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How to Remove Editing Restrictions in Word Without Password

By: Salman Patwegar

Editing restrictions are usually used to prevent unwanted changes to a Word document as they allow people to view the contents of the document but not make any changes.

Remove Editing Restrictions in Word Without Password

If you go to turn off editing restrictions, then you will be asked to enter in a password. So, what happens if you forget the password or do not know the password and must absolutely make a change to the document?

Luckily, there is a sneaky workaround which will allow you to remove editing restrictions in Word without the password, allowing you to freely edit the document.

Remove Editing Restrictions in Word Without Password

Here are the detailed steps to remove restrict editing in Word without the password.

It is recommended that before proceeding you make a copy of the Word document, in case of data loss.

1. Right click on the Word document and click on Rename. Now change the extension from .docx to .zip.

Change Extension of Word Document to .zip

2. From the pop-up, click on Yes

File Might Become Unusable Pop Up

3. Right click on the zip file and then click on Open With > Windows Explorer

Open Zip File With Windows Explorer

4. Open the Word folder and then delete the settings.xml file by right clicking on it and then clicking on Delete.

Remove Settings File to Remove Editing Restrictions

5. Now change the extension of the Word document back to .docx.

Change Extension Back to .docx

The editing restrictions will now be removed, and you are free to edit the document.

Related
  • How to Turn Off Track Changes in a Word Document

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