I absolutely agree 100%, James. There's no plan to get rid of VBA, only a more serious warning for people to be cautious about files from the internet. The video shows lots of tips as to make Trusted File/Folder locations and code signing, not to mention a way to vet your code before accepting a stranger's macros! :)
Microsoft already supports Python scripts as well as VBA. Only Python script is much more useful, and it is supported on a lot more platforms. VBA is too limited in today's world.
@@sgodsellify python is not a good fit for excel. It’s a good fit for people that like to waste a lot of time downloading a lot of 3rd party dependencies….which is exactly how these unknown problems get into your code. VBA was built specifically for Microsoft applications.
@@trefwoordpunk2225 Both VBA and Python have their own place. When I am creating stuff for others I do it in VBA as it iwill most likely work on their machine without issues (no need to worry about python version or packages). For stuff which will be used exclusively by me I prefer python as it is more flexible and versatile.
I took VBA in school, but in the real world nobody wants or needs it anymore. Especially since office users can use Python scripts to replace all existing VBA code. Plus Python is used for a lot of other things, and it's on a lot more platforms. VBA in my opinion is dead.
@@sgodsellify . Got your point. By vba I meant the idea of writing codes in the background in ms access based applications to make jobs easier, guide users and handle errors more efficiently. I would love to use python if I knew how. I've had a glance at python and it's got tons of similarities with javascript. I will certainly look deeper to see advantages of using python in place of vba. Thanks 🙏
@@iben1195 it's truly worth it to learn python, especially since it's on every platform. Why do you think Microsoft decided to support another script language? Python is on Raspberry Pi, and even micro controllers. VB is not. Microsoft was all in on being exclusive with their languages and support, but that came back to actually hurt Microsoft. Why do you think Microsoft now supports Linux? Microsoft used to call Linux a cancer. If you can't beat them, then join them. On all Linux distros python is there, and it's here to stay.
It WILL NOT happen unless they offer some replacement solution. VBA macros as well as PowerTools make Excel a true monster and champion among all other spreadsheets software.
@@sgodsellify 100% agreed. The issue becomes that most folks roll their eyes when they see a ".py" file while excel is a universal spreadsheet software that can view the data as it is transformed. If Python could be ran with a better visual backbone then I would completely retire VBA.
@@Pigeon0fDoom Well, no worries - VBA isn't going anywhere. To summarize the video (in case you or others didn't get a change to watch it all), VBA isn't going anywhere, just a new warning screen if a file comes from the internet from an unknown publisher. In the video I show the upcoming new warning and what's entailed with the new processes that people will be facing when they get (unsigned) macro enabled wbs from the internet. If they're not trusted publishers or in a trusted location, the file will need to be manually unblocked. I also show people how to vet the code without letting it or any events run in the video. So hopefully this will give people hope and options in addition to helping people not get malware.
Haha! Don't worry - if you authored them, they should be ok. Now if you're sending them to others and they haven't been enabled before, they just need to unblock the file, you can code sign the VBA, or the files can be placed in a folder that is a "Trusted Location" and all will be well. :)
The following programs have never been able to run VBA code: Excel for Mac, Office on Android, Office on the Web, Office on the Web. That's way NOPE was on the screen 02:20
Hi Réti, that is true for Android and web, but you can use VBA for Excel for Mac. I teach on the differences/subtleties between Mac and PC VBA in my course www.excelvbaisfun.com/ultimate-excel-pro/ Thanks
Hey Brian, don't worry, VBA isn't going anywhere. Your applications will be fine. People can either unblock them or more likely they're already Enabled, thus trusted documents on their computers already. You can either code sign the VBA in the future OR you can help them add your apps in folders that are Trusted Locations. It will be ok, my friend! :)
Haha! Wikipedia also has a definition (news to me!): innernet (plural innernets) The mechanism of spiritual or intuitive insight or connectedness. Thanks for sharing, Galen! :)
Yeah, it's mostly just a new facelift on the old warning that people ignore and a slight slap on the hand for untrusted or unsigned documents from the web. It's super easy to unblock though. No worries! Not sure what's in store for C, Machine Code or Binary though.
@@ExcelVbaIsFun lol. But in all seriousness it would be nice to have even just super basic macros on web, just for navigation, queries/form entry, or some basic math. So I can share an applet with friends for like doing homework. lol
Funny that this popped up in my feed today. For the last few days I’ve been writing a lot of Excel VBA code for work. I’m a C# coder so the context switch to VBA is always jarring and I fully excercised my inventory of colorful language when encountering the weirdness that is VBA.
@@ExcelVbaIsFun Also, we’re a big slow company so it will be a few years until we are on the current Office platform and I expect to be retired by then when I’ll go back to learning Swift to build iPhone word games. ;-)
Thanks Dan! Awesome info and video!! Thanks for spreading the straight dope about what is happening and how to handle it. Appreciate all the tips. Thumbs up!!
So glad it helped! Big thanks to StudentNY (answers.microsoft.com/en-us/msoffice/forum/all/shift-key-fails-to-disable-macros-in-excel/fc9e9741-8582-40c6-b7c6-53bfb96f93d1) for spelling this method out. Previously you could just hold Shift and open a file any old way, now it's kind of buried in the settings!
Your advice is very helpful and valuable. Fortunately, I may be unlikely to have such problem because I do not receive lots of Microsoft Office files loaded into my electronic files mail. Thanks to your tips, I will be alert and wise.
Blaming VBA for malware is like blaming one single bad person for all bad things. Wrong. VBA is so versatile, performant that only envious people will have VBA removed from MS Office.
Agreed! Fortunately, VBA isn't going anywhere, it's just getting another warning for those who ignored the last one ("Enable Content"). People will get used to this one too. :)
Thank you very much. Indeed. Scare tactics against a powerfull tool. Somebody tell me how may programming languages can do what a single language like VBA can? Hence the envy. How many viruses warn you? Hey I MIGHT be malicious, activate me? A warning before trusting. Amazing time proof approach.
@@Info-God You're exactly correct. We need to correctly instruct people how to easily vet code before using and to use common sense before opening a random email attachment. Good points, Info God! :)
Awesome, John! Thanks for sharing. Hey, do you have a phone or webcam? I would really love if you can share your experience, feedback or review here: www.excelvbaisfun.com/videoask Thanks for the comment! :)
Whew ... I actually run a piece of lab equipment using vba & excel (ok will migrate to custom program later) ... getting rid of vba will make a huge mess of things for me.
Hi Lina, don't worry! VBA isn't going anywhere, Microsoft is just adding a new warning for files originating from the internet, but they won't be blocked if the VBA is code signed or if you just put the file in a Trusted Location (a folder you tell Excel is trusted). Also if you made the file and it didn't come from the web it won't have the Mrk of the Web (MOTW). But even if a file was from an unknown source and gets marked, just unblock it real quick, vet the code and you're all set! Don't worry!
I started my programming journey with VBA when I was an editor back then, and it went a long way when it came to incredibly time consuming tasks with simple logic. BUT I gotta say that WPS may surpass Microsoft Office, because they can use Python, a much easier and much more adopted language that recently even gets into blockchain programming, like Eth-Brownie. I wish I had started out with Python back then. I can get to buy and sell cryptos and interact with smart contracts with my Word, Excel, PowerPoint etc., and can even use TensorFlow on my files to learn from how I do things and then automate my job and keep the machine learning result file to myself
Very cool! I've been looking at WPS all morning and can't get any straight answers about their Developer tab. Python definitely is a neat tool. There are definitely pros and cons for both! One of the things I love about Excel and VBA is that ✅ VBA is built right into Excel. With VBA, you can use Excel as a graphical user interface (GUI), but Python doesn’t have a great way to use all the built-in tools meant for dragging and dropping, visually editing and shaping Userforms and other Excel native tools. ✅ Almost everyone is familiar with Excel and VBA to some degree. It’s super easy to work with. Excel is used by 81% of offices worldwide and has so much support and years of development and refinement, whereas Python is open-source (although very robust and good communities). ✅ Excel/VBA is also super easy to work with. With Python, the learning curve is much steeper and you have to install all this extra stuff, it’s not really usable out of the box and certainly harder on your team if you get a different job and they have to figure out what you did. ✅ Python is great if you need to analyze really HUGE amounts of data or if you need highly specialized tools for data analysis. If you need to use millions and millions of rows of data, you definitely need to utilize tools designed for database-level analysis. 📊Excel VBA is quite the workhorse and an amazing tool for quickly creating a wide range of highly specialized time-saving workflow solutions. Thanks for the comments! Love the energy, my friend!! :) The machine learning sounds awesome - keep up the great work 👍👍
In my opinion it is better to use C# to automate tasks in Office enviroment. It is much faster and you dont need any external libraries to start working
In short I should start an Excel workbook in my office and then send it over the internet where I can then download it at home. When I have update the Excel at home and then upload back to the internet, I can download again from my office because it can now recognise the Excel is from a "trusted source". Right?
