Encrypted Excel File Modified in Other Office Software Cannot Be Opened in Microsoft Excel

Bohan Wang 0 Reputation points

Hello Everyone,

I encrypted an Excel file using Microsoft Excel's built-in password protection. Later, I opened and modified the file in WPS Office(another Office software). After saving the file in WPS, it can no longer be opened in Microsoft Excel. Excel displays an error stating that the file cannot be repaired because it is encrypted.

I’ve tried using the "Open and Repair" feature in Excel and third-party repair tools, but nothing has worked. The file contains important data, so I need help recovering it or extracting the information.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

0 comments No comments
Sign in to comment

1 answer

  1. Jiajing Hua 18,110 Reputation points • Moderator

    Hi @Bohan Wang

    WPS may not correctly support or be compatible with Excel's encryption method when saving files, which results in the structure of the encrypted file being destroyed and Excel unable to correctly parse the file.

    Can this file continue to be opened in WPS?

    If yes, I suggest you cancel the encryption for a test. You may also save this file as a .csv or .xml file.

    If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it. If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment". Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.

    1. Bohan Wang 0 Reputation points

      Hello Jiajing Hua,

      Thank you so much for your reply. The file can not be opened in WPS. I have also tried changing the file extension, including .csv, .xml, and .zip, but none of these methods worked. Besides, I attempted using some online document repair tools, which also failed.

      Could you kindly suggest any other methods I might try? Thank you very much for your assistance!

    2. Jiajing Hua 18,110 Reputation points • Moderator

      Hi @Bohan Wang

      Sorry, I currently have no other method to bypass the password to repair the file.

      Thanks for your understanding.

    Sign in to comment
Sign in to answer

Your answer