnprotectSheet

License required

This command needs an active DVDAddin account (Standard or PRO). It is fully available during the Trial period.

What it does

Removes sheet protection and workbook-structure protection from an external Excel file without knowing the password. The command works on the .xlsx package directly, stripping the protection tags out of each worksheet.

The familiar situation: a cost estimate, a tender bill of quantities or an inspection template inherited from another team is locked, the person who locked it has left, and nobody remembers the password — while you need to fix a formula or insert extra quantity rows.

How to use

1. Close the file you want to unlock if it is open in Excel.
2. Back the file up first — the command edits the original in place.
3. Go to tab DVD Addin → group File and Print → menu File Tools → click Unprotect Sheet.
4. The "Pick xlsx file" dialog opens, filtered to *.xlsx; *.xlsm; *.xlam → choose the file → OK.
5. The command scans every worksheet in the package, removes the protection tags and saves the file in place.
6. A message reports how many sheets were unlocked, and whether workbook-structure protection was removed too. If nothing was locked you get "No sheet protection found in file."
7. Open the file — every sheet is now editable.

Example

You receive Tender_BoQ.xlsx with 8 sheets, 5 of them protected, and the workbook itself locked against adding or deleting sheets.

Close the file, run the command, pick it → "Removed protection from 5 sheet(s) + workbook structure." Reopen it: you can insert new quantity rows, edit the rate formulas, and add an appendix sheet.

Notes

• The command modifies the original file in place (no copy) and cannot be undone — duplicate the file before running it.
• The file must be closed; if it is still open in Excel the command asks you to close the workbook first.
• Only sheet protection and workbook-structure protection are removed. It does not open an encrypted file that asks for a password on open, and it does not unlock a VBA project password.
• Only .xlsx, .xlsm and .xlam are supported; legacy .xls cannot be processed.
• Use it only on your own files or files you are authorised to edit; stripping protection from someone else's document without permission is not appropriate.

Related

• Export Images — same technique of working on an external workbook without opening it.
• Unhide All Sheets — reveal hidden sheets once the workbook is unlocked.
• Sheet List — list every sheet in the workbook for review.
• Delete Cell Styles — clean up an inherited workbook and shrink it.