I think if the document has been already 'Enabled' and has the same filename, it's considered a 'Trusted Document' at that point, yes. You can also set an entire file folder as a 'Trusted Location' if you want to always trust any files that enter that directory. You can also code sign the VBA if you want. If no VBA/macros, it won't matter and the alert won't show up anyways. Thanks for the comment! :)
@@ExcelVbaIsFun hmmm. Same filename. This is something I need to try. Can't I rename my file since it already have the MOTW when I upload to the internet in the first instance?
VBA isn't going anywhere in Excel and Office, this is just a new warning that's coming to some office files that come from an unknown publisher off the internet. It can easily be overcome through many methods. Thanks for the comment!
Hi DNTN, If you watch the video, it will describe lots of things to keep in mind, but the simple thing to do is here (ruclips.net/video/h9ROnQ2Eoyg/видео.html). Thanks
Great questions! Office 365 is the Current Channel (Preview) and Current Channel that is getting the update first, as early as Apr '22. The Current Channel (Preview) means Office Insiders Slow, those early adopters who want monthly stable new versions. The Current Channel is regular Office 365. As for files without macros such as .CSV, they will not receive this warning since there is no macros to warn about.
@@ExcelVbaIsFun I'm guessing if someone just changed the extension of a maliciously-enabled file to CSV, MS would recognize it as essentially a non-text file and error message out? [Whatever the response, I've coined my own term: cynility - the older I get, the more cynical I become]
Hi Allan, According to Microsoft, this is just something they're rolling out to MS Office. I do not think it is going to directly affect Open Office. Your files probably already have the Mark of the Web (MOTW) attribute when you get them from the internet, but the apps each can decide whether to freak out or not about it. Hope that makes sense. Thanks for the question!
I hope so too! I've reached out to my contacts at Microsoft to find out about Sharepoint, Dropbox and OneDrive, but my assumption is that as long as the file has the same file name and it's already been marked as Trusted then it should stay trusted. Same goes for code signing the VBA or using a folder that you make a "Trusted Location". I'll keep everyone posted :)
Thanks for this great video I wonder if an Excel file having macros and shared with different remote collaborators using Dropbox or OneDrive cloud will have this MOTW attribute?
Hey Daniel, I've read that if you don't see the option to "Unblock" files from the web, you should move the files from Dropbox or OneDrive to your desktop or other spot on your hard drive, then Unblock it, but I'm not sure if just keeping a file in Dropbox or Onedrive will mark it. I'd love to test this as the update rolls out! :)
So instead of block people downloading "whatever" from internet now they will have to be learn how to turn on macros in Office? i wish to know how to make trusted program which company using everyday. After these updates goes live most of program will stop working and i will have to learn people how to go trough the office setting to turn them on before they can use it. Once they will know that, and they will have to work, they can use this to open any file from the internet. In recent time Microsoft surprise me with the stupidity in approach that problem.
If you put your code signature on the VBA part, this shouldn't happen to your end-users. The file should just open. You can see me doing this at 05:37 - Code signing a document (ruclips.net/video/h9ROnQ2Eoyg/видео.html) Hope that helps
Great video! One question. Instead of going through all the steps, holding the shift key and clicking select is holding the control key and double clicking or clicking open to open the file in safe mode the same thing? If not what is the difference in the two processes?
Great question! So, according to Microsoft, when you run Excel in safe mode, it bypasses functionality and settings like alternative startup location, changed toolbars, the xlstart folder, and Excel add-ins. This is to help you diagnose if add-ins and things like that are slowing your wb down or making it crash. Safe mode doesn't necessarily stop VBA from running, however, that's why this trick is ideal for testing and vetting your workbooks, especially from the internet. :)
Hi Lonnie, Sure! At 05:30 in the video as I'm talking about the full course on the subject, I have a popup card appear with a link. I'll add this to the video description as well to make it easier to find. Here's the link from the card: ruclips.net/user/redirect?event=infocard&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbkoyMHRWYzRSYTBSVGRyYTVFNmJReHJTSmR6Z3xBQ3Jtc0trUEtfdWx6TWJFSGIzb2R2TnQtSTNGN1plNWtrYmlXUHQybVd5b29mTlAwRmR2VzQtRUp5czVzZWlvbG9xSlNpV0hXQmVCYnlEWkVuM280R1NVMHhMLXpJbkdjQlM0emVCclRqMExFY1FTMkNtQ3RSSQ&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.excelvbaisfun.com%2Fproduct%2Fsoftware-code-signing-for-enhanced-security-and-brand-trust%2F Thanks
@@ExcelVbaIsFun... Thanks, but I've been code signing my add-ins since 2005 mainly so users would not have to click "Enable Macros" every time they opened the host program (Excel/PowerPoint). It was an expensive pain in the neck come renewal time, but it was worth it for the users. But recently, a logistics issue delayed a renewal for 8 months, leaving the add-ins no longer "trusted"... yet we had zero issues from users? How could that be? Turns out MS changed their security protocol where once the add-in was clicked to enable macros, it automatically became trusted and would never trigger the alert again. So, 30k users didn't care and neither did the corporations I serve. So, the digi cert was pointless. Still, I had one purchased and installed so users would not even have to enable macros that one single time. Unlike certs in the past, it no longer worked. I called top people for a large phone conference from a very large cert authority, which included their engineers, and everyone was shocked to find the certs no longer evade that initial enable macro alert. Therefore, the cert had no use to us. We are happy and secure. We don't have the dreaded task of renewals, reloading, and costs either. BUT... if something NEW is coming that will once again (ugh) require a cert, I'm all ears. (That or I'm leaving VBA and switching to another language.) Thanks.
@@lonniejohns7391 Good point! You should be ok if your file (files with the same filename from you) has already been "Enabled". This is called a "Trusted Document" and should stay a trusted document, despite the update. You should be just fine. If not, your people could create a folder that is a "Trusted Location" where they put your apps, but I don't think it will be necessary. Thanks for the comments! :)
I hope not... unless they replace it with something more powerful.. maybe like alteryx... :D that would be the best news if they optimize something. It's obnoxious that between python, vba, sql and powershell there is no universal solution that walks through an entire data process
Well, I wouldn't say Alteryx is more powerful. It's good at a small niche of tasks, while VBA is universal and easy to use for a very wide range of tasks.
@@laszlo3547 True, Alteryx is very much a niche but a very powerful one. Alteryx is cool because it can do data scrubbing type procedures in an intuitive flowchart type of UDV for our non-technical peers to understand what was developed. Obviously, the right assortment of python lib's or the right VBA and .net add-ins can pretty much achieve the same results but much longer to develop and harder to debug. Not sure if batch executable processes can be triggered via Alteryx. The one think Python and Alteryx have on VB and Powershell is the ability incorporate R calc engine into the data process. I hope MS enhances VBA to remain competitive.
Hi code dipper 1963, yes and no. VBA is the code language for Microsoft Office products. When people write or record Subprocedures, they often call it a macro. This can be confusing, especially since Microsoft Access originally had something called "Macros", which is like a step-by-step codeless builder for automating repeated actions. Access also has the ability to use VBA, so therein probably lies the confusing part. You needn't worry about VBA - it's not going anywhere at this time. MS is just adding a new warning for files from unknown people off the internet. No worries :)
I believe you can create COM Addins/dll files using these languages, but I think mostly this is used for custom functions. By the way, regular Excel VBA isn't going away, just a new warning screen to warn unsuspecting people and teach people about malware.
Understood. Thanks for sharing Bradley! I know MOTW has been around for a while, but this new Office-specific warning will be slightly new in it's appearance.
@@ExcelVbaIsFun Only downside to it is that as a vba programmer, if I make a utility or app for my coworkers they’ll have to open and resave the file under a different name to unlock the macros. Ask me how many times I have to remind my coworkers that they have to do that 🤦♂️
Hmmm... if you code sign the VBA portion, it shouldn't show the warning nor lock the file. Alternatively, coworkers could save documents from you in a Trusted Location (a folder they tell Excel is unblocked and trusted). Thanks Dan
@@ExcelVbaIsFun Ive tried authorizing the vba code with my security/id card (our major form of identification) but that doesnt work either. Its the same process as code signing. As for a trusted folder, Im not sure if Ive tried that, but I believe IT has done something on our entire domain that always blocks macros, no matter what we do.
@@bradhuf Hi Bradley, one good way to test this is if you open a brand new workbook and then try to add your own vba code in the Visual Basic Editor (Alt + F11). Something simple like Sub test() msgbox "test" end sub inside a sheet or code module. Save as .xlsm file. Try to re-open the file you just wrote and see if it is still disabled. If I.T. truly disable all macros from an Active Directory/Group policy/cloud controls perspective, then you're correct. There's nothing that can be done. But hopefully it's not that dire. I'm eager to know how this test goes for you. Thanks! :)
I've read that if you don't see the option to "Unblock" files from the web, you should move the files from Dropbox or OneDrive to your desktop or other spot on your hard drive, then Unblock it, but I'm not sure if just keeping a file in Dropbox or Onedrive will mark it. This will take some testing to be sure. If you're the originator of the files, I'm not sure if they'll even have this MOTW, but you can make those file locations as "Trusted Locations" or code sign them if need be. 👍
Question for you, I'm new to the channel. I currently work as a Software Engineer and we have a bunch of applications that use MS Access Front-end with Oracle back-end. Have you heard anything about Access going away? What would you recommend converting the front-end to from Ms Access? Thank you.
