| Macro security settings - Excel | | Print | |
If you write macros that other people in your organization use, you should be aware of the Macro Security settings in Excel (and in all Office applications). These settings control the messages you receive when you open a workbook that contains macros; they ask if it's okay to enable them.
In the good old days, developers didn't have to worry about such things. But with the advent of macro viruses, you now need to take such user-level security settings into account when developing code.
In Office 2000/XP, there are three levels of security for macros contained within files:
High automatically disables any macro not "signed" with a digital signature. It will allow macros to be enabled only from sources already deemed to be "trusted."
Medium prompts users to decide whether a macro should be enabled.
Low does not notify users that files contain macros. All macros are enabled for opened files.
The security settings on your users' machines might be dictated by policy or may be up to the user's discretion. Either way, the safest action for developers of Office-based macros is to obtain a digital signature to sign their macros. With a digitally signed macro, even the High setting will enable your code, provided the user approves.
Express yourself with comments
We've all opened the workbook from hell. The formatting was a mess, and there were formulas everywhere. A day later, you may almost have it decoded enough to work on it.
Get your users into the habit of documenting workbooks with comments. They can enter text descriptions into any cell. These descriptions are visible only if you hover the mouse over the cell. A cell with a comment is marked with a small red triangle in the upper-right corner. Your users can easily add a comment to a cell by clicking Insert | Comment.
Excel's Reviewing toolbar facilitates working with the comments in a workbook. The options on this toolbar allow users to add and delete comments and move from one comment to another in a workbook.
With the growing use of teams and collaboration, it's more important than ever to ensure that your users' intentions are clearly communicated to everyone who needs to use a workbook. Comments are a good way to start.
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