Files · Windows 10 and 11
Unlock a locked folder or file
A file ending in .olock is a folder or file locked with Octoolo. Double-click it, type the password, and what was locked comes back in the same place, as it was. Without Octoolo, or without the password, it does not open.
How to unlock a .olock file
- 1
Open the locked file
Double-click the
.olockfile, or right-click it and choose Octoolo, then Unlock…. In Octoolo, Choose a locked file… under Unlock does the same. - 2
Type the password
The card shows the locked file's name, size, date and hint. Type the password in the Password box. Turn on Keep the locked file too if you want the .olock file kept as well.
- 3
Unlock
Press Unlock. The folder or file comes back beside the locked file, and the .olock file is removed unless you kept it.
What comes back, and where
The folder or file returns to the folder the .olock file is in, under its old name, with its folders, file dates and read-only files as they were. If something by that name is already there, the unlocked one is called Photos (2), so nothing is written over.
Octoolo unlocks into a hidden temporary folder first and moves the result into place only after every piece has checked out. A locked file that was changed, damaged or cut short does not open: Octoolo says so instead of handing back half a folder.
A wrong or forgotten password
A wrong password brings “That password does not open it. Check it and try again: capital letters count.” Check Caps Lock, and the keyboard layout if you switch between languages. The hint you wrote when locking is on the card.
There is no other way in. Octoolo keeps no copy of the password and has no account or recovery code behind it, so a forgotten password cannot be reset, by you or by Octoolo. That is what keeps a locked folder closed to everyone else, too.
Opening .olock files
A .olock file opens only in Octoolo: other programs, archivers included, cannot read it. Double-clicking one opens Octoolo's Unlock once the installed Octoolo has run at least once, since that is when it tells Windows about .olock files. If Octoolo is uninstalled, locked files stay locked, and whole, until it is installed again. A file locked by a newer Octoolo asks you to update first.
To lock something, see lock a folder and password-protect a file.
Questions, answered
What is a .olock file?
A folder or file locked with a password in Octoolo's Files. Its name is the original name with .olock after it, such as Photos.olock or Taxes 2025.pdf.olock.
Can I open a .olock file without Octoolo?
No. Only Octoolo opens them, and only with the password.
Can I unlock it on another PC?
Yes, on any Windows PC with Octoolo installed: copy the .olock file there and unlock it with the password.
Is it unlocked for good?
Yes: what comes back is an ordinary folder or file again, so lock it again when you are done. With Keep the locked file too on, the locked copy stays beside it as well.
The password is right but it will not open. Why?
Octoolo tells a wrong password apart from a damaged file. If it says the file is damaged, the .olock file was changed or cut short, for example by a copy that did not finish; try another copy of it if you have one.
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