Hi Josh, Nope, you're good, man. According to the new Access Program Manager at Microsoft, Ebo Quansah (ruclips.net/video/3sCLhTeWHWc/видео.html), Microsoft Access is definitely not dead and isn't going anywhere. Hope that helps. :)
Access is dying you should not be making anything new on access. And it would behoove you to migrate to a more modern approach lest you be left out in the cold once Microsoft pulls the plug which will happen just depends on when.
If it's protected, please make sure you know and trust the publisher (hopefully they've code signed the VBE with a company code signing certificate). Thanks :)
I have heard that before, but I've not yet seen any proof. There would have to be a LOOONNNNNGGGG transition period or they'd have terrible backlash from the Excel and MS Office community. We'd all freak out on them.
@@granand JavaScript is really useful for excel online. I say learn both. You can do your macros on both desktop and web, which will let you explore the benefits of both platforms.
Yep, April 2022 for the Current Channel (Preview) means Office Insiders Slow, those early adopters who want monthly stable new versions. The 'Current Channel' is regular Office 365, starting in June of this year.
I'm not sure using VBA will make this message go away. This message is meant to tell you that this file is from the internet and is from an unknown publisher. Basically reminding people to be careful. If they trust the document, they can right-click->Properties->Unblock. Easy! Alternatively, they can add the file to a folder that is a Trusted Location or the author could code sign the VBA. No big. Thanks for the comment!
Sounds good, Ivan! They won't stop working if you had Office 2021 or 365 either, my friend. They're not going anywhere, but a new warning is meant to appear to protect people from unscrupulous jerks who write malicious code. Thanks for the comment! :)
Suggestion. Can you make a VBA-Excel program that a text box accepts only numbers including negatives and decimal point). A warning message if an invalid character is entered would be useful as well.
Hello sir, I know it is out of context for this video but which books do you recommend to be expert on VBA? I am a master student on structural engineering. I want to develop my own programs, userforms and tables etc. about structural engineering for my thesis and later on researches and I put a hierarchy in my head like first study VBA then MATLAB and then go with the Python. I don't know whether this is true but in the undergraduate one of my instructors said that VBA should be the starting point for structural engineers 'cause we solve problems which includes matrices and you can cover up easily with it. The reason why I ask for a book is that watching videos can be exhausting for me. I already bought a education set for VBA which is told by a guy who works for Microsoft in Germany but at some point he started to go for another direction which is not appropriate for me. I try to apply the codes as I watch the videos and then I note them for remembering it. It kills both my brain and eyes. I am already dumb and have glasses 藍. Could you help about it? Respect from Turkey.
Hi there, I got a similar question, almost verbatim earlier. May be another account of yours? Anyway if you check out the comments, you can see my books I listed. Have a great day!
@@ExcelVbaIsFun i guess you don't know this but these are bots that you should probably just delete when you see them. They copy legitimate comments to get clicks.
I was studying structural engineering too. But i couldn't get through structural dynamics. I have taken the structural dynamics exam four times in four years and failed. They have put me in barrier now. Structural Dynamics was very voluminous and I did not have skills to memorize such large amount of equations and stuffs. But i am doing whatever i can by myself. I am learning vba and enjoying. It opened up a whole new world for me. It is very useful in structural engineering. Actually i am enjoying structural engineering just because i am automating those stuffs in vba. Otherwise it would have been painful; don't know if i would have even opened up structural engineering book if it was not for vba programming.
No, they aren't taking away our precious macros, don't worry. Just a different type of warning so people will be careful around unknown internet files. People should be cautious anyway, so it's not a bad idea.
Question: There is an xltm file on a corporate ethernet folder, which is mapped to the computer as a drive. The file is domestically created. I cannot make the folder trusted (windows says it cannot set network location as a trusted one) Is it motw file? Do I need to ask my (about a thousand) users to go to the original file and play with options there? Normally they use a shortcut provided and have no clue where the tools are, actually, located. Or, can I change the file's properties and it will work for every user then? Is the mark attached to the file itself or is it being individually set on every single computer regardless? And we have about 50 different tools in different locations. It'll be a nightmare.
Hi Dennis, I've read that if you don't see the option to "Unblock" files from the web, you should move the files from Dropbox or OneDrive (or probably also network locations) to your desktop or other spot on your hard drive, then Unblock it, but I'm not sure if just keeping a file in Dropbox or Onedrive will mark it. I'd love to test this as the update rolls out! Obviously, with that many users, you're eager to find a solution prior to these crazy updates. In this blogpost (social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/ie/en-US/22d70f22-dc31-4e04-ad65-54600f032926/cant-add-network-directories-as-trusted-locations-anymore?forum=excel), many users were able to add network locations if they used a certain format for listing them. One user commented: "Did you try adding server as \\servername.domain.com? Using the IP address did not work, but using the entire name such as "\\server01.bacon.com" worked for me." Others also commented that using IP address didn't work, but something like \\servername\sharepath OR \\myserver\documents and it worked. If not, you can add a code signing cert to the VBA and call it a day if need be. Thanks Dan
@@ExcelVbaIsFun Thank you for tour reply. You're right, we need to wait until the update is out. I'm on Early Adopters list in my organization, so I will receive it a bit earlier. And I need to assess if it is possible to get the certification of trusted developer or how it is called Thank you for your video and effort to support.
You say to visit your website to get more information about getting a code signing signature.... I did so, but never located the information about this on your website.... Where is it hiding!?
Hi The Only Sheet, at 05:30 in the video as I'm talking about the full course on the subject, I have a popup card appear with a link. I'll add this to the video description as well to make it easier to find. Here's the link from the card: ruclips.net/user/redirect?event=infocard&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbkoyMHRWYzRSYTBSVGRyYTVFNmJReHJTSmR6Z3xBQ3Jtc0trUEtfdWx6TWJFSGIzb2R2TnQtSTNGN1plNWtrYmlXUHQybVd5b29mTlAwRmR2VzQtRUp5czVzZWlvbG9xSlNpV0hXQmVCYnlEWkVuM280R1NVMHhMLXpJbkdjQlM0emVCclRqMExFY1FTMkNtQ3RSSQ&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.excelvbaisfun.com%2Fproduct%2Fsoftware-code-signing-for-enhanced-security-and-brand-trust%2F Thanks
Thanks for the info! Out of curiosity and apologies if I missed this in the video) but if my company employs use of sharepoint if I download from the sharepoint will this count as MOTW?
I'm expecting an answer from my contacts at Microsoft, not sure just yet! But my assumption is that it will be ok if the file name doesn't change and it's already considered a trusted document. Alternatively, if the file folder is one you made a "Trusted Location" or if the VBA is code signed, all good that way also. Or if you just authored the document yourself, it should be fine.
Don't worry - VBA isn't going anywhere. It's just a new warning for files from unknown publishers from the internet to protect people. There's easy ways to still produce files and share them. Even easier for yourself, because if a file didn't come from the web and you just authored it, it will automatically work without having to 'unblock' the file or add to trusted location folder on your computer (or code sign). It's no big deal! :)
Hi O A, VBA is not going away anytime soon if we (the Excel community) have anything to say about it. Too many companies rely on it, I feel like Microsoft would need do have a really solid and lengthy transition plan in place before they get HUGE amounts of backlash. :)
My problem is that if i copy my own published excel file to our network drive, i get the block message. Even if the drive letter is in the trusted locations. And there is no MOTW checkbox :( Is there anyone in the same boat? Can someone advice me smthg?
Hi András, Please try adding a fully qualified network location as a trusted server instead of using network drive letter location, such as using "\\[servername]\MyTrustedFolder" instead of "J:\MyTrustedFolder" and please let me know if that works for you. :) P.S. To get the fully qualified network share location, open Command Prompt and just type NET USE and press Enter.
@@ExcelVbaIsFun Thanks for the advice, its worked, but just when I open it with the same, fully qualified location, not by drive letter. :( But its more than anything from the forums :D Thank you!
