Macros disabled

[PegL]

We have a weird problem with Excel XP/WinXP. If you have
a WB open with macros enabled, then open another WB from
Win Explorer, the macros are automatically disabled. If
you open the WB using the open file button, all is well.
This only occurs with certain WBs. These WBs are fairly
large & complex (6MB, 25 sheets). Also, our company
doesn't allow users to set the macro security to low.
Any ideas?

 

[Dave Peterson]

First, this is a guess. I couldn't duplicate this in xl2002 and win98.

But when you double click on that 2nd file in windows explorer, does it open a
second instance of excel or does it open as just another workbook in the running
instance of excel.

You can check by looking under Window (on the menubar) to see if both files
appear.

In xl2002 and win98, if I opened a second instance of excel, the macro security
settings match the first instance.

This is a long shot and doesn't make sense to me: I was wondering if things are
different under winXP. Maybe the security settings can be different under
different instances.

I would imagine that the settings are stored in a single spot in the
registry--so excel should find the same setting no matter how many instances are
running.

===
My real (irritating) question is: Are you sure macros are disabled in the
second workbook?

I've never seen this behavior.

 

[PegL]

Thanks for your ideas! It does open 1 instance. The
macros are definitely disabled. An interesting note: I
was checking out your suggestion and opened 1 of the
WBs. I then started Windows Explorer and opened another
of the WBs. The macros worked this time. But if I have
Win Explorer open first, the macros are disabled. Must be
a new "feature" of Win XP ;-)

 

[Jim Rech]

Must be a new "feature" of Win XP ;-)

Nope. At least not here. I can't repro with the same setup.