Why are macros repeatedly disabled even on my own files

Question

I was referred to this forum from Microsoft Community since apparently no one there was able to answer my question.

I have Word 2019 and am constantly getting error messages saying that my macros have been disabled in my files--all files I created, and even files whose macros have been working before, in locations that I listed as safe in the trust center. I've made many macros that I use constantly in writing, and it's infuriating to have to open the trust center, delete the location in the list, and re-enter it.

What's more, although this tactic has always worked in the past, now it doesn't . I thought maybe I could set just one specific file as trusted, but there is no option for that when I click 'trusted documents' in the trust center. These files get uploaded to Dropbox but otherwise have never been online.

I am a sole user, not part of an organization. And macros are enabled in the trust center.

Can anyone tell me why this happens and/or what I can do about it?

Answer 1

Go back to your original post in the Answers forum. The person who directed you here doesn't know how to help with this and wanted to get rid of the question.  

Let's talk about macros in general.

By default, all recorded macros are stored in your Normal.dotm template in a vba module named NewMacros. That is not necessarily the best place to store them, though. See Beth Melton’s article on organizing your macros linked below.

If you want to be having documents formatted a certain way you should consider having templates that are formatted the way you want and using those to create new documents based on those templates. That is the best way to insure documents set up the same way every time.

·        Templates in Microsoft Word

If you are talking about certain text or paragraph formatting setups, you should be using Styles, not macros. Macros for this are using a shotgun where you should be using a scalpel. You can be doing damage to your documents. In any case, they will be harder to maintain and edit.

·        The Importance of Styles in Microsoft Word

·        3. Using Styles to Format Text by Shauna Kelly

What follows is general advice that may not apply. I've found that people writing here with lots of macros, though, are often using macros when they should be using something else:

 

If you are using macros for text snippets, you are using the wrong Word feature. This does not apply to your reformatting macros.

You should be using  AutoText, which can also have keyboard shortcuts.

Both AutoText and AutoCorrect can be used for text snippets. These are different features and are both valuable. I use both virtually every time I use Word.

AutoText can have keyboard shortcuts and can AutoComplete; AutoCorrect acts on trigger words as you type. Here are some more resources:

·        Exploiting AutoCorrect by Suzanne Barnhill, MVP

·        Using Autotext to deal with repetitive text - Legal Office Guru

·        Create reusable text snippets

·        Word for Wordperfect Users

·        AutoFormat and AutoCorrect (Tame AutoFormat) by Suzanne Barnhill, MVP

For anyone who uses Word more than occasionally, I recommend the series of short tutorials prepared by Shauna Kelly a while back. Basic Concepts of Microsoft Word - from Shauna Kelly The styles article linked above is one of these.

 

If you want to track down more on your macros, I recommend looking at some of the threads you will find on the Microsoft Answers forum. Here are three searches there:

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/search/search?SearchTerm=macros%20stopped%20working&tab=&status=...

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/search/search?SearchTerm=can%27t%20record%20macro&tab=&status=al...

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/search/search?SearchTerm=macros%20broken&tab=&status=all&advFil=...

Other resources:

Organizing your macros by Beth Melton, Word MVP

Assigning Keyboard Shortcuts in Microsoft Word 2007-2021 (365)

Backup Normal.dotm template using a macro

Answer 2

Hi, In my opinion this may related to the Office security, now the macros from Internet are blocked by default, you can get the information from this link: https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/microsoft-365-blog/helping-users-stay-safe-blocking-internet-macros-by-default-in/ba-p/3071805 Then guidance on allowing VBA macros to run in files you trust, please refer to this link: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/deployoffice/security/internet-macros-blocked#guidance-on-allowing-vba-macros-to-run-in-files-you-trust Just checking in to see if the information was helpful. Please let us know if you would like further assistance.

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Answer 3

Thank you, but my macros aren't from the internet, I made them in Word (not Excel) on my computer to use in my own files. They did not come from the internet. So I'm not sure whether the instructions you provide on how to unblock macros from the internet are relevant. What's more, some of my macros, in some files, do work. And the blocking of the macros is inconsistent. Sometimes when I open a file they work fine. Then suddenly they don't.