Data Driven Decision Making

Turn Off ‘Enable Macros’ Warning for your Trusted Macros

June 11, 2012 by

If, like me, you use the BrightWork Project Sync macro to better manage your Microsoft Project to SharePoint Sync you might be interested in turning off the Microsoft Project Security Notice warning you receive every time you open the Microsoft Project file.

The warning relates to the macros in the file that are used to establish an initial connection to SharePoint and also used to manage the additional data that gets passed to SharePoint for reporting purposes during the Sync.

Turn Off ‘Enable Macros’ Warning for your Trusted Macros

 

Although this notice is very useful, if you trust the macro is working as you would expect it can be nice to turn this warning off, even if it is only for yourself. Below are the steps (borrowed directly from “Digitally sign your macro project“).

This process involves using a certificate to sign the macro. You can get a certificate from a number of sources but for expedience here we will create one for our own private use as follows:

  1. Click the Windows Start button, point to All Programs, click Microsoft Office, click Microsoft Office 2010 Tools, and then click Digital Certificate for VBA Projects.
  2. The Create Digital Certificate dialog appears.
    Turn Off ‘Enable Macros’ Warning for your Trusted Macros
  3. In the Your certificate’s name box, type a descriptive name for the certificate.
    Turn Off ‘Enable Macros’ Warning for your Trusted Macros
  4. Click OK.
  5. When the SelfCert Success message appears, click OK.
    Turn Off ‘Enable Macros’ Warning for your Trusted Macros

Next, we will trust the macro from BrightWork.

  1. Open the Microsoft Project file containing the macro you want to sign.
  2. On the Developer tab, in the Code group, click Visual Basic.
    NOTE If the Developer tab is not available: Click the File tab. The Microsoft Office Backstage view appears. Under Help, click Options. Click Customize Ribbon. In the Customize the Ribbon list, select Developer, and then click OK.
  3. In Visual Basic select the correct macro project i.e. BrightWorkProjectSync.
    Turn Off ‘Enable Macros’ Warning for your Trusted Macros
  4. Next, on the Tools menu select Digital Signature.
    Turn Off ‘Enable Macros’ Warning for your Trusted Macros
  5. The Digital Signature dialog appears.
    Turn Off ‘Enable Macros’ Warning for your Trusted Macros
  6. Select Choose… and select a certificate and click OK.
    Turn Off ‘Enable Macros’ Warning for your Trusted Macros
  7. Click Ok
    Turn Off ‘Enable Macros’ Warning for your Trusted Macros
  8. Save and Close the Microsoft Project file.
  9. Finally, Open the Microsoft Project file again. You will be prompted with the Microsoft Project Security Notice but now select Trust all documents from this publisher, after which you will not be prompted with the Microsoft Project Security Notice for this file any more.
    Turn Off ‘Enable Macros’ Warning for your Trusted Macros

 

If you subsequently want to delete the SelfCert and go back to the Microsoft Project Security Notice warning do the following:

  1. Open Windows Internet Explorer.
  2. On the Tools menu, click Internet Options, and then click the Content tab.
    Turn Off ‘Enable Macros’ Warning for your Trusted Macros
  3. Click Certificates, and then click the Personal tab.
  4. Select the Certificate and click Remove.
    Turn Off ‘Enable Macros’ Warning for your Trusted Macros
  5. Confirm by clicking on Yes.
    Turn Off ‘Enable Macros’ Warning for your Trusted Macros
  6. Remember to also remove the Certificate from the file by re-opening the Digital Signature dialog in Visual Basic and clicking on Remove.

 

Fintan Manning
Latest posts by Fintan Manning (see all)