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word 2010 removing password according to "HELP".

i incorretly protected word doc with password. How can I remove password from doc? I looked up in word 2010 help but those instructions indicated different info when i follow step by step

 

Unlock a protected document

To remove all protection from a document, you might need to know the password that was applied to the document. Or you might have to be listed as an authenticated owner for the document.

If you are an authenticated owner of the document, or if you know the password for removing document protection, do the following:

  1. On the Review tab, in the Protect group, click Restrict Editing.

  1. In the Restrict Formatting and Editing task pane, click Stop Protection.
  2. If you are prompted to provide a password, type the password.

 

when I go  to step 2. there is no STOP PROTECTION entry at all.  So what do I do

Answer
Answer

It sounds like you've applied a password to the whole document, rather than just restricting edits. If you need a password even to open the document, here's what you do:

1. Double-click on the file name to open it.

2. Enter the password when the box asks for it.

3. Go to File>Info> and click on the "Protect Document" button in the middle pane. (The word "Permissions" should be next to the button, and it will probably be in red letters.)

4. Click on whichever icon is active (it's probably the "Encrypt with Password" button).

5. A dialog box should pop up, with your password already in it (only bullets will show, not the actual characters you just typed in). DELETE ALL THOSE CHARACTERS and click OK.

6. The file should now be unprotected. Just save it and you're back to normail.

 

However, if what you had protected was just against editing, you'll get that "Restrict Formatting and Editing" box (usually a tall gray panel on the right side). If editing restrictions are in effect, you should see the "Stop Protection" button at the very bottom of that panel. Click on it, enter the password when requested, and save the file. All protections should be gone, and you can work on the file normally.

 

Hope this helps!

 

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The instructions you have found are for unprotecting a document to which forms protection or editing restrictions have been applied.

If you set a password to open the document, do the following: Click File | Save As. In the dialog box, click Tools, and then click General Options. Select and delete whatever is in the password to open text field. When you are done, click OK. In the Save As dialog box, click Cancel. After you have returned to the document, save it.
Stefan Blom
Microsoft 365 Word MVP since 2005
Volunteer Moderator (Office)
MS 365, Win 11 Pro
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Please note that I do not work for Microsoft
MVP program info: https://mvp.microsoft.com/
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Last updated October 5, 2021 Views 691 Applies to: