Macros Disabled in Word 2003

[MIKEN]

Hi,

I am trying to run a macro but I continue to get an error message indicating
that macros are disabled, I have followed the steps outlined in the online
help but this does not appear to make any diff. I can open up the macro and
get it to run on my desktop but not on the laptop.

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[Jay Freedman]

Hi,

I am trying to run a macro but I continue to get an error message
indicating that macros are disabled, I have followed the steps
outlined in the online help but this does not appear to make any
diff. I can open up the macro and get it to run on my desktop but not
on the laptop.

Any help would be appreciated.

In the Tools > Macro > Security dialog, set the security level to Medium.
Click the second tab of the dialog, and put a check next to "Trust all
installed add-ins and templates".

If the macro is stored in a template, put the template in the folder
indicated as the User Templates folder in Tools > Options > File Locations.
When you create new documents from the template, the macros in the template
will be available. If you want the macros to be available in all documents,
store the template in the folder indicated as the Startup folder.

If the macros are stored in a specific document instead of a template,
you'll get a warning each time you open the document, and you'll need to
click the Enable Macros button. (When the security level is High, Word
silently disables all macros that aren't in trusted templates.)

It's unlikely if you installed Office yourself, but it's possible for an
administrator to install it without VBA support. In that case, none of the
above will help until you go back through Setup and install VBA.

 

[MIKEN]

Thanks Jay, it appears to be working ok now. Still not too sure what happened
as the security was set to medium and the files were in the right location.
Anyhow, thanks for the help.

Mike

 

[SusannaH]

Hello,

You wrote that if macros are created in a specific document you will have to
click the "Enable macros" button. Where is that button? I can't find it.

Thanks.

 

[Jay Freedman]

Hi Susanna,

First, the following conditions are necessary:
- The level in Tools > Macro > Security is set to Medium.
- The macro is stored in the document and not in the template, or the the
macro is in a template that's stored somewhere else than in one of Word's
"trusted" locations (the User Templates, Workgroup Templates, or Startup
folders).
- The macro is not digitally signed.

Then, whenever you open the document (either through File > Open or by
double-clicking the file in Windows Explorer), you should get a large dialog
headed "Security Warning" with the following wording:

 

[Biljackson]

Hi Jay and Miken,

I too have macros that will not open (although three days ago they worked
just fine). They are created in the Normal.dot, so the file-specific thing
is not going on.

I have the security setting set to medium with the "trust all installed
add-ins and templates" selected.

I really need these macros. Any other suggestions?

Bill Jackson

 

[Jay Freedman]

Hi Bill,

Given what you've written, the only thing I can suggest is to make
sure the macros really are still in Normal.dot. There is some
situation -- which we've never been able to pin down for sure -- that
causes Normal.dot to be overwritten with part of the contents of some
document (see
http://www.word.mvps.org/FAQs/AppErrors/BlankDocNotBlank.htm), and I
suppose it's possible that one manifestation of this problem would be
to wipe out any macro code stored in the template.

If they are there, can you run them manually, either from the Alt+F8
dialog or by putting the cursor in the code within the VBA editor and
pressing F5?

 

[Biljackson]

Hi Jay,

Somewhere in creating a new Stimain file (made during the process of
creating a certificate file), enabling macros and alt f8ing to start the
macros, something worked. They are now active.

I would like, though, to know what exactly I might have done to succeed at
this. I use macros quite a lot, and thier performace and reliability are
important to me. Are there steps I can take to ensure better performance?

Thanks for your help.

 

[Jay Freedman]

Hi Bill,

In many years of writing tons of macros, I've never run into that sort
of situation. Some of that is pure luck, I'm sure, but some is due to
"clean living":

- Whenever possible, store and edit macros in templates other than
Normal.dot. If they're intended for specific types of documents, put
them in the template used to create those documents. If they're
generally useful, store them in a "global" template, one that's placed
in Word's Startup folder.

- After extensive macro editing, occasionally clean the templates as
described at http://word.mvps.org/faqs/macrosvba/TemplateBloat.htm.

- Back up, back up, back up!