Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Excel 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Excel, click here: Disabled Macros.

Disabled Macros

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated April 27, 2019)
This tip applies to Excel 2000, 2002, and 2003


If you recently upgraded to new version of Excel, you may have run into a situation where the macros you created in the earlier version no longer run because they are disabled. This can be disturbing, particularly if you absolutely need the macros to get your work done.

The reason this happens is that the more recent versions of Excel (beginning with Excel 2000) include a macro security feature which wasn't present in earlier versions. The default security setting, when first installing Excel, is "High." This setting automatically disables any macros in any workbook that are not digitally signed by a "trusted source" (for more info, search for Macro Security in Excel's online help).

This automatically presents a couple of possible solutions. The first possible solution is to get your macros "digitally signed." Such a process is beyond the scope of this tip, but you can find help on the process in the online help files or at the Microsoft Web site.

Finally, you can lower the default setting for the macro security used by Excel. For instance, you can set it to "Medium," which results in only a warning message about the macros rather than an outright disabling. To change the security setting, follow these steps:

  1. Choose Macro from the Tools menu, and then choose Security from the submenu. Excel displays the Security dialog box. (See Figure 1.)
  2. Figure 1. The Security dialog box.

  3. Choose an available security setting.
  4. Click on OK.

Note:

If you would like to know how to use the macros described on this page (or on any other page on the ExcelTips sites), I've prepared a special page that includes helpful information. Click here to open that special page in a new browser tab.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (3367) applies to Microsoft Excel 2000, 2002, and 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Excel (Excel 2007 and later) here: Disabled Macros.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Undoing an Edit

We all make mistakes. Fortunately, Excel makes it rather easy to undo your makes, right after you make them.

Discover More

Automatically Advancing by a Month

Excel allows you to perform quite a few operations using dates in your worksheet. Sometimes, however, the answer may not ...

Discover More

Vertical Alignment of Sections

Using one of the page setup options in Word, you can specify that the paragraphs within the section be vertically aligned ...

Discover More

Excel Smarts for Beginners! Featuring the friendly and trusted For Dummies style, this popular guide shows beginners how to get up and running with Excel while also helping more experienced users get comfortable with the newest features. Check out Excel 2019 For Dummies today!

More ExcelTips (menu)

Worksheet Events

You can create macros that are automatically executed whenever certain events occur within a worksheet. This tip details ...

Discover More

Reversing Cell Contents

Macros are great at working with text. This tip presents an example that shows this versatility by reversing the contents ...

Discover More

Using SUM In a Macro

Want to use a worksheet function (such as SUM) from within a macro? Here's how easy it is to accomplish the task.

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is nine minus 1?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)


This Site

Got a version of Excel that uses the menu interface (Excel 97, Excel 2000, Excel 2002, or Excel 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.

Newest Tips
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.