Introduction to Excel Macro Security and Storage

The main purpose of is to show you how to work with the main Excel macro and VBA security features and storage options to:

• Reduce the risks that macros and VBA may generate; and
• Increase your power and efficiency when working with macros and VBA.

As you learn in :

• You cannot fully eliminate the risks associated to working with Excel files, even if you do not use macros or VBA.
• Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office have several security features that have an important influence in how you work with Excel macros and VBA.
• Macro and VBA security is, to a certain extent, related to storage. Having a basic understanding of Excel's storage options helps you: (i) Reduce the risks that macros and VBA may generate; and (ii) Increase your power and efficiency when working with macros and VBA.

One of the main goals of is to help you gain the knowledge you need to make an informed decision about the following:

• The appropriate macro and VBA security settings for your specific situation.
• How (and where) to store your macros and macro-containing Excel workbooks.

After reading , you should be in a better position to work with the main Excel macro and VBA security features and storage options in a way that:

• You reduce (to the extent possible) the risks associated to working with Excel; while
• Being able to harness the power of macros and VBA to increase your power and efficiency.

is divided into five Chapters.

• Chapter 1 is an introduction to the topic of macro and VBA security.
• In Chapter 2, you learn how to specify Global Macro Security Settings. In other words: You learn: (i) How to specify whether macros are enabled (or disabled) by default; and (ii) The main consequences of each of the available Global Macro Security Settings.
• In Chapter 3, you learn about two specific features (Trusted Locations and Trusted Publishers) that allow you to further control and influence the way your computer deals with Excel files containing macros.
• In Chapter 4, you learn about the different Excel file types. This includes learning: (i) Which Excel file types can (and which ones cannot) contain macros; and (ii) How to save Excel workbooks that contain macros.
• In Chapter 5, you learn about a special Excel workbook (known as the Personal Macro Workbook) you can use to store commonly used macros.