petemc89/craxcel-desktop

Desktop application to unlock Microsoft Office password protected files.

craXcel-desktop

Desktop application to unlock Microsoft Office password protected files.

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What is craXcel

craXcel ("crack-cel") is a tool that makes removing various password protections from Microsoft Office files seemless. It works by directly amending the underlying XML files that make up modern Microsoft Office files.

Please note that craXcel cannot unlock encrypted files.

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Supported applications

As of V1.0:

• Microsoft Excel (workbook, worksheet, vba)
  • .xlsx
  • .xlsm
• Microsoft Word (modify, format, vba)
  • .docx
  • .docm
• Microsoft Powerpoint (modify, vba)
  • .pptx
  • .pptm

Important note on unlocking the VBA project of macro files

Upon unlocking the VBA Project of a Macro Enabled file, that file will state it has encountered issues and needs to recover... DO NOT PANIC, this is normal.

The steps to follow to complete the unlock is as follows:

1. Open the unlocked file and click 'Enable Content' on the warning:

2. Click 'OK' on the following pop-up:

3. Open Visual Basic from the Developer toolbar:

4. Open VBAProject Propeties under Tools:

5. Navigate to the Protection tab and enter a new password (a one character password is fine, as we will be removing it again straight away). Click 'OK'.

6. Head back in to VBAProject Properties > Protection tab, and de-select the 'Lock project for viewing' checkbox and clear any passwords in the boxes below. Click 'OK'.

7. The modules will now be unlocked and you can save the document without having to repeat these steps.

Note to developers: If you're willing to take on the challenge of automating these steps (preferably without user input mimicking...) you are welcome to contribute!

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How to use

1. Add your files via the Add Button button
2. Optional: Edit options via the Options button
3. Click 'Unlock!'
4. Your files will be saved to your home folder (Documents for Windows) in the folder named 'craXcel'

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Installation

1. Download the latest release's craXcel.zip (https://github.com/petemc89/craXcel-desktop/releases/latest)
2. Unzip to a folder of your choice
3. Run craXcel.exe

Or...

Build it from source!

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Contributing

• Open issues
• Fork
• Pull

craxcel-desktop's Issues

Microsoft Office - Additional Supported Extensions

There may be more extensions supported by the application without making any changes to the code (i.e. .ppsx - powerpoint show) works but is not listed as supported and therefore not selectable in the UI.

Additional XML based Office formats should be explored and added.

Microsoft Office - Additional Supported File Types

Currently, the application only unlocks XML based MS Office file types, (i.e. xlsx, docx), but not the older formats (i.e. .xls, .doc). Discover how these can be unlocked and plan implementation.

Error Handling

Currently there is limited Error Handling

Error handling should prevent application crashes and provide feedback on what has gone wrong, continuing with other processes where possible.

Microsoft Office - VBA Unlock Automation

Currently, unlocking VBA requires user intervention when opening the unlocked file for the first time:

1. Open the unlocked file and click 'Enable Content' on the warning:
2. Click 'OK' on the following pop-up:
3. Open Visual Basic from the Developer toolbar:
4. Open VBAProject Propeties under Tools:
5. Navigate to the Protection tab and enter a new password (a one character password is fine, as we will be removing it again straight away). Click 'OK'.
6. Head back in to VBAProject Properties > Protection tab, and de-select the 'Lock project for viewing' checkbox and clear any passwords in the boxes below. Click 'OK'.

This should be enhanced so that the application fulfills these steps. It should not accomplish this by mimicking user inputs (i.e. mouse, keyboard control)

Enhanced User Logging

Currently, logging logs 3 things:

1. Application started summary (number of files)
2. File unlocked confirmation (each file gets a confirmation/error message)
3. Application finished summary (number of files successful)

This should be enhanced to provide more detail on the process, so:

1. User options are logged at the start
2. Each file should report:
   • Type of protection found
   • List of protections removed successfully