saving problems, macro en/disabling

[manskybook]

I have just upgraded to Office 2004; since Office X updates, I have
been unable to open files I created without 1) enabling macros, even
though I have deleted the simple macros I have created. 2) responding
to the "save" dialogue, even though I have not made ANY changes (in
many cases, merely opened the file) to save or "don't save" for each
file.

This is annoying. Sometimes I wish to simply view a file without
modifying it (e.g a previous version or an file attached to an email);
or I wish to send my resume without triggering a macro virus alert (my
current resume will not do that, and I always send PDFs, as my Word
files almost always trigger virus alerts on PCs).

I haven't seen this in this group, though I apologize if it's been
posted before. I'd love a workaround or a fix for this problem.

msb

 

[JE McGimpsey]

I have just upgraded to Office 2004; since Office X updates, I have
been unable to open files I created without 1) enabling macros, even
though I have deleted the simple macros I have created.

Have you deleted the modules as well? You'll get the warning if not.

2) responding to the "save" dialogue, even though I have not made ANY
changes (in many cases, merely opened the file) to save or "don't
save" for each file.

This is usually a case of using a volatile function, such as NOW(),
TODAY(), INDEX(), RAND(), etc. Since these are recalc'd when the file is
open, as far as XL is concerned, changes have been made.

my Word files almost always trigger virus alerts on PCs

Have you run an anti-virus scan on your Word files?

 

[Daiya Mitchell]

There's an issue in WinWord where once a doc has had macros, the flag saying
so doesn't get reset even after the macros are deleted. I'm a little
confused about your situation, but it sounds like that is what is happening.
I suspect that the "enable macros" question is the same thing causing your
documents to trigger virus alerts on PCs (either because the scanning
software looks for the HasMacros flag, or because people are misinterpreting
what they describe to you). But it's a better idea to send PDFs anyhow.

I found some tips to clear individual docs of the HasMacros flag, but since
this happens with all documents that you create (isn't that what you said?),
I think you should try generating a new Normal template, which is the basis
for all new documents. Follow the Testing the Normal Template link on this
page:

http://word.mvps.org/MacWordNew/TroubleshootingIndex.htm
(hit refresh a few times in Safari, or use a different browser)

The "can't close without saving" problem I think is different. Exactly which
programs are you talking about?

Printing often causes it. Word will do it if you have dynamic fields in the
doc (e.g., Date fields). It may be due to a third-party add-in. I can't
remember the cause and have not bothered to fix it on my machine.

I have just upgraded to Office 2004; since Office X updates

Your message sounds like you used Office X updates on Office 2004? I'm
confused.

 

[manskybook]

thanks for the replies. Unexpectedly, the problem appeared to be a
macro virus that I cleaned using Virex, one of the only remaining virus
checkers that is updated for Mac (though, obviously, macro viruses can
be really old, and this one was a W97 variation).

For reference, here's what I did to check for problems and eliminate
possible problems:

- repaired permissions after new install
- deleted prefs via the install dialogue
- deleted the Normal template (after fixing ALL other problems)
- verified that no macros existed in current files
- used Virex to clean all macro viruses in existing documents (by
scanning, individually, personal directories).
- verified that files do NOT have dynamic fields in the documents that
are problems.

It seems that I was subject to a W97 macro virus that still exists "in
the wild", is easily spread to Macs, and is rarely screened.

Just remember: the LAST action is to delete the current Normal.dot file
while MS Word is NOT active.

Ah, Well!

 

[Daiya Mitchell]

Thanks for reporting back, glad you solved it.

A little curious about some things you said...

- deleted prefs via the install dialogue

Huh? How does this work? (I've spent very little time in the install
dialog)

You did run Remove Office before re-installing, right?

Just remember: the LAST action is to delete the current Normal.dot file
while MS Word is NOT active.

What do you mean?

DM