MACROS

[Guest]

Ever since I bought and installed Office 2003 for students I have been
plagued by "Macros" in Word. Every time I load a document or create one in
Word I get messages going on about Macros being enabled or disabled etc etc
with the accompanying ping noises and its driving me crazy. I don't want
anything to do with macros!!! Can anyone please tell me how to make the
whole thing go away for good please?!! Thanks v much.

 

[AmandaH]

You need to replace you Normal.dot file.

Check out this site:
http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/AppErrors/BlankDocNotBlank.htm

 

[Guest]

Thanks a lot. I got as far as "Modify Location" dialogue box with "Look In
-Templates" at the top and Office 97 Templates in the box. Just can't work
out what to do after that!!

 

[AmandaH]

you need to locate the Normal.dot file the path should be something
like this

C:\Documents and Settings\"Name of you computer"\Application
Data\Microsoft\Templates

Where "Name of you computer" should be something like your name.

Or you could just seach for Normal.dot in my computer, that is up to
you.

If when you get Normal.dot open you notice that there is no text in the
file, then you might need to go into VBA to delete macros. to do this
you need to open the VB editor AltF11. Then you will see Normal.dot to
the left of your screen. You will need to delete all moduals as well as
any text that appreas in "This Document" field. Let me know if you need
any more help.

~Amanda~

 

[Guest]

I'm afraid it looks like I am going to be a lost cause here!! Not really
quite so good at computers! (medical Dr - not in this!!) You've been v kind
but until I looked VBA up on Google I didn't even know what it was!! Visual
Basic for Applications it seems but how you get there? Alt/F11 does nothing
I'm afraid. It looks like that path you described is correct - so when I got
that up in the options box via this normal.dot in word and pressed modify, I
got a box with Office 97 templates in it - as per that link you gave me. If
I search for normal.dot as you describe in control panel there is no result.
Really sorry to be a total nerd!

 

[Jezebel]

First: if you can't find normal.dot, it's because it's in a hidden folder.
In Windows Explorer select Tools > Folder Options > View and check 'Show
hidden folders and Files'.

VBA is the language used for writing macros in Word, Excel, and sundry other
applications. You have to press Alt-F11 *in Word* to switch to VBA.

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

The fact that macros are disabled suggests that you have your macro security
set to High. Go to Tools | Macro | Security and change the setting to
Medium. Now when you start Word or open a document containing macros, you'll
be given a choice of enabling or disabling them.

Then, on the Trusted Sources tab, be sure that "Trust all installed
templates and add-ins" is checked. That will take care of the macros in
files in your user templates and workgroup templates folders and in the Word
Startup folder, and you will not get any messages about them at all any
more. Unfortunately, the "trust" does not extend to the Office Startup
folder, so any add-ins located there will still trigger a prompt, but in the
dialog you will be given the opportunity to trust macros from the publisher
of a given add-in. You can decide for yourself whether to trust the add-in
or remove it.

You can also go to Tools | Templates and Add-ins to see what add-ins are
loading at startup. You may find some that you don't really need or want;
remove them from the Startup folder.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA

Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

Replacing Normal.dot will have no effect in this situation.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA

Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.

 

[Graham Mayor]

As Suzanne has indicated, the problem here has nothing to do with
normal.dot. If the user has not created macros himself (which seems
unlikely) then the macros will be contained in third party software add-ins
(or worse, the user is opening third party documents that contain macros).

Setting macro security (tools > options > security) to trust installed
templates and add-ins will stop the messages. Set the overall macro security
level to medium so that macros contained in third party documents can be
disabled until their provenance has been established, whilst still providing
the option to run them.

--
<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>
Graham Mayor - Word MVP

My web site www.gmayor.com

<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>

 

[Guest]

Thanks a lot for all that. When going to Tools / Templates and Addins - is
that the same as the Office Startup folder? I did all that was said but
still get this box about enable or disable macros when I open Word - perhaps
I'm stuck with it?!! Very grateful.

 

[Jezebel]

Yes, the list you see under Tools > Templates and Add-ins are the .dot files
in the Startup folder.

Just to confuse you, there are TWO startup folders. The first is the one
listed under Tools > Options > File Locations, normally C:\Documents and
Settings\[login name]\Application Data\Microsoft\Word\STARTUP.

The second depends on where you installed Office, normally C:\Program
Files\Microsoft Office\OFFICExx\STARTUP

The difference is that add-ins in the latter location are available to all
users; those in the former only to you.

 

[Guest]

PS - The thing is I was hoping I could open Word without having to enable or
disable macros. That was the main thing all along really. In the "old days"
I could open word with no mention of the ***things!!

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

Well, that's the idea of the process I describe. First you trust all the
ones that can be trusted, and then you deal with the ones that are still
generating a message. Once you've done that, you won't get the message
again.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA

Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.

 

[Guest]

Thanks v much - v grateful!!!

Well, that's the idea of the process I describe. First you trust all the
ones that can be trusted, and then you deal with the ones that are still
generating a message. Once you've done that, you won't get the message
again.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA

Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.