Apache POI - Password Protected Excel


Apache POI, a project run by the Apache Software Foundation, and previously a sub-project of the Jakarta Project, provides pure Java libraries for reading and writing files in Microsoft Office formats, such as Word, PowerPoint and Excel.

The name POI was originally an acronym for Poor Obfuscation Implementation, referring humorously to the fact that the file formats seemed to be deliberately obfuscated, but poorly, since they were successfully reverse-engineered.

In this tutorial we will use Apache POI library to perform different functions on Microsoft Excel spreadsheet.

Tools & dependencies:

1. Java JDK 1.5 or above
2. Apache POI library v3.8 or above (download)
3. Eclipse 3.2 above (optional)

Create a password protected excel file or use an existing template and make it password protected. This will give the users a "read only" access though. Here's an example where I have an excel file that has a password "sachin"


import java.io.BufferedInputStream;
import java.io.FileInputStream;
import java.io.FileOutputStream;
import java.io.IOException;
import org.apache.poi.hssf.record.crypto.Biff8EncryptionKey;
import org.apache.poi.hssf.usermodel.HSSFRow;
import org.apache.poi.hssf.usermodel.HSSFSheet;
import org.apache.poi.hssf.usermodel.HSSFWorkbook;
import org.apache.poi.poifs.filesystem.POIFSFileSystem;
import org.apache.poi.ss.usermodel.Cell;

public class ProtectedExcelFile { 

    public static void main(final String... args) throws Exception {     

        String fname = "C:/Users/username/excel.xls"; // Add your excel sheet path

        FileInputStream fileInput = null;       
        BufferedInputStream bufferInput = null;      
        POIFSFileSystem poiFileSystem = null;    
        FileOutputStream fileOut = null;

        try {           

            fileInput = new FileInputStream(fname);         
            bufferInput = new BufferedInputStream(fileInput);            
            poiFileSystem = new POIFSFileSystem(bufferInput);            

            Biff8EncryptionKey.setCurrentUserPassword("sachin");      // Use 'sachin' as  a password
            HSSFWorkbook workbook = new HSSFWorkbook(poiFileSystem, true);            
            HSSFSheet sheet = workbook.getSheetAt(0);           

            HSSFRow row = sheet.createRow(0);
            Cell cell = row.createCell(0);

            cell.setCellValue("THIS WORKS!"); 

            fileOut = new FileOutputStream(fname);
            workbook.writeProtectWorkbook(Biff8EncryptionKey.getCurrentUserPassword(), "");
            workbook.write(fileOut);

        } catch (Exception ex) {

            System.out.println(ex.getMessage());      

        } finally {         

              try {            

                  bufferInput.close();     

              } catch (IOException ex) {

                  System.out.println(ex.getMessage());     

              }    

              try {            

                  fileOut.close();     

              } catch (IOException ex) {

                  System.out.println(ex.getMessage());     

              } 
        }       

    }

}

Let me know your queries.