The MOTW attribute is shown by default as an unchecked Unblock checkbox in the Security item at the bottom of the General tab:īy explicitly checking the Unblock check box, you’ll be able to open your prized macro-enabled content and access the additional functionality enabled by the VBA code inside it. Right-click the file and then select Properties. It doesn’t mean Match Of The Week for all you sports fans, but Mark Of The Web. When you receive a file from the Internet via an email or a browser download, that file has a special attribute added to it by Windows called the MOTW. That means you have to go through extra hoops to activate the macro-enabled functionality. Several aspects changed in the user experience when opening macro-enabled content on Windows PCs. Firstly, the message bar has changed from yellow to pink to indicate a higher level of importance. Secondly, The easy-to-access Enable Content button has been replaced with a Learn More button, which simply takes you to this Microsoft article and does not enable the macro content. It was considered too easy for recipients of malicious content to click that magic Enable Content button and get themselves into hot water. Microsoft observed that most users automatically trusted whoever was sending the file and sometimes dubious techniques were used by naughty people trying to trick you into trusting them.

That appeared in the message bar below the ribbon when you opened the file, like this: Prior to this change, if you received a file from the Internet via an email or a website download link, you’d be explicitly asked to Enable Content, assuming you trusted whoever was providing you with the file. A change to VBA security that Microsoft rolled out at the end of March 2022 tweaks the process required by Windows users to gain access to this active content. And sometimes you need to share that VBA solution with colleagues and clients, via the Internet. You can do some really cool things in Microsoft Office with just a few lines of Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) – from creating your own custom formula in Excel to correcting branded content in PowerPoint to merging address data for a mail campaign in Word.

Macro for mac and windows differences