Description of reasons for Word 2007 macro-enabled document (.DOCM)?

[Rick]

I see the new .DOCM extension in Word 2007 to indicate a macro-enabled
document. Is there an advantage to putting macros in a DOCM rather
than a DOTM and its associated DOCX? What are the reasons for this
new format? Is it a way of avoiding having two files? We use our
template only for macros so maybe we could put everything in a DOCM
rather than having both a DOTM and DOCX.

I couldn't find any detailed info on the Microsoft web site about this
new file format, other than just to say it's a macro-enabled
document. Is there a discussion about it somewhere? Thanks.

 

[Jay Freedman]

I see the new .DOCM extension in Word 2007 to indicate a macro-enabled
document. Is there an advantage to putting macros in a DOCM rather
than a DOTM and its associated DOCX? What are the reasons for this
new format? Is it a way of avoiding having two files? We use our
template only for macros so maybe we could put everything in a DOCM
rather than having both a DOTM and DOCX.

I couldn't find any detailed info on the Microsoft web site about this
new file format, other than just to say it's a macro-enabled
document. Is there a discussion about it somewhere? Thanks.

I'm not certain of Microsoft's motive for creating a .docm file type,
but I think it's this: The .docx format is guaranteed *not* to contain
any macros, specifically malicious code. Because some people still
insist on putting macros into documents, Microsoft therefore needed a
format that would allow macros, and that's .docm.

There is *no* reasonable advantage to putting macros into .docm files
rather than .dotm templates unless you're prepared to digitally sign
every macro project, and that requires a certificate that costs
hundreds of dollars per year. Unsigned macro-enabled documents are a
PITA for every user. In contrast, macro-enabled templates that are
stored in a trusted location will just work.