Word Encryption for DOCX files in C# and VB.NET

DOCX encryption enables you to securely protect the content of your Word document from unwanted viewers by encrypting it with a password. The passwords are case-sensitive, and they can't be empty.

With the GemBox.Document library you can encrypt a Word document programmatically in C# and VB.NET.

The following example shows how to load an encrypted DOCX file and save it as an encrypted DOCX file with a different password:

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Input file name

DocxEncryption.docx

Input password

Output password

C# VB.NET

Run

using GemBox.Document;

// If using the Professional version, put your serial key below.
ComponentInfo.SetLicense("FREE-LIMITED-KEY");

string inputPassword = "inpass";
string outputPassword = "outpass";

var document = DocumentModel.Load("DocxEncryption.docx",
    new DocxLoadOptions() { Password = inputPassword });

document.Save("DOCX Encryption Output.docx",
    new DocxSaveOptions() { Password = outputPassword });

Imports GemBox.Document

Module Program

    Sub Main()

        ' If using the Professional version, put your serial key below.
        ComponentInfo.SetLicense("FREE-LIMITED-KEY")

        Dim inputPassword As String = "inpass"
        Dim outputPassword As String = "outpass"

        Dim document = DocumentModel.Load("DocxEncryption.docx",
            New DocxLoadOptions With {.Password = inputPassword})

        document.Save("DOCX Encryption Output.docx",
            New DocxSaveOptions With {.Password = outputPassword})

    End Sub
End Module

Note that to read a protected or encrypted Word document, you'll need to provide a DocxLoadOptions.Password value. To write to a protected or encrypted Word document, you'll need to set a DocxSaveOptions.Password.

To read an encrypted Word document, you'll need to provide a valid password by using the property. In case of an invalid password, GemBox.Document won't be able to decrypt the file and thus a CryptographicException will occur when trying to load it.

In order to check if a Word document is encrypted, you can use one of the DocxLoadOptions.IsEncrypted static methods.