Macro Security Error

[Charles]

When I open MS Word 2007 I get a warning window (shown below) by just
opening the application. I also receive the warning if I double click a doc
or docx file. This problem started with Power Point when I tried to view a
PPS. file which I believe was corrupt. Power Point is no longer a problem,
just MS Word 2007.
This is what is popping up, I've tried all the instructions but it keeps
appearing with every opening of the program. How do I shut it off? Thanks.

This error usually occurs because of macro security settings. If you know
that the macro comes from a source that you trust, you can change your macro
security settings to allow you to enable the macro. The way that you change
your macro security settings depends on the Microsoft Office System program
that you are using.

a.. Microsoft Office Access, Microsoft Office Excel, Microsoft Office
PowerPoint, or Microsoft Office Word --

To check your macro security settings, click the Microsoft Office Button,
click <program name> Options, click Trust Center, and then click Trust
Center Settings.
a.. If macro security is set to Disable all macros without notification,
all macros are automatically disabled. Use the following procedure to enable
the macro.
1.. In the Trust Center dialog box, click Macro Settings, and then
click Disable all macros with notification.
2.. Click OK in the Trust Center dialog box to apply the new setting.
Click OK to close the program options dialog box.
3.. Close the file and the Microsoft Office program that you are
using.
4.. Open the file again. A Security Alert appears in the Document
Information Bar just below the ribbon. Click Enable Content to allow the
macro to run.
5.. When you have enabled the macro, it is recommended that you return
the macro security setting to Disable all macros without notification.
b.. If macro security is set to Disable all macros with notification,
but you selected Disable when prompted by the macro warning dialog when you
opened the file, use the following procedure to enable the macro.
1.. In the Trust Center dialog box, click Cancel. Click Cancel to
close the program options dialog box.
2.. Close the file and the Microsoft Office program that you are
using.
3.. Open the file again. A Security Alert appears in the Document
Information Bar just below the ribbon. Click Enable Content to allow the
macro to run.
c.. If macro security is set to Disable all macros except digitally
signed macros, the macro may not have been digitally signed. Verify that you
can trust the macro before using the following procedure to allow it to run.
1.. In the Trust Center dialog box, click Cancel. Click Cancel to
close the program options dialog box.
2.. Close the file and the Microsoft Office program that you are
using.
3.. Open the file again. A Security Alert appears in the Document
Information Bar just below the ribbon. Click Enable Content to allow the
macro to run.

 

[Jay Freedman]

The statements in the error message are true but completely
irrelevant. (That's the point of a famous joke about Microsoft, but I
digress...)

The cure is this:

1. Exit from Word.

2. Open the file manager variously known as "Windows Explorer", "My
Computer", or "Computer" depending on your version of Windows.

3. On the Tools menu, click Folder Options. In the dialog that
appears, click the View tab. Select the option to show hidden folders
and files. Click OK. (If you skip this step, the next step won't
work.)

4. Use the Search tool to find the file Normal.dotm.

5. Rename the file to Normal.old.

6. Restart Word.

 

[Charles]

I followed your instructions to the letter. When I open MS Word 2007 I get
the same message. Every time I open it - it creates a new normal.dotm - the
normal.old is present along with the dotm file.

 

[Jay Freedman]

The message is telling you that Word thinks there's an unauthorized
macro trying to run when you start Word. Creating a new normal.dotm
guarantees that there are no macros in it.

The next step is to start Word in a mode that prevents loading of
normal.dotm, all add-ins, and all registry customizations, to see if
that stops the messages. On the Start menu, click Run and enter the
command

winword.exe /a

(Note that there's a space before the slash character.)

If Word opens without the message, and you've already replaced
normal.dotm, then the remaining possibilities are a poorly written
add-in or a corrupted registry setting. I've never heard of a registry
setting causing the macro warning message, so an add-in would be the
prime suspect.

In Word, you can go to the Office button, click Word Options, click
the Add-Ins tab, and see a list of active add-ins. Select a kind of
add-in in the Manage box and click the Go button, and uncheck all of
the items that appear. Repeat for all of the add-in types. Then start
restoring them, one at a time, and restarting Word. If one of them
makes the message start appearing, that one is the cause of the
problem.

 

[Charles]

Dear Jay,
When I reached the Add-In list I noticed that did not have any active
add-ins. However, under the Inactive add-inns I had 4. Since MS Office is
installed on my D:\ drive and 3 of the inactive locations are on the D:\
drive and one on the C:\ drive. It was located at C:\Document and
Settings\User\Application
ata\Microsoft\Word\Startup\Finereader6.sprint.dot - I changed it to
Finereader6.sprint.old. I then opened MS Word with no problem. The file
"normal.dotm" has returned so I just deleted the normal.old. So far so
good. Thanks again and have a Merry Christmas. Stayed tuned, because now I
can't open a particular PPS file, same error message as above. When I follow
the above fix and get to #4 there is no Document Information Bar, but I
think the help file imbedded in the error message will guide me through
it. - Charles