@@kukoj I don't have a way to test this, but another article that may take it a step further.. forum.qnap.com/viewtopic.php?t=140594 Do you mind testing this added step and seeing if it helps? Thanks Dan
Haha, actually, you can make a Trusted Folder and put those assignments in that folder to avoid this annoying message :) See this part of the video (ruclips.net/video/h9ROnQ2Eoyg/видео.html). Thanks
Thanks mp and Nicolas J for the comments! There are definitely pros and cons for both! Some of the things I love about Excel and VBA is that ✅ VBA is built right into Excel. With VBA, you can use Excel as a graphical user interface (GUI), but Python doesn’t have a great way to use all the built-in tools meant for dragging and dropping, visually editing and shaping Userforms and other Excel native tools. ✅ Almost everyone is familiar with Excel and VBA to some degree. It’s super easy to work with. Excel is used by 81% of offices worldwide and has so much support and years of development and refinement, whereas Python is open-source (although very robust and strong communities/documentation). ✅ I find Excel/VBA to also be super easy to work with. With Python, the learning curve is much steeper and you have to install all this extra stuff, it’s not really usable out of the box and certainly harder on your team if you get a different job and they have to figure out what you did. ✅ Python IS great if you need to analyze really HUGE amounts of data or if you need highly specialized tools for data analysis. If you need to use millions and millions of rows of data, you may need to utilize tools designed for database-level analysis (although powerBI can handle large datasets nowadays). 📊Excel VBA is quite the workhorse and an amazing tool for quickly creating a wide range of highly specialized time-saving workflow solutions, so I do very much love it. But there are many solutions out there for many problems, for sure! Thanks for the comments, dudes! Love the discussion👍👍
Seriously ??? This bogus rumor has been circulating for at least 15 years. Not gonna happen. Let it go ! Joe Anderson, former Microsoft Access MVP (2009-2019)
Hi Joe, Thanks for the comments. I agree, it's a rumor that VBA is going away. In the video I show the upcoming new warning and what's entailed with the new processes that people will be facing when they get (unsigned) macro enabled wbs from the internet. If they're not trusted publishers or in a trusted location, the file will need to be manually unblocked. I also show people how to vet the code without letting it or any events run in the video. So hopefully this will give people hope and options in addition to helping people not get malware. Thanks again for commenting, Joe. :)
@@ExcelVbaIsFun Sorry I might have been a bit harsh. But every time I see 'VBA' is going away, it causes my head to implode. Funny I have been working with Access virtually every day since the early days of Access 1.0 (still have those diskettes lol) when it was called Access Basic. I have yet in all these years I have yet to find anything I could not do with VBA, including tapping into third party APIs and so on. Legendary products like Rick Fisher's Find & Replace and MZTools and a few others further enhanced the functionality of VBA. About a year ago, I did get bored with the color options in the editor. So I googled around and sure enough, someone had figured out how to customize the colors. BOOM.
When you got to the where and when, I ended up going back in the video multiple times because I thought that perhaps I had just missed the what. But no, you just made the very unintuitive choice to put that part at the end. I can guarantee that because of that, nobody remembered the when by the end of the video, which is actually when you knew whether you care about the when at all...
Hi Jasper, Thanks for your candor and tips. I could use more people to help me with planning or a second pair of eyes and ears. It was my assertion that the entirety of the video after the 01:44 Rollout Timetable (where and when) was all talking about the what. Perhaps I was off. Can't please them all, but I sure want to try. Thanks again for your comments! :)
Hi Transcriptor, Don't worry, VBA isn't going anywhere, they're just upgrading their warning message and only for files from the internet from unknown publishers. It will be totally fine :)
I think you're exactly right. It would be chaos and for no reason. If they want to upgrade vba that's fine, if they want to implement a very long transition period for something else, that's ok too but this new update is merely a new warning to help people avoid malware and only affects untrusted sources from the internet with macro enabled files.
@@ExcelVbaIsFun I honestly wish they would extend it further. Allow proper code comparisons, source control, testing etc. I get they want to move people to visual studio but it’s often just not an option for devs or analysts on the business side.
Hi, Thanks for this video, I want to ask something to you, do you offer VSTO training for Excel & Outlook, if yes I am very much interested in it. Thanks Kashif
VBA does work really well on Mac for Excel with the exception of ActiveX controls. Since Apple doesn't allow ActiveX (not Microsoft's fault), Excel for Mac has to rely on shapes and form controls to do similar things. I wish it was more intuitive to control files/folders using Mac VBA, but Ron de Bruin has some neat tricks on the topic. Thanks for the comments!
Hi adam! No, this is a huge change happening to workbooks from unknown sources from the internet. In the video, I show you when the new warnings start rolling out, that NO - VBA is not going away, but Microsoft is protecting people who open anything they get from anyone to avoid malware. I show you how to unblock files, how to create trusted documents, trusted file folder locations that won't block or show these warnings and how to code sign. Also I show how to vet the code from a workbook without letting the code run! :)
VBA isn't going anywhere, exactly. But there is an update coming that will help protect people from online unknown publishers. No big deal, you can unblock a file or toss it in a folder that's considered a "Trusted Location". Thanks for the comment!
@@jpegjpg All good things come to an end, it's true. VBA isn't going anywhere right now, but if it was, I firmly believe MS would have a long-term transition plan in place so we wouldn't all go burn them to the ground in protest. :)
VBA is a "zombie" programming language, no longer developed and supported but - as long as ~80% of worlds finance is based on Excel & macros, it will never be gone. Even though Microsoft already implemented _Automate_ tab in Excel online version with TypeScript, which is really fun, VBA was, is and will be always with Excel ;)
Agreed. I've been in fortune 100 companies doing on-site seminars and I see most of the workers using Excel as I'm headed to my classroom. It's everywhere and VBA is the wizard behind the curtain that helps us all! :)
What do you expect from Microsoft. They cannot even make a secure operating system ( just look at all the updates and fixes they do). I only wish there was an alternative to Windows, but nothing yet. If they got rid of all the BLOTWARE they could be on the right track.
Yep, I think we're on the right track. They're not doing anything to remove VBA, just helping people avoid malware by educating people. That's not too bad an idea. It also encourages people to mark their work with a code signing cert or for people to learn to vet code from unknown sources. All good :)
Hi Ben. There have been talks about eventually doing more with JS, so fingers crossed, maybe they can add libraries to supplement what we have now and help us all someday. Thanks for the comment! :)
You make me feel like a dork when I have to ask you to explain what an acronym stands for the first time you mention it. It's a rampant thing with techies, and I am not a fan. Who do you think you are talking to? Slow TF down, we're not all on your level. I don't mean slow down to a boring pace; or course that would be stupid too.
Hi John, Thanks for your input. Can you explain which acronym I didn't review, please? Also, I know speed is definitely an issue with any tutorial. For example, I had another person complaining (kind of rudely) that this video could have been explained in 5 minutes. It's really hard to please everybody and trying to do so is a pointless endeavor. That being said, I'd love to help - can you share any terms I should have defined better. No shame in asking, my friend! :)
@@ExcelVbaIsFun I may be wrong, but I don't believe you defined VBA. I realize that your target audience is familiar with it, but I'm kinda on the edge, having been retired for a few. Somewhere in my cobwebbed memory I see Visual Basic for Applications? Might be worth a sentence or two to give some background. Good video, though!
You're right, of course! Thanks for your great input, Mike. You're spot on that it is Visual Basic for Applications (many simply refer to it as 'Macros' in Excel). Thanks
For sure, it could have been about 1 minute if I omitted all the details. It could have been about 6 minutes if watched at 2x speed. Thanks for the comment! :)
HI Mathias, You're right that MS isn't disabling VBA. They are however locking macro-containing workbooks obtained from the internet if they contain MOTW. If they're from a Trusted Publisher or saved in a Trusted Location, you won't have any issues. As for neat tips - this video shows people how to vet VBA code and open the document without letting any VBA code or Events run. I hope that's useful to you like it was for those who have enjoyed it thus far. Thanks for the comments! :)
Hi xybersurfer, There have been talks about eventually doing more with JS, so fingers crossed, maybe they can add libraries to supplement what we have now and help us all someday. I do love VBA, but there are lots of options, for sure. Thanks for the comment! :)
@@alquinn8576 no. there is a lot of room for improvement. the limitations become apparent when you use it for larger programs: weak typing, no stacktrace for raised errors, lack of inheritace (only interface inheritance), constructors are parameterless, some ad hoc rules like no possibility to create a dynamic array of anything other than of the type Variant or the ad hoc rule that object values are passed by value like "foo(obj.x)" or the unnecessary distinction between Sub and Function... etc. when i encounter these ad hoc rules it often feels like the designers of VB were really good at creating unnecessary work. i think C# would be much better suited. have you ever tried a language other than VBA?
Hello sir, I know it is out of context for this video but which books do you recommend to be expert on VBA? I am a master student on structural engineering. I want to develop my own programs, userforms and tables etc. about structural engineering for my thesis and later on researches and I put a hierarchy in my head like first study VBA then MATLAB and then go with the Python. I don't know whether this is true but in the undergraduate one of my instructors said that VBA should be the starting point for structural engineers 'cause we solve problems which includes matrices and you can cover up easily with it. The reason why I ask for a book is that watching videos can be exhausting for me. I already bought a education set for VBA which is told by a guy who works for Microsoft in Germany but at some point he started to go for another direction which is not appropriate for me. I try to apply the codes as I watch the videos and then I note them for remembering it. It kills both my brain and eyes. I am already dumb and have glasses 🤣. Could you help about it? Respect from Turkey.
