Microsoft KB Archive/278679

= OFF2000: &quot;This Workbook (Document) Has Been Password Protected&quot; When You Open Workbook or Document =

Article ID: 278679

Article Last Modified on 1/28/2005

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Excel 2000 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft Word 2000 Standard Edition

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This article was previously published under Q278679



SYMPTOMS
When you open a password-protected Microsoft Excel workbook on a computer with French regional settings, you receive the following error message:

This workbook has been password protected with an encryption scheme not available in this region. This workbook cannot be opened.

When you open a password-protected Word document on a computer with French regional settings, you receive the following error message:

This document has been password protected with an encryption scheme not available in this region. Word cannot open this document.



CAUSE
The Excel workbook or Word document was saved on a computer with U.S. regional settings and RC4 encryption.



RESOLUTION
To resolve this problem, obtain the Word 2000 Update: April 25, 2002. For additional information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

320536 WD2000: Overview of the Word 2000 Update: April 25, 2002



STATUS
Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article.

This problem was first corrected in the Word 2000 Update: April 25, 2002.



MORE INFORMATION
Before 2 June 2000, the laws of France did not allow documents to be encrypted by using the RC4 encryption scheme, which Word and Excel normally use when files are saved with password protection. Now Excel workbooks and Word documents can be encrypted by using the RC4-40 stream cipher.

After applying the Excel and Word hotfixes, users with French locale settings can do the following:
 * Open an existing RC4-40 encrypted workbook or document.
 * Open an existing RC4-40 encrypted workbook or document, and save it with weak encryption.
 * Save a new workbook or document with weak encryption.
 * Save an existing workbook or document with weak encryption.

Additional query words: excel2000 excel2k xl2000 xl2k word2000 word2k errmsg fileopen encryption rc4 french france

Keywords: kbbug kbfix kbqfe KB278679

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