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Remove protection from an .xlsm file without losing your macros

Q: Will removing sheet protection delete my VBA macros?

No. Macros are stored in xl/vbaProject.bin, a separate part of the package. Protection tags live in the worksheet and workbook XML, so removing them leaves the macro binary untouched.

Why .xlsm is no different under the hood

A macro‑enabled .xlsm workbook is the exact same package format as a normal .xlsx: a ZIP archive of XML parts. The only real difference is an extra part, xl/vbaProject.bin, that stores your VBA code, plus a content‑type flag marking the file as macro‑enabled. Sheet protection and workbook‑structure protection live in the worksheet and workbook XML, not in the macro binary, so removing them never touches your macros.

What "protection" actually is here

When you use Review → Protect Sheet or Protect Workbook, Excel writes a small self‑closing tag — <sheetProtection> in each worksheet, <workbookProtection> in the workbook — that holds a hash of your password. It is an edit lock, an anti‑accident measure, not encryption. Deleting that tag re‑enables editing; the cell data, formulas, formatting, and vbaProject.bin stay byte‑for‑byte the same.

This is not the same as a password to open the file. If Excel demands a password before it will even show the workbook, that is AES encryption of the whole package, and there is no way to strip it without the correct password.

Steps that keep macros untouched

Make a copy of your .xlsm first, so you always have the original.
Drop the copy onto the unlock tool. It reads the ZIP, removes the <sheetProtection> and <workbookProtection> tags, and re‑zips — leaving xl/vbaProject.bin exactly as it was.
Download the unlocked copy and open it in Excel. Enable macros as usual; every module, form, and routine is still there.

Prefer to do it by hand? The manual ZIP method works identically on .xlsm — just rename to .zip, edit the XML, and re‑zip, being careful to keep the .bin part in place.

Unlock it in seconds instead

The manual route works, but our free in‑browser tool does the same thing in one drop — nothing is uploaded, everything runs on your device.

Unlock your file now →

Frequently asked

Will removing sheet protection delete my VBA macros?

No. Macros are stored in xl/vbaProject.bin, a separate part of the package. Protection tags live in the worksheet and workbook XML, so removing them leaves the macro binary untouched.

Does the file stay a valid .xlsm afterwards?

Yes. The content‑type flag that marks the file as macro‑enabled is not changed, so Excel still opens it as an .xlsm and offers to enable macros.

What if the .xlsm asks for a password just to open?

That is AES encryption of the whole file, not an edit lock. It cannot be removed without the correct password, and this tool will refuse the file rather than pretend to crack it.