Sure, Alperen, I like any books by Bill Jelen (MrExcel) and Tracy Syrstad on the subject. The dummies series are good, most books on the subject will have decent examples for you. All of my video courses also have commented code that you can experiment with as well as clean workbooks to follow along with (at www.excelvbaisfun.com/shop) Hope that helps.
Have a comment or question for me? *Comment below* and I'll get back to you ASAP! 👇
VBA the king of programming languages
I love it too, Bombay!
Too many large businesses have their business logic wrapped up in Office VBA macros/programming to let it be disabled totally.
I absolutely agree 100%, James. There's no plan to get rid of VBA, only a more serious warning for people to be cautious about files from the internet. The video shows lots of tips as to make Trusted File/Folder locations and code signing, not to mention a way to vet your code before accepting a stranger's macros! :)
Microsoft already supports Python scripts as well as VBA. Only Python script is much more useful, and it is supported on a lot more platforms. VBA is too limited in today's world.
@@sgodsellify python is not a good fit for excel. It’s a good fit for people that like to waste a lot of time downloading a lot of 3rd party dependencies….which is exactly how these unknown problems get into your code. VBA was built specifically for Microsoft applications.
@@trefwoordpunk2225 Both VBA and Python have their own place. When I am creating stuff for others I do it in VBA as it iwill most likely work on their machine without issues (no need to worry about python version or packages). For stuff which will be used exclusively by me I prefer python as it is more flexible and versatile.
Vba makes my business life so much easier...vba is here to stay!
Me too! I agree!
Vba is such a sweetheart. Can't imagine using access without it 😔
Don't worry, Dot. It's not going away, just a different warning from online files. 😀
I took VBA in school, but in the real world nobody wants or needs it anymore. Especially since office users can use Python scripts to replace all existing VBA code. Plus Python is used for a lot of other things, and it's on a lot more platforms. VBA in my opinion is dead.
@@sgodsellify .
Got your point. By vba I meant the idea of writing codes in the background in ms access based applications to make jobs easier, guide users and handle errors more efficiently. I would love to use python if I knew how. I've had a glance at python and it's got tons of similarities with javascript. I will certainly look deeper to see advantages of using python in place of vba. Thanks 🙏
@@iben1195 it's truly worth it to learn python, especially since it's on every platform. Why do you think Microsoft decided to support another script language? Python is on Raspberry Pi, and even micro controllers. VB is not. Microsoft was all in on being exclusive with their languages and support, but that came back to actually hurt Microsoft. Why do you think Microsoft now supports Linux? Microsoft used to call Linux a cancer. If you can't beat them, then join them. On all Linux distros python is there, and it's here to stay.
Very, very, very, very ,very useful! Thank you!! I didn't know about that Open>Shift+Select to open a file without activating the macros. Love it!
Wow! Thank you Foxy! So very glad it's useful to you. Yeah, that's an important trick since there are jerks that send malware in workbooks! :)
It WILL NOT happen unless they offer some replacement solution. VBA macros as well as PowerTools make Excel a true monster and champion among all other spreadsheets software.
I firmly agree!!
Microsoft already allows Python scripts, and you can replace all VBA code with Python. It's much better than VBA.
@@sgodsellify The problem is python isn't built into Excel, VBA is part of Excel.
@@anthonystuartjones True.
@@sgodsellify 100% agreed. The issue becomes that most folks roll their eyes when they see a ".py" file while excel is a universal spreadsheet software that can view the data as it is transformed. If Python could be ran with a better visual backbone then I would completely retire VBA.
Thank you so much for not dragging the solution to the end.
You're welcome! I'm really glad this video is helping people understand the new changes.
@@ExcelVbaIsFun actually, I just started to understand and use VBA. So this was a major suprise for me.
@@Pigeon0fDoom Well, no worries - VBA isn't going anywhere. To summarize the video (in case you or others didn't get a change to watch it all), VBA isn't going anywhere, just a new warning screen if a file comes from the internet from an unknown publisher. In the video I show the upcoming new warning and what's entailed with the new processes that people will be facing when they get (unsigned) macro enabled wbs from the internet. If they're not trusted publishers or in a trusted location, the file will need to be manually unblocked. I also show people how to vet the code without letting it or any events run in the video. So hopefully this will give people hope and options in addition to helping people not get malware.
Saving this for when my incredibly dumb automation scripts actual professionals would facepalm at at work inevitably gets flagged. Thanks!
Haha! Don't worry - if you authored them, they should be ok. Now if you're sending them to others and they haven't been enabled before, they just need to unblock the file, you can code sign the VBA, or the files can be placed in a folder that is a "Trusted Location" and all will be well. :)
The following programs have never been able to run VBA code: Excel for Mac, Office on Android, Office on the Web, Office on the Web. That's way NOPE was on the screen 02:20
Hi Réti, that is true for Android and web, but you can use VBA for Excel for Mac. I teach on the differences/subtleties between Mac and PC VBA in my course www.excelvbaisfun.com/ultimate-excel-pro/
Thanks
We have a couple thousand applications in Access using tons of VBA code
Hey Brian, don't worry, VBA isn't going anywhere. Your applications will be fine. People can either unblock them or more likely they're already Enabled, thus trusted documents on their computers already. You can either code sign the VBA in the future OR you can help them add your apps in folders that are Trusted Locations. It will be ok, my friend! :)
To open a workbook without activating macros one can also use Shift+Open, instead of just Open. It's been in Excel (and Office) from 90's.
I agree it used to work, but that isn't working anymore in modern versions unless you follow the method I show in the video. Thanks for the comment!!
@@ExcelVbaIsFun Tested today on Excel 365
@@swinki33 That's fantastic! I'll retest on several versions. Thanks again!!
Will that work if it's password protected in v?
InTernet = global communication. Intranet = in-house communication. InNernet = a shredded air tube in a punctured tyre.
Haha! Wikipedia also has a definition (news to me!): innernet (plural innernets) The mechanism of spiritual or intuitive insight or connectedness.
Thanks for sharing, Galen! :)
Cracking down on VBA because it can used in a malicious way.
I wonder what's in store for C? Machine Code? Binary?
Yeah, it's mostly just a new facelift on the old warning that people ignore and a slight slap on the hand for untrusted or unsigned documents from the web. It's super easy to unblock though. No worries! Not sure what's in store for C, Machine Code or Binary though.
Oh good, thank goodness they're not disabling VBA macros on the web and android version!
Yep, Giuseppe, it's going to be ok. No worries!
@@ExcelVbaIsFun lol. But in all seriousness it would be nice to have even just super basic macros on web, just for navigation, queries/form entry, or some basic math. So I can share an applet with friends for like doing homework. lol
Simple, but thorough. Thanks.
Awesome, Fred! Thanks for sharing. Glad you liked!
Funny that this popped up in my feed today. For the last few days I’ve been writing a lot of Excel VBA code for work. I’m a C# coder so the context switch to VBA is always jarring and I fully excercised my inventory of colorful language when encountering the weirdness that is VBA.
Keep on rocking it, Peter! VBA isn't going anywhere, my friend.
@@ExcelVbaIsFun - My role at work isn’t a coding role, so it was fun to write something useful in code.
@@ExcelVbaIsFun Also, we’re a big slow company so it will be a few years until we are on the current Office platform and I expect to be retired by then when I’ll go back to learning Swift to build iPhone word games. ;-)
Thanks Dan! Awesome info and video!! Thanks for spreading the straight dope about what is happening and how to handle it. Appreciate all the tips. Thumbs up!!
Haha, thanks Wayne. Glad to share. Heart for your comment!
That shift tip was so helpful
So glad it helped! Big thanks to StudentNY (answers.microsoft.com/en-us/msoffice/forum/all/shift-key-fails-to-disable-macros-in-excel/fc9e9741-8582-40c6-b7c6-53bfb96f93d1) for spelling this method out. Previously you could just hold Shift and open a file any old way, now it's kind of buried in the settings!
Your advice is very helpful and valuable. Fortunately, I may be unlikely to have such problem because I do not receive lots of Microsoft Office files loaded into my electronic files mail. Thanks to your tips, I will be alert and wise.
Absolutely. For most people, it's more likely to occur when downloading a workbook from a website or forum. Thanks for the comment! :)
@@ExcelVbaIsFun You are welcome and thank you for tapping or typing to me.
@@captainkeyboard1007 Glad to chat with ya! :)
Blaming VBA for malware is like blaming one single bad person for all bad things. Wrong. VBA is so versatile, performant that only envious people will have VBA removed from MS Office.
Agreed! Fortunately, VBA isn't going anywhere, it's just getting another warning for those who ignored the last one ("Enable Content"). People will get used to this one too. :)
Thank you very much. Indeed. Scare tactics against a powerfull tool. Somebody tell me how may programming languages can do what a single language like VBA can? Hence the envy. How many viruses warn you? Hey I MIGHT be malicious, activate me?
A warning before trusting. Amazing time proof approach.
