How to Troubleshoot Macros in Excel Not Working
Excel macros are a powerful feature designed to automate repetitive tasks, saving you both time and effort. However, it’s not uncommon to run into issues while enabling them, which can be incredibly frustrating, preventing you from streamlining your workflow.
In this article, we will explore some potential issues that might prevent you from enabling and using macros in Excel and provide you with fixes to resolve the problem.
Understanding the Issues With Macros in Excel
The “Microsoft has blocked macros from running” error is a security feature that is developed to prevent malicious code (potentially harmful macros) from running on the user’s computer. This error pops up when the users try to run the macros in a file, and immediately blocks the file from running.
However, sometimes a false alarm may prevent you from running perfectly legitimate files. Fortunately, you can fix the issue by adjusting the relevant Microsoft Office security settings or enabling specific macros that you trust.
It’s important to note that you should not apply these fixes to documents that come from an untrustworthy source, since doing so can harm your system. Below, we have listed different fixes that you can try to resolve the issue and use macros without any problems.
1. Add the File in Trusted Locations
An easy way to open the file is by adding it to the Trusted Locations section of Excel. When you add a file or folder to Trusted Locations, it is considered safe to use, and macros or any other active content in the file can run without any warning.
Here’s how you can add the targeted file in the Trusted Locations:
You should now be able to run the targeted file with macros without any problems. Alternatively, you canactivate the Enable VBA macros optionin Excel to implement the same changes.
2. Edit the Properties of the File
you’re able to also unblock the file by accessing its properties to run it without any problems. We have demonstrated the steps for doing this on the Windows operating system. These steps might be slightly different for you, depending on the type of operating system you are using. Here’s how to proceed:
it’s possible to now try accessing the file. Hopefully, you will not encounter the error again. In case you fear that themacros might be harmful, you can disable them from accessing the file.
Easily Fix the Issues Using Macros in Excel
Macros allow you to record a sequence of actions and use them in your spreadsheets with a single click. For example, you can format entire data sheets, create charts and tables, perform complex calculations, and generate reports easily.
If you are having trouble enabling macros, it can limit your ability to get the most out of them, which can be frustrating. Hopefully, the fixes above will help you resolve any issues that you may encounter while enabling macros in Excel.
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