Unprotect (Remove Password) from DOCX-Files

The file needs to be in .docx format:

• Create a back-up copy of the file.

• Change the extension from .docx to .zip or unzip with 7zip, if installed.

• Open new .zip file and extract all files.

• In the extracted folder go to to word\settings.xml.

• Open settings.xml and remove the code from <w:documentProtection to /> and save the file. You can either change w:enforcement value to 0 or remove the block entirely.

• Copy the new settings.xml to the original .zip file and overwrite the old one. Or create a new zip file from the entire folder.

• Rename the .zip to .docx and open file which is now protection-free!

Or:

1. Open your document in Word, then save it in ".xml" format.
2. Open the .xml doc in wordpad, emacs, or your favorite text editor.
3. Search for the string w:enforcement="1".
4. Replace the "1" with a "0" to disable enforcement (i.e., unlock the document).
5. Save the document from your text editor.
6. Open the .xml document in Word.
7. Choose "Save as..." and save it as a .doc or .docx file.