Retype Password

[ahraitch]

I’m getting a message (see screenshot) telling me to retype the password when I try to save a spreadsheet from LibreCalc. I don’t know why because I have saved the same spreadsheet file from LibreCalc before. I choose the .ODS format before saving.

Can anyone explain what I’m being asked to do and why I’m being asked? Is there a workaround? I don’t recall having any password protection on the work book or any spreadsheet in the file.

EDITED TO ADD:
I am coming to LibreOffice after decades of using MS Office. I lost my licensed copy of MS Office and refuse to pay the prices they are asking. I’m using LibreCalc 24.2.1.2. The workbook I’m using was originally created in Excel.

Yes, I’m new here and have much to learn about protocol. I’m afraid that I do not know how to ask the question any better than I did. Yes, I did search for an answer both here and using an Internet search engine. The only hit I got was not helpful, nor have any of the responses to this query been.
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[mikekaganski]

Since you didn’t tell what version you are using, I can only guess, that that’s related to tdf#123877. However, that is for autorecovery information…

Possibly best would be to provide a sample of such file.

[Wanderer]

@ahraitch

I choose the .ODS format before saving.

Is this a hint you were editing .xls or .xlsx and then save as .ods?

[fpy]

@ahraitch

Can anyone

Guidelines for asking

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[ahraitch]

I’m using LibreCalc v.24.2.1.2 on Windows 11 23H2. I don’t know what “tdf#123877” refers to. I searched before posting and found no helpful solutions; perhaps there is none.

Someone suggested the problem might be that a cloud drive’s security is asking for a password; however I do not use cloud services nor do I password protect my files.

I am attaching the entire workbook in hope that someone can provide me with information because, as it now stands, I cannot save the workbook after updating a spreadsheet.

2022 GEXA Modified 06AUG(AutoRecovered).xlsx (338 KB)

[mikekaganski]

In the dialog, you may scroll down through the items in the list. There are a lot of elements; and some of them have the Re-type button enabled. Click each of these buttons, and make sure that all of them have the passwords removed. That enables the main dialog’s OK button (at first attempt, I missed some elements, so had to do a second pass through the items).

Indeed, not the best UX.

[sokol92]

In your file, some of the sheets are password protected (AUG, JUL, …).
The sheet protection mechanism in LibreOffice Calc differs from the Excel mechanism, so when the document format is changed, the program requests passwords to remove the protection (and re-install the protection after changing the format).

[ahraitch]

Thanks, Vladimir.

I do not remember using passwords on those spreadsheets.

Your answer raises another question: How does one remove passwords from spreadsheets created in MS Excel if one can no longer use Excel? So far, all searches have revealed techniques requiring Excel.

[mikekaganski]

More specifically: the protection (both in Calc and Excel files) doesn’t store passwords in the file itself, only some “product” of applying the password to the data, so that it is enough to check if the entered password produces the same product (so is correct or not), but not allowing to know the password without asking the user. Note that we are talking about the “cosmetic” editing password.

What does that mean? When saving to the same file type (you have an Excel file; you save to the same Excel file), there’s no need to change the unchanged protected data, it may be saved as before (and if you changed it, you naturally had entered the password). There will be no request for passwords.

But when you save to another file type, Calc has a problem: you have protected elements, and Calc needs to protect them in the resulting file (it can’t silently drop passwords, right?), but it doesn’t know the password, so it can’t create the security for the new format. Thus, it asks you to re-type the passwords for the protected elements - or to drop the protection explicitly (notice that you can drop it even without knowing the password, because we are talking about the weak edit password protection; indeed, there’s no way to do something similar for password for opening files).

[mikekaganski]

@ahraitch

Your answer raises another question: How does one remove passwords

Heh. Did you read my answer about the enabled Re-type buttons? Did you try to click any of them?

[sokol92]

@mikekaganski

Note that we are talking about the “cosmetic” editing password.

@ahraitch, if you have forgotten your password, here is your file in which the sheets are not protected.

2022 GEXA Modified 06AUG(AutoRecovered)_4.xlsx (331.8 KB)

[EarnestAl]

@ahraitch

I don’t know what “tdf#123877” refers to

Hyperlinks in browsers are typically coloured so they can be recognised as a link. Just hover over it to see the destination, Bugzilla, or click on it to be taken to the page.

Bugzilla is where bugs and enhancement requests for LibreOffice are posted. Sometimes a workaround or manual solution to an issue is mentioned in a comment. I find they are worth reading as the comments are normally by experienced developers who understand LibreOffice.

[ahraitch]

Mike, I’m sure this is excellent information; but I cannot make sense of it. Did you mean that I should scroll through every cell looking for the Re-type button?

[ahraitch]

Thanks, I’m a bit leery of clicking on links if I don’t know what they are. Now that you told me, I clicked through but didn’t find an answer.

[ahraitch]

Thanks, Mike.
It took me a bit, but I finally figured out what you referred to. I went through the list and for each file with incompatible hash, I attempted to remove password protection; however upon trying to save the file again, I got the same errors. The list of spreadsheets with incompatible hash has not changed despite by having clicked the button to remove password protection. I went through them yet again this time unclicking the button that says passwords must match and again clicking the remove password protection. Nothing changed. The hash incompatibility still appears on the same spreadsheets.

[mikekaganski]

@ahraitch

Nothing changed

I bet you see the same problem as I described:

@mikekaganski

at first attempt, I missed some elements, so had to do a second pass through the items

Even though you went through them again, it is likely that you missed some.
I created tdf#160608.

[ahraitch]

Thanks, Mike.
I did go through them very carefully with my wife looking over my shoulder and my calling each out to her for verification. Those that showed hash incompatibility I changed as you suggested. I then tried to save the file again and got the same message and, ultimately, the same list of files with incompatible hash values. Nothing changed despite my efforts.

[mikekaganski]

@ahraitch

I then tried to save the file again

What does this mean? The expectation is that when you did the procedure, then the OK button activates, and you press it to save.

[erAck]

Maybe that meant they saved the same (originally .xlsx) file while still open, not having (re-)loaded the then created .ods file. That has to ask again because still only the original .xlsx hashes are known in memory at that point, not the ones from the exported .ods file. Once the resulting .ods was loaded instead, things should work seamless.

[ahraitch]

The version of LibreCalc I’m using is 24.2.1.2