Registry Keys

Question

I have a user that is unable to run any macros, or access the VB Editor in Excel (Office 365).

I am able to use the VB editor and view my registry, but I have not been able to find a key entry that looks like it controls access to the VB editor.#

For other users in the past who have had the same issue I have had to have machines rebuilt to solve the problem but I would like to avoid that if possible.

Is there a specific registry key that can be added / modified that would enable access into the VB editor and allow macros to run?

Answer 1

Hi James,

Thank you for your quick reply. If the other colleagues have the same issue, then perhaps the macros are blocked by group policy. You may take a look at the following articles:

New feature in Office 2016 can block macros and help prevent infection

Plan security settings for VBA macros in Office 2016

Please let us know if you have any further concerns or if there are any updates from the user.

Best Regards,

Nathan

Answer 2

Hi Nathan,

Thank you for the response, I haven't been able to check with the user as they work remotely. However, I'm pretty sure that options around enabling/disabling macros is not going to solve the problem, and I doubt it's an update issue given that we use 365 at an enterprise level.

The problem seems to be that the users Excel cannot interpret VBA even if the security settings are lowered.

If they go into Excel Options -> Customize Ribbon, the option of checking the developer tab does not appear.

My thought is that either the Excel installation has gone wrong somewhere, or there is a registry key that controls the ability to run VBA code, or less likely there is a property in the uses AD profile that affects this.

Thanks,

James.

Answer 3

Hi James,

May I know if you have checked my previous reply about options to disable macros in Excel? Please let us know if you have any further concerns.

Best Regards,

Nathan

Answer 4

Hi James,

I could find any registry item that is connected to disabling or enabling the VB Editor. However, there are other options in Office to disable Macros. For details, please refer to this article:

Enable or disable macros in Office files

Meanwhile, you may also try updating the Office applications of the user to the latest version by the following steps and see if this could fix the issue:

1. Go to File > Account;
2. Click Update Options > Update Now.

Besides, you may check if the other Office applications has the same issue. For example, you may open Word, then go to View > Micros > View Macro > input a macro name > click Create to open the Editor.

If my above steps couldn't help, I'd appreciate it if you may share a screenshot of the detailed version information of Excel at File > Account and let us further investigate it for you.

Best Regards,

Nathan