AutoOpen macros in Word

[Maureen White]

I keep getting a message telling me that I should open the document with
macros enabled - haven't a clue - any ideas out there?

Best wishes - Maureen White, UK

 

[Beth Melton]

You should first determine what macro is attempting to run.

- Go to Tools/Macro/Macros and make sure "Macros in" reflects "All
active templates and documents".
- See if there are any macros named "AutoOpen"
- Select the macro and see if the Edit or Delete command is available
- If it is then either Delete the macro or click "Edit" and place an
"X" in front of the macro name to prevent it from automatically
running until you can determine what the macro is actually doing

If delete is unavailable then chances are it is stored in a global
template. A global template is a template located in your Startup
folder that is automatically loaded when Word starts. You can find a
list of these under Tools/Templates and Add-Ins.

In the Macros dialog box, narrow down the list of macros using "Macros
in" at the bottom until you have determined which template contains
the macro.

Once you locate the template then either open the template and
delete/rename the macro or move the template out of the folder so it
will no longer be used.

Global templates are typically stored in your Word\Startup folder or
Office\Startup. Your Word\Startup folder can be determined by going to
Tools/Options/File Locations to verify this location. The
Office\Startup folder will be located in the installation path for
Office.

--
Please post all follow-up questions to the newsgroup. Requests for
assistance by email can not be acknowledged.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Beth Melton
Microsoft Office MVP

Word FAQ: http://mvps.org/word
TechTrax eZine: http://mousetrax.com/techtrax/
MVP FAQ site: http://mvps.org/

 

[Jack Sheet]

Hi Maureen.

By their nature, it is possible for Macros to contain a virus.

Therefore, as a security feature, MS Office products warn you if macros are
present when you open a file, and give you the option (a) to proceed as
normal, (b) to open the file but disable macros, or (c) to cancel the
operation of opening the file. It does NOT detect whether there is a virus
in the macro (although your other virus protection software should do so if
kept up to date).

Disabling macros may prevent the document, workbook or whatever from
operating properly, although there is no harm in opening it with macros
disabled to find out.

Provided that you are satisfied with the source, and expecially if you have
up to date virus protection software, and if it is no surprise that there
are macros in the file, it should be safe to proceed with macros enabled.

Your operating system may have security settings enabled that can interfere
with the proper operation of macros, or so I believe, but you will probably
not be given the option to open with macros enabled in that event.