By Jennifer | Last Updated
“There is a Word file locked for editing by me last month and I cannot figure out the right password, how can I unlock this Word document?”
If you find the Microsoft Word document is locked for editing, how to unlock it? Here you will find three ways to unlock a Word document that is locked for editing.
Tips: If you forget Word document open password, you should use software to recover open password first: Guide to recover Word document password.
"Read-only" means that the document can be viewed and copied on Microsoft Word, but cannot be modified or saved under the same file name. This feature prevents accidental changes to the document's contents and is essential for protecting data integrity. However, if you are sharing the same document with other people, Read-Only restricts them from making changes to the document's contents.
When you open the Word document that is locked for editing and you get the following prompt, Read Only is always the best choice when you forgot the modify password.
Then, how can you make it unlock for editing in the read only? You can save the read only version as another file.
Step 1: Click File > Save as.
Step 2: In the Save as window, it is necessary for you to change the File name and then click the Save button.
Step 3: Now you can open the saved Word file to edit the content without restriction.
No matter the locked Word document is set with the modify password or added the editing restriction, you can use this way to open the document and edit the content.
Step 1: Right-click the Word document that is locked for editing and chooses to open with WordPad.
Step 2: Now the Word document is unlocked automatically. You can edit it in your way.
Step 3: Click the top left icon and choose Save. It will pop out a prompt and tell you that some content might be lost. You can choose the Save option or the Save a copy option. After that, you can read and write to the original content.
There is another way for you to quickly unlock the word document with editing password. You can use the iSunshare Word Unprotect Geniusto remove the editing password within one simple click. After that, you can get the unprotected Word document and do what you want to do. During all the process, it is no need to know the modify/editing password.
Step 1: Finish the download and installation of the Word Unprotect Genius. You can download it from here.
Step 2: Run the software and hit the Add button to import the locked Word document.
Step 3: Hit the Remove Password button and you will get the protection password removed safely and get another copy of the Word file content which you can open and edit the content to be your own one.
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