@@Info-God You're exactly correct. We need to correctly instruct people how to easily vet code before using and to use common sense before opening a random email attachment. Good points, Info God! :)
4:48 adding your downloads folder as a trusted location 😎
Haha yes, absolutely. As long as you know and trust whomever you're getting files from, this is a great idea :)
Really loved your course on Udemy. Thank you!
Awesome, John! Thanks for sharing. Hey, do you have a phone or webcam? I would really love if you can share your experience, feedback or review here: www.excelvbaisfun.com/videoask
Thanks for the comment! :)
Plz upload web automation on Selenium VBA
Hi Sidharth, I can do some of those on the channel, sure.
I believe that MS will integrate .Net languages as a replacement for VBA. Maybe.
That would sure be something. Do you have any articles that we can read up on the updates? Thanks for the comments!
Whew ... I actually run a piece of lab equipment using vba & excel (ok will migrate to custom program later) ... getting rid of vba will make a huge mess of things for me.
Hi Lina, don't worry! VBA isn't going anywhere, Microsoft is just adding a new warning for files originating from the internet, but they won't be blocked if the VBA is code signed or if you just put the file in a Trusted Location (a folder you tell Excel is trusted). Also if you made the file and it didn't come from the web it won't have the Mrk of the Web (MOTW).
But even if a file was from an unknown source and gets marked, just unblock it real quick, vet the code and you're all set! Don't worry!
@@ExcelVbaIsFun thank you for the heads up 😊
Very welcome! I wouldn't want anyone to worry, it's actually a good idea to save some people from Malware
Hi. Thanks for the video. I tell you that I was inspired by this video to make my version in Spanish. In my video I mention yours.
Cool! Thanks for the mention, Sergio!
I started my programming journey with VBA when I was an editor back then, and it went a long way when it came to incredibly time consuming tasks with simple logic. BUT I gotta say that WPS may surpass Microsoft Office, because they can use Python, a much easier and much more adopted language that recently even gets into blockchain programming, like Eth-Brownie. I wish I had started out with Python back then. I can get to buy and sell cryptos and interact with smart contracts with my Word, Excel, PowerPoint etc., and can even use TensorFlow on my files to learn from how I do things and then automate my job and keep the machine learning result file to myself
Very cool! I've been looking at WPS all morning and can't get any straight answers about their Developer tab. Python definitely is a neat tool. There are definitely pros and cons for both!
One of the things I love about Excel and VBA is that
✅ VBA is built right into Excel. With VBA, you can use Excel as a graphical user interface (GUI), but Python doesn’t have a great way to use all the built-in tools meant for dragging and dropping, visually editing and shaping Userforms and other Excel native tools.
✅ Almost everyone is familiar with Excel and VBA to some degree. It’s super easy to work with. Excel is used by 81% of offices worldwide and has so much support and years of development and refinement, whereas Python is open-source (although very robust and good communities).
✅ Excel/VBA is also super easy to work with. With Python, the learning curve is much steeper and you have to install all this extra stuff, it’s not really usable out of the box and certainly harder on your team if you get a different job and they have to figure out what you did.
✅ Python is great if you need to analyze really HUGE amounts of data or if you need highly specialized tools for data analysis. If you need to use millions and millions of rows of data, you definitely need to utilize tools designed for database-level analysis.
📊Excel VBA is quite the workhorse and an amazing tool for quickly creating a wide range of highly specialized time-saving workflow solutions.
Thanks for the comments! Love the energy, my friend!! :) The machine learning sounds awesome - keep up the great work 👍👍
In my opinion it is better to use C# to automate tasks in Office enviroment. It is much faster and you dont need any external libraries to start working
@@Rks1926 Perhaps I'm missing something, but wouldn't the use of C# still require the use of the Office Automation API?
In short I should start an Excel workbook in my office and then send it over the internet where I can then download it at home. When I have update the Excel at home and then upload back to the internet, I can download again from my office because it can now recognise the Excel is from a "trusted source". Right?
I think if the document has been already 'Enabled' and has the same filename, it's considered a 'Trusted Document' at that point, yes. You can also set an entire file folder as a 'Trusted Location' if you want to always trust any files that enter that directory. You can also code sign the VBA if you want. If no VBA/macros, it won't matter and the alert won't show up anyways. Thanks for the comment! :)
@@ExcelVbaIsFun hmmm. Same filename. This is something I need to try. Can't I rename my file since it already have the MOTW when I upload to the internet in the first instance?
The handwriting has been on the wall for VBA ever since the introduction of the .NET Framework and managed code.
VBA isn't going anywhere in Excel and Office, this is just a new warning that's coming to some office files that come from an unknown publisher off the internet. It can easily be overcome through many methods. Thanks for the comment!
What do we do with files containing macros if Microsoft disables VBA?
Hi DNTN,
If you watch the video, it will describe lots of things to keep in mind, but the simple thing to do is here (ruclips.net/video/h9ROnQ2Eoyg/видео.html). Thanks
1) What about Office 365? 2) What about file types that cannot contain macros e.g. .csv? (Not those that have had their extension altered)
Great questions! Office 365 is the Current Channel (Preview) and Current Channel that is getting the update first, as early as Apr '22. The Current Channel (Preview) means Office Insiders Slow, those early adopters who want monthly stable new versions. The Current Channel is regular Office 365.
As for files without macros such as .CSV, they will not receive this warning since there is no macros to warn about.
@@ExcelVbaIsFun Thanks
@@DM-py7pj Very welcome, D M!
@@ExcelVbaIsFun I'm guessing if someone just changed the extension of a maliciously-enabled file to CSV, MS would recognize it as essentially a non-text file and error message out? [Whatever the response, I've coined my own term: cynility - the older I get, the more cynical I become]
Do you know how much of this great information ALSO applies to the Open Office equivalent apps?
Hi Allan, According to Microsoft, this is just something they're rolling out to MS Office. I do not think it is going to directly affect Open Office. Your files probably already have the Mark of the Web (MOTW) attribute when you get them from the internet, but the apps each can decide whether to freak out or not about it. Hope that makes sense.
Thanks for the question!
Really hope files on SharePoint are automatically classified as safe... I don't trust our IT to make sure these settings are enabled...
I hope so too! I've reached out to my contacts at Microsoft to find out about Sharepoint, Dropbox and OneDrive, but my assumption is that as long as the file has the same file name and it's already been marked as Trusted then it should stay trusted. Same goes for code signing the VBA or using a folder that you make a "Trusted Location". I'll keep everyone posted :)
damn those spiders really got me haha
Haha! Glad you liked em! Just trying to add effect to the word virus/bugs for the topic! :)
Thanks for this great video
I wonder if an Excel file having macros and shared with different remote collaborators using Dropbox or OneDrive cloud will have this MOTW attribute?
Hey Daniel, I've read that if you don't see the option to "Unblock" files from the web, you should move the files from Dropbox or OneDrive to your desktop or other spot on your hard drive, then Unblock it, but I'm not sure if just keeping a file in Dropbox or Onedrive will mark it. I'd love to test this as the update rolls out! :)
So instead of block people downloading "whatever" from internet now they will have to be learn how to turn on macros in Office? i wish to know how to make trusted program which company using everyday. After these updates goes live most of program will stop working and i will have to learn people how to go trough the office setting to turn them on before they can use it. Once they will know that, and they will have to work, they can use this to open any file from the internet. In recent time Microsoft surprise me with the stupidity in approach that problem.
If you put your code signature on the VBA part, this shouldn't happen to your end-users. The file should just open. You can see me doing this at 05:37 - Code signing a document (ruclips.net/video/h9ROnQ2Eoyg/видео.html)
Hope that helps
Great video! One question. Instead of going through all the steps, holding the shift key and clicking select is holding the control key and double clicking or clicking open to open the file in safe mode the same thing? If not what is the difference in the two processes?
Great question! So, according to Microsoft, when you run Excel in safe mode, it bypasses functionality and settings like alternative startup location, changed toolbars, the xlstart folder, and Excel add-ins. This is to help you diagnose if add-ins and things like that are slowing your wb down or making it crash. Safe mode doesn't necessarily stop VBA from running, however, that's why this trick is ideal for testing and vetting your workbooks, especially from the internet. :)
Good information to know!! Thanks for providing the great video.
Absolutely, Mike! It's a really important thing to know. It's scarier than it sounds, but we gotta keep people informed :)
@ExcelVbaIsFun , can you please give a link to your video with information on code signing? I couldn't find it. Thanks.
