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MrCharlesJenkins's avatar
MrCharlesJenkins
MCT
Jul 31, 2025

What’s happening is that Microsoft tightened macro security recently. Even if you’ve added your OneDrive folder as a trusted location, files with a "Mark of the Web" (MOTW) are still blocked — especially if they come from shared folders or the internet. And if it’s a shared OneDrive folder (someone else’s folder synced to your OneDrive), Office doesn’t treat it as trusted, even if it looks local.

This used to work fine on Windows 10, but starting with Office Version 2203 on Windows 11, you have to explicitly disable the setting that blocks macros from internet files — otherwise Office will just block them by default, even in a trusted folder.

Here's what you can do:

  1. Make sure your local OneDrive path is added as a Trusted Location in the Trust Center under File > Options > Trust Center > Trust Center Settings > Trusted Locations. Also, make sure the "Subfolders of this location are also trusted" box is checked.
  2. Then, to disable the macro-blocking policy, you can import the registry settings below. Just paste this into a text file, save it as DisableMacroBlock.reg, and double-click it to add it to your registry:
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Word\Security]
"BlockContentExecutionFromInternet"=dword:00000000

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Excel\Security]
"BlockContentExecutionFromInternet"=dword:00000000

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\PowerPoint\Security]
"BlockContentExecutionFromInternet"=dword:00000000

(Replace 16.0 with 15.0 for Office 2013, or 14.0 for Office 2010, etc.)

3. If you're opening a downloaded or shared file, you can also manually remove the MOTW by:

  • Right-clicking the file > Properties > Check “Unblock”, if available.
  • Or running this in PowerShell:
Unblock-File -Path "C:\Your\Path\To\File.xlsm"


So yeah — it’s not just you. Windows 11 + the new Office macro security policy is what’s causing this. 😅
Give this a try and let me know if it solves the issue for you!

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