Restrict usage of Excel 4.0 (XLM) macros with new macro settings control

raisingarizona Koen_Rijnsent cpala01 There was a bug where shapes linked to VBA macros would not work if Excel 4.0 (XLM) macros were disabled. That bug has been fixed, and a fix was released. If you update Office the issue should be resolved.

Great feature!  Thanks for adding it.

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Do more to publicize it! Especially for "consumers" who are clueless about this issue.  They are the most vulnerable.

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I hope you decide to make the setting turned off by default for consumers. They are unlikely to be running old spreadsheets that would need access to the old commands.

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I accidentally found this blog when researching this article:

https://www.pcmag.com/news/excel-4-is-alive-and-well-and-ready-to-attack

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Please push it out to 2010. I know, it is no longer supported, but it is a "beloved" version and a lot of people are reluctant to let go of it. Giving them this update would be an act of good faith. You can use it after the Windoze 11 announcement fiasco.

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Question:

In the business setting if the setting is disabled using a Group Policy, will the individual user be able to turn it back on if they need to?

ron S. Group Policy overrides individual user settings. See Security Policy Advisor for more info.

I recently found out that in one Excel file of mine after a crash, re-build as xlsb and save again as xlsm file, my macros were "detached" from my form buttons in my worksheet. The macros themselves were running fine, but in no way could I create a macro and attach it to a form button. Even adding a new button and connecting it to a basic "helloworld" macro fails with the error message "The macro may not be available in this workbook or all macros may be disabled".

I've posted it a bit more extensive here: https://www.reddit.com/r/vba/comments/r1abrx/macro_detaching_from_form_button/

Through a SO post (https://stackoverflow.com/questions/69890212/running-excel-macro-using-button-not-working ) I found this macro 4.0 setting. On switching it on and re-opening the file the buttons worked as before. However: I assume that is not what that security feature is meant for - AFAIK the buttons & VBA macros I'm using are not 4.0? Auston 

Auston I have a similar issue to Koen_Rijnsent after this update. 

If the box is unchecked, VBA-based macros (i.e. non-4.0) cannot be called via a button or shape any longer. 

They will throw an error "Cannot run the macro XXXX. The macro may not be available in this workbook or all macros may be disabled".

I think this is fine and nice that a security hole is plugged.  But I have case that seems to be a bug.

I do not have any macros which one might interpret as Excel 4.  What I do have are macros which are assigned to common shapes.  For example, in my workbook I have shapes where I have assigned macros.  The user clicks on the shape and runs the macro.  With this latest change, unless I check enable Excel 4 macros, clicking the shape results in an error message that the macro is not available. 

I find this unacceptable and can only conclude that this a bug.

Steve

Gods I am sick of this. I saw something in my newsfeed this morning saying "Macro settings update to disable Excel 4.0 macros by default." Apparently the "announcement" was back in October of last year. On some random guy's twitter thread I can see a screenshot of.... I don't know what with a Microsoft logo and a reference MC289724 announcing this. I see other references to "an e-mail from Microsoft".

Really. TO WHO?

Regardless of whether I search in Google or Bing, THIS, a random blog apparently from a Microsoft employee, is the closest I can come to finding ANYTHING that is an official announcement by Microsoft to E-V-E-R-Y-B-O-D-Y. There was a time, back in the days of the knowledgebase, when announcements were made so that ALL users could see what was happening in Microsoft products. NOW, there seems to be just some leakage of facts to select bloggers who then go on to tweet about it with NOTHING that can be traced back to an official Microsoft announcement in a place where ALL users can find it and track what is happening in the products that they use. You go to "What's New" in Excel and are told about XLookup which is over 2 years old. That's it, that's all that's "new" in Excel if you believe the "what's new" button. The option described in this blog post? That's not "new", apparently. The disabling of Excel 4 macros by default? Not "new". Microsoft mushrooms its users and tells them NOTHING about what is changing in the products that they use on a daily basis.

Do you know why Excel 97 to 2003 were not able to disable Excel 4.0 (XLM) macros?

Is this policy not taking effect for anyone? We've tried setting through group policy as well as setting the registry key (xl4macrooff) and user is still able to launch XL4 macros.