Hi Lonnie, Sure! At 05:30 in the video as I'm talking about the full course on the subject, I have a popup card appear with a link. I'll add this to the video description as well to make it easier to find. Here's the link from the card: ruclips.net/user/redirect?event=infocard&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbkoyMHRWYzRSYTBSVGRyYTVFNmJReHJTSmR6Z3xBQ3Jtc0trUEtfdWx6TWJFSGIzb2R2TnQtSTNGN1plNWtrYmlXUHQybVd5b29mTlAwRmR2VzQtRUp5czVzZWlvbG9xSlNpV0hXQmVCYnlEWkVuM280R1NVMHhMLXpJbkdjQlM0emVCclRqMExFY1FTMkNtQ3RSSQ&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.excelvbaisfun.com%2Fproduct%2Fsoftware-code-signing-for-enhanced-security-and-brand-trust%2F
Thanks
@@ExcelVbaIsFun... Thanks, but I've been code signing my add-ins since 2005 mainly so users would not have to click "Enable Macros" every time they opened the host program (Excel/PowerPoint). It was an expensive pain in the neck come renewal time, but it was worth it for the users. But recently, a logistics issue delayed a renewal for 8 months, leaving the add-ins no longer "trusted"... yet we had zero issues from users? How could that be? Turns out MS changed their security protocol where once the add-in was clicked to enable macros, it automatically became trusted and would never trigger the alert again. So, 30k users didn't care and neither did the corporations I serve. So, the digi cert was pointless. Still, I had one purchased and installed so users would not even have to enable macros that one single time. Unlike certs in the past, it no longer worked. I called top people for a large phone conference from a very large cert authority, which included their engineers, and everyone was shocked to find the certs no longer evade that initial enable macro alert. Therefore, the cert had no use to us. We are happy and secure. We don't have the dreaded task of renewals, reloading, and costs either. BUT... if something NEW is coming that will once again (ugh) require a cert, I'm all ears. (That or I'm leaving VBA and switching to another language.) Thanks.
@@lonniejohns7391 Good point! You should be ok if your file (files with the same filename from you) has already been "Enabled". This is called a "Trusted Document" and should stay a trusted document, despite the update. You should be just fine. If not, your people could create a folder that is a "Trusted Location" where they put your apps, but I don't think it will be necessary.
Thanks for the comments! :)
I hope not... unless they replace it with something more powerful.. maybe like alteryx... :D that would be the best news if they optimize something. It's obnoxious that between python, vba, sql and powershell there is no universal solution that walks through an entire data process
Yes, we will keep an ear to the ground for any updates, for sure! Thanks for the comment.
Well, I wouldn't say Alteryx is more powerful. It's good at a small niche of tasks, while VBA is universal and easy to use for a very wide range of tasks.
@@laszlo3547 Thanks for the informative comments, Lazlo! Thumbs up!
@@laszlo3547 True, Alteryx is very much a niche but a very powerful one. Alteryx is cool because it can do data scrubbing type procedures in an intuitive flowchart type of UDV for our non-technical peers to understand what was developed. Obviously, the right assortment of python lib's or the right VBA and .net add-ins can pretty much achieve the same results but much longer to develop and harder to debug. Not sure if batch executable processes can be triggered via Alteryx. The one think Python and Alteryx have on VB and Powershell is the ability incorporate R calc engine into the data process. I hope MS enhances VBA to remain competitive.
Aren't VBA and Macros, two separate animals so to speak, I use Access, and am worried about VBA?
Hi code dipper 1963, yes and no. VBA is the code language for Microsoft Office products. When people write or record Subprocedures, they often call it a macro. This can be confusing, especially since Microsoft Access originally had something called "Macros", which is like a step-by-step codeless builder for automating repeated actions. Access also has the ability to use VBA, so therein probably lies the confusing part.
You needn't worry about VBA - it's not going anywhere at this time. MS is just adding a new warning for files from unknown people off the internet. No worries :)
I'm not expert. Can it use c/c++ or c# instead?
I believe you can create COM Addins/dll files using these languages, but I think mostly this is used for custom functions. By the way, regular Excel VBA isn't going away, just a new warning screen to warn unsuspecting people and teach people about malware.
some really great tips there Dan. Thanks for sharing
Thanks Scott!!! ❤
Great Stuff Dan! Thank you for all the tips!
Thanks, Eric. Love your RUclips channel name!!! Also neat wallpaper!
@@ExcelVbaIsFun Thank you very much!
It is concept art from a Disney movie called Tomorrow Land. :-)
@@EricHartwigExcelConsulting Right on! with George Clooney?
This isnt a new feature per say. I work for the federal government and for the last 2 years this has been going on. Its just a group policy setting.
Understood. Thanks for sharing Bradley! I know MOTW has been around for a while, but this new Office-specific warning will be slightly new in it's appearance.
@@ExcelVbaIsFun Only downside to it is that as a vba programmer, if I make a utility or app for my coworkers they’ll have to open and resave the file under a different name to unlock the macros. Ask me how many times I have to remind my coworkers that they have to do that 🤦♂️
Hmmm... if you code sign the VBA portion, it shouldn't show the warning nor lock the file. Alternatively, coworkers could save documents from you in a Trusted Location (a folder they tell Excel is unblocked and trusted). Thanks
Dan
@@ExcelVbaIsFun Ive tried authorizing the vba code with my security/id card (our major form of identification) but that doesnt work either. Its the same process as code signing. As for a trusted folder, Im not sure if Ive tried that, but I believe IT has done something on our entire domain that always blocks macros, no matter what we do.
@@bradhuf Hi Bradley, one good way to test this is if you open a brand new workbook and then try to add your own vba code in the Visual Basic Editor (Alt + F11). Something simple like
Sub test()
msgbox "test"
end sub
inside a sheet or code module.
Save as .xlsm file.
Try to re-open the file you just wrote and see if it is still disabled.
If I.T. truly disable all macros from an Active Directory/Group policy/cloud controls perspective, then you're correct. There's nothing that can be done. But hopefully it's not that dire. I'm eager to know how this test goes for you. Thanks! :)
So all my important excel files are either on Dropbox or on OneDrive so does that mean that all of those will be flagged with the MOTW?
I've read that if you don't see the option to "Unblock" files from the web, you should move the files from Dropbox or OneDrive to your desktop or other spot on your hard drive, then Unblock it, but I'm not sure if just keeping a file in Dropbox or Onedrive will mark it. This will take some testing to be sure. If you're the originator of the files, I'm not sure if they'll even have this MOTW, but you can make those file locations as "Trusted Locations" or code sign them if need be. 👍
No worries, we have python's XLwings
Question for you, I'm new to the channel. I currently work as a Software Engineer and we have a bunch of applications that use MS Access Front-end with Oracle back-end. Have you heard anything about Access going away? What would you recommend converting the front-end to from Ms Access? Thank you.
Hi Josh, Nope, you're good, man. According to the new Access Program Manager at Microsoft, Ebo Quansah (ruclips.net/video/3sCLhTeWHWc/видео.html), Microsoft Access is definitely not dead and isn't going anywhere. Hope that helps. :)
@@ExcelVbaIsFun Good to know. I'm a retired software developer who relies heavily on home-grown Access applications.
Josh, it's nice to hear that there are still employers around who understand the value of Access as a client-server front-end. 👍
@@BertRussell4711 We are hiring :-)
Access is dying you should not be making anything new on access. And it would behoove you to migrate to a more modern approach lest you be left out in the cold once Microsoft pulls the plug which will happen just depends on when.
My company would shut down. WAY too many people use VBA in their excel sheets.
Mine would be in trouble too! Luckily VBA isn't going anywhere, it's just a new warning screen if something comes from the web with macros on it. :)
What happens if vba code is password protected?
If it's protected, please make sure you know and trust the publisher (hopefully they've code signed the VBE with a company code signing certificate). Thanks :)
I thought eventually they are replacing VBA with JavaScript for both desktops and cloud based
I have heard that before, but I've not yet seen any proof. There would have to be a LOOONNNNNGGGG transition period or they'd have terrible backlash from the Excel and MS Office community. We'd all freak out on them.
@@ExcelVbaIsFun :-) Now I am bit confident to dare to learn VBA
@@granand Absolutely! It's fun, easy and POWERFUL!!
@@granand JavaScript is really useful for excel online. I say learn both. You can do your macros on both desktop and web, which will let you explore the benefits of both platforms.
I assume this is the April 1st update for 2022?
Yep, April 2022 for the Current Channel (Preview) means Office Insiders Slow, those early adopters who want monthly stable new versions. The 'Current Channel' is regular Office 365, starting in June of this year.
Cant live without VBA!
I agree, Heng Loh!
So I just code some vba to make the message disappear. Problem solved
I'm not sure using VBA will make this message go away. This message is meant to tell you that this file is from the internet and is from an unknown publisher. Basically reminding people to be careful. If they trust the document, they can right-click->Properties->Unblock. Easy! Alternatively, they can add the file to a folder that is a Trusted Location or the author could code sign the VBA. No big. Thanks for the comment!
PowerPoint is Turing-complete, so really, you could just do a non-VBA PowerPoint that has all the functionality of a vba-endabled excel sheet
I use Microsoft Office 2003, so my pieces of VBA code aren’t going to stop working for sure.
Sounds good, Ivan! They won't stop working if you had Office 2021 or 365 either, my friend. They're not going anywhere, but a new warning is meant to appear to protect people from unscrupulous jerks who write malicious code. Thanks for the comment! :)
thank you!
Very welcome, Mathieu!
