Strange macros in Word

[S. J. Huskey]

When I installed Office 2004, no macros appeared in the list when I
went to Tools>Macros. Recently, however, I checked again, and now
there are several, with names like "inOSX", "theJob", and "AppPath".
In all, there are eleven macros that I did not put there. I cannot
delete them, since the "Delete" button in inactive whenever I
highlight one of these mysterious macros.

This happened before, and I had to reinstall Office 2004 to get rid of
the macros in the list. Now they're back.

Is this supposed to happen? If not, is there any way to remove the
strange macros without having to reinstall the whole program?

Technical info: I'm running Office 2004 for Mac on a 1.33 GHz
PowerBook G4. I have installed all of the updates that Microsoft has
made available.

 

[matt neuburg]

When I installed Office 2004, no macros appeared in the list when I
went to Tools>Macros. Recently, however, I checked again, and now
there are several, with names like "inOSX", "theJob", and "AppPath".
In all, there are eleven macros that I did not put there. I cannot
delete them, since the "Delete" button in inactive whenever I
highlight one of these mysterious macros.

This happened before, and I had to reinstall Office 2004 to get rid of
the macros in the list. Now they're back.

Is this supposed to happen?

That depends on what your definition of "is" is.

If not, is there any way to remove the
strange macros without having to reinstall the whole program?

Yes - find the file they are in, and throw it out. They have to be
somewhere. Doesn't the "Macros In" popup menu at the bottom of the
macros list show you where they are? (Keep switching it until you find
the right source.) You should also be able to use Tools > Templates and
AddIns to learn what template files are open. I would check the
Office/Startup/Word folder; maybe some other app that you use (such as
Acrobat) likes to install a global template here.

The other way one can acquire macros is thru a Word virus. If, for
example, these macros are in your Normal template or the document
itself, that would suggest a virus. If that's the case, run a virus
program to pinpoint the true souce (some malicious document that you
open from time to time). m,.

 

[John McGhie]

Something has installed a Template, probably in your Word/Startup folder,
that is automatically re-instating them.

You need to go to Tools>Templates and Add-ins... And check in the Global
Templates and Add-ins box for the name of the template. That dialog will
also tell you where it is.

Quit Word then delete that and your Normal Template.

That will fix it.

It will be an "Add-in" that you have installed, such as PDFMaker. Adobe
PDFMaker is the most notorious adder-in of unwanted macros, but it's not the
only one, and those macro names don't come from PDFMaker.

Look for something such as a PostCode wizard, a label printing helper, or a
photo processing add-in. The macro name "theJob" tells me that it's
something that "prints" ...

If it's a virus, it's an extraordinarily badly-designed one. Viruses are
normally far more stealthy than this

Cheers

When I installed Office 2004, no macros appeared in the list when I
went to Tools>Macros. Recently, however, I checked again, and now
there are several, with names like "inOSX", "theJob", and "AppPath".
In all, there are eleven macros that I did not put there. I cannot
delete them, since the "Delete" button in inactive whenever I
highlight one of these mysterious macros.

This happened before, and I had to reinstall Office 2004 to get rid of
the macros in the list. Now they're back.

Is this supposed to happen? If not, is there any way to remove the
strange macros without having to reinstall the whole program?

Technical info: I'm running Office 2004 for Mac on a 1.33 GHz
PowerBook G4. I have installed all of the updates that Microsoft has
made available.

--

Please reply to the newsgroup to maintain the thread. Please do not email
me unless I ask you to.

John McGhie <[email protected]>
Consultant Technical Writer
Sydney, Australia +61 4 1209 1410

 

[S. J. Huskey]

Something has installed a Template, probably in your Word/Startup folder,
that is automatically re-instating them.

You need to go to Tools>Templates and Add-ins... And check in the Global
Templates and Add-ins box for the name of the template. That dialog will
also tell you where it is.

Thanks! The culprit was, in fact, PDFMaker.dot. Problem solved!

--SJH