Solution to Microsoft blocking macros

Question

I'm downloading macro enabled workbooks from SIMnet to complete Excel assignments, and they require me to run macros saved within them.

I added SIMnet to my trusted sites, disabled my ad-blocker as instructed by their support, fully enabled macros in Excel, still get the security risk banner telling me Microsoft has blocked macros from running.

SIMnet support told me they had no issue and couldn't replicate the problem. What am I missing?

Answer 1

Hi @Alex, 

Thank you for posting your question in the Microsoft Q&A forum. 

According to your concern, please follow the steps below to unblock macro for the Excel file (note: you must do these steps in your personal device or the device having macro blocked): 

1- Unblock security box 

• Open File Explorer, navigate to your Excel file that you need to enable macros  
• Right click on it and choose Properties  
• In General tab, check the Unblock box for the Security option.  

• If the Unblock options is not available, you can try moving the file to your local folder (C:/ or desktop) and try the Unblock Security box again. 

2- Add the file location as a trusted location   

• Open Excel and go to File > Options > Trust Center > Trust Center Settings 
• Select Trusted Locations in the left bane > Add new location > Browse and navigate to the folder where you keep the files need to enable macro  

• Press OK to close all the dialog boxes then try opening your macro-enabled excel file again  

3- Enable macros in Excel 

• Open the Excel file that needs macro enabling. 
• If you see a yellow warning bar at the top with the message "SECURITY WARNING: Macros have been disabled", click Enable Content to enable macro for the file  

You can also adjust the trust center settings for macros by  

• Go to File > Options > Trust Center > Trust Center Settings  
• Click Macro Settings and choose between "Disable VBA macros with notification" (which will show a yellow warning bar as I mentioned above) and "Enable VBA macros" (only if you're sure the file is safe)  
• Then click OK to save the settings 

For better visualization about this guideline, you can watch this video Unblock macros downloaded from the internet | Excel Off The Grid | Microsoft macro security changes…  

(Note: We're providing this information as a convenience to you. The sites are not controlled by Microsoft and we can't make any representations regarding quality, safety or suitability of any software or information found there. Please make sure you completely understand the risk before retrieving any suggestions from the above link) 

If there is no option to enable or settings are greyed out, your device is policy-managed, and you cannot override the policy locally. The only and most effective step is contacting your organization administrator to help you enable the use of macro-enabled Excel file. 

Please note that forum moderators do not have access to user account settings and cannot assist with logging in, resetting passwords, or changing access rights. While we do not have access to internal systems or administrative tools required to resolve account-specific or backend-related issues but we’ll continue doing our best to support you within the scope of our responsibilities.    

For reference: Macros from the internet are blocked by default in Office - Microsoft 365 Apps | Microsoft Learn. 

I hope you found the answer helpful, and I would greatly appreciate it if you could mark it as accepted. This helps highlight the solution for others who may be searching for similar information in the community. Your contribution not only supports fellow users in finding the right guidance more quickly, but also helps build a more resourceful and collaborative space for everyone. 

Thank you for your kindness and contributions to the forum.

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