Plus the difference between a worksheet and a workbook

Want to make changes to your Excel workbook or spreadsheet, but find that it is locked or protected? If so, you may need to unprotect it first. This will allow you to edit the content, structure, and formatting of your spreadsheet.

But how do you unprotect an Excel worksheet or workbook? And what happens if you don’t know the password? If you’re not sure how to unlock your data in a protected Excel file, follow the steps below.

Before we begin, let's clarify the difference between unprotecting a workbook and unprotecting a worksheet. A workbook is used to describe an entire Excel file. A worksheet, on the other hand, is used to describe the individual sheets in your Excel spreadsheet—the tabs of data that you see at the bottom of the window.