Page 456 - Excel 2013 All-in-One For Dummies

438 Password-Protecting the File
Figure 1-2:
Entering the password required
to open a protected workbook file.
The last chance you have to chicken out of password-protecting the opening of the file is before you close the file during the work session in which you originally assign the password. If, for whatever reason, you decide that you don’t want to go through the hassle of having to reproduce the password each and every time you open this file, you can get rid of it by choosing File➪Save As or pressing Alt+FA, choosing General Options from the Tools drop-down menu, and then deleting the password in the Password to Open text box before clicking OK in the General Options dialog box and the Save button in the Save As dialog box. Doing this resaves the workbook file with- out a password to open it so that you don’t have to worry about reproducing the password the next time you open the workbook for editing or printing.
A password-protected workbook file for which you can’t reproduce the cor- rect password can be a real nightmare (especially if you’re talking about
a really important spreadsheet with loads and loads of vital data). So, for heaven’s sake, don’t forget your password, or you’ll be stuck. Excel does not provide any sort of command for overriding the password and opening a protected workbook, nor does Microsoft offer any such utility. If you think that you might forget the workbook’s password, be sure to write it down somewhere and then keep that piece of paper in a secure place, preferably under lock and key. It’s always better to be safe than sorry when it comes to passwords for opening files.
Entering the password to make changes
If you’ve protected your workbook from modifications with the Password to Modify option in the General Options dialog box, as soon as you attempt to open the workbook (and have entered the password to open the file, if one has been assigned), Excel immediately displays the Password dialog box where you must accurately reproduce the password assigned for modifying the file or select the Read Only button to open it as a read-only file.
As when supplying the password to open a protected file, if you type the wrong password, Excel displays the alert dialog box letting you know that the password you entered is incorrect. When you click OK to clear the alert,