Suggestion. Can you make a VBA-Excel program that a text box accepts only numbers including negatives and decimal point). A warning message if an invalid character is entered would be useful as well.
Good idea. I'm sure we can.
Many thanks!
Sure thing! Please remind me if it takes a while for me to get to this one. Thanks
Sure. How often?
Use either a validation loop on an input box or build a custom form with its own validation code.
Hello sir, I know it is out of context for this video but which books do you recommend to be expert on VBA? I am a master student on structural engineering. I want to develop my own programs, userforms and tables etc. about structural engineering for my thesis and later on researches and I put a hierarchy in my head like first study VBA then MATLAB and then go with the Python. I don't know whether this is true but in the undergraduate one of my instructors said that VBA should be the starting point for structural engineers 'cause we solve problems which includes matrices and you can cover up easily with it. The reason why I ask for a book is that watching videos can be exhausting for me. I already bought a education set for VBA which is told by a guy who works for Microsoft in Germany but at some point he started to go for another direction which is not appropriate for me. I try to apply the codes as I watch the videos and then I note them for remembering it. It kills both my brain and eyes. I am already dumb and have glasses 藍. Could you help about it? Respect from Turkey.
Hi there, I got a similar question, almost verbatim earlier. May be another account of yours? Anyway if you check out the comments, you can see my books I listed. Have a great day!
@@ExcelVbaIsFun i guess you don't know this but these are bots that you should probably just delete when you see them. They copy legitimate comments to get clicks.
Thanks Caleb for confirming suspicions. I always like to err on the side of politeness and believing the best in people first. But yeah, totally!
I was studying structural engineering too. But i couldn't get through structural dynamics. I have taken the structural dynamics exam four times in four years and failed. They have put me in barrier now. Structural Dynamics was very voluminous and I did not have skills to memorize such large amount of equations and stuffs. But i am doing whatever i can by myself. I am learning vba and enjoying. It opened up a whole new world for me. It is very useful in structural engineering. Actually i am enjoying structural engineering just because i am automating those stuffs in vba. Otherwise it would have been painful; don't know if i would have even opened up structural engineering book if it was not for vba programming.
What no Macros?
No, they aren't taking away our precious macros, don't worry. Just a different type of warning so people will be careful around unknown internet files. People should be cautious anyway, so it's not a bad idea.
Question:
There is an xltm file on a corporate ethernet folder, which is mapped to the computer as a drive. The file is domestically created. I cannot make the folder trusted (windows says it cannot set network location as a trusted one)
Is it motw file? Do I need to ask my (about a thousand) users to go to the original file and play with options there? Normally they use a shortcut provided and have no clue where the tools are, actually, located. Or, can I change the file's properties and it will work for every user then? Is the mark attached to the file itself or is it being individually set on every single computer regardless?
And we have about 50 different tools in different locations. It'll be a nightmare.
Hi Dennis,
I've read that if you don't see the option to "Unblock" files from the web, you should move the files from Dropbox or OneDrive (or probably also network locations) to your desktop or other spot on your hard drive, then Unblock it, but I'm not sure if just keeping a file in Dropbox or Onedrive will mark it. I'd love to test this as the update rolls out! Obviously, with that many users, you're eager to find a solution prior to these crazy updates.
In this blogpost (social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/ie/en-US/22d70f22-dc31-4e04-ad65-54600f032926/cant-add-network-directories-as-trusted-locations-anymore?forum=excel), many users were able to add network locations if they used a certain format for listing them. One user commented: "Did you try adding server as \\servername.domain.com? Using the IP address did not work, but using the entire name such as "\\server01.bacon.com" worked for me."
Others also commented that using IP address didn't work, but something like
\\servername\sharepath OR \\myserver\documents and it worked.
If not, you can add a code signing cert to the VBA and call it a day if need be.
Thanks
Dan
@@ExcelVbaIsFun Thank you for tour reply.
You're right, we need to wait until the update is out.
I'm on Early Adopters list in my organization, so I will receive it a bit earlier.
And I need to assess if it is possible to get the certification of trusted developer or how it is called
Thank you for your video and effort to support.
Very welcome. We have a course on excelvbaisfun.com that takes you through getting a code signing certificate and the different types. Cheers!
Dan
Can it be unblocked with attrib command in a Batch?
You say to visit your website to get more information about getting a code signing signature.... I did so, but never located the information about this on your website.... Where is it hiding!?
Hi The Only Sheet, at 05:30 in the video as I'm talking about the full course on the subject, I have a popup card appear with a link. I'll add this to the video description as well to make it easier to find. Here's the link from the card: ruclips.net/user/redirect?event=infocard&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbkoyMHRWYzRSYTBSVGRyYTVFNmJReHJTSmR6Z3xBQ3Jtc0trUEtfdWx6TWJFSGIzb2R2TnQtSTNGN1plNWtrYmlXUHQybVd5b29mTlAwRmR2VzQtRUp5czVzZWlvbG9xSlNpV0hXQmVCYnlEWkVuM280R1NVMHhMLXpJbkdjQlM0emVCclRqMExFY1FTMkNtQ3RSSQ&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.excelvbaisfun.com%2Fproduct%2Fsoftware-code-signing-for-enhanced-security-and-brand-trust%2F
Thanks
Thank you for this great video Dan!
Thanks, Jan! You are so welcome 🙏
Is VBA surely going to be disabled
Not anytime soon, but all things in life do pass away, I agree.
Ok. Not exactly from 1st of April
Thanks for the info! Out of curiosity and apologies if I missed this in the video) but if my company employs use of sharepoint if I download from the sharepoint will this count as MOTW?
I'm expecting an answer from my contacts at Microsoft, not sure just yet! But my assumption is that it will be ok if the file name doesn't change and it's already considered a trusted document. Alternatively, if the file folder is one you made a "Trusted Location" or if the VBA is code signed, all good that way also. Or if you just authored the document yourself, it should be fine.
@@ExcelVbaIsFun many thanks and thank you for the quick response!
@@alistaircabral3330 You're very welcome! I'll keep you posted!
Excellent video and well presented.
Thanks so much! So glad it's helpful to you!
most of these malware docs/excels with vba codes come in email, so it will be probably downloaded into the trusted folder, right?
You can definitely download it into one of your Trusted Folders in order to skip the 'Unblock' steps, yep.
vba always seemed way too bulky for a solution. last time using it was in the late 90s
Hi Gera, I love it, personally, but there are a lot of options out there for sure. Thanks for the comments! :)
good luck basically disabling my company :)
Don't worry - VBA isn't going anywhere. It's just a new warning for files from unknown publishers from the internet to protect people. There's easy ways to still produce files and share them. Even easier for yourself, because if a file didn't come from the web and you just authored it, it will automatically work without having to 'unblock' the file or add to trusted location folder on your computer (or code sign). It's no big deal! :)
very nice video! :) Thanks a lot Dan. :)
Thanks for such a nice comment! So glad you liked!
What will replace vba ???
Hi O A, VBA is not going away anytime soon if we (the Excel community) have anything to say about it. Too many companies rely on it, I feel like Microsoft would need do have a really solid and lengthy transition plan in place before they get HUGE amounts of backlash. :)
Microsoft was nearly firebombed over MS Paint; they will take VBA from my cold dead hands
@@alquinn8576 That is hilarious! Thanks for the fun comments!
VBA is life 😱😱😱
Awesome! Thanks for the super cool comment, PinoyGuitarTV
My problem is that if i copy my own published excel file to our network drive, i get the block message. Even if the drive letter is in the trusted locations.
And there is no MOTW checkbox :(
Is there anyone in the same boat? Can someone advice me smthg?
Hi András,
Please try adding a fully qualified network location as a trusted server instead of using network drive letter location, such as using "\\[servername]\MyTrustedFolder" instead of "J:\MyTrustedFolder" and please let me know if that works for you. :)
P.S. To get the fully qualified network share location, open Command Prompt and just type NET USE and press Enter.
@@ExcelVbaIsFun Thanks for the advice, its worked, but just when I open it with the same, fully qualified location, not by drive letter. :( But its more than anything from the forums :D Thank you!
@@kukoj I don't have a way to test this, but another article that may take it a step further.. forum.qnap.com/viewtopic.php?t=140594
Do you mind testing this added step and seeing if it helps?
Thanks
Dan
This is going to make grading VBA assignments really annoying
Haha, actually, you can make a Trusted Folder and put those assignments in that folder to avoid this annoying message :) See this part of the video (ruclips.net/video/h9ROnQ2Eoyg/видео.html). Thanks
Use Python instead. I do not understand writting so erroneous code when with Pandas it is much more simple, faster, and finally more error proof.
You a real hero...
Imagine comment under a channel named "Excel VBA is fun" under a VBA-video, that you should use a other programmin language...
@@nicolasj6745
You can use VBA until you will use Python and Pandas for the same. And it is really simple :)
Thanks mp and Nicolas J for the comments!
There are definitely pros and cons for both!
Some of the things I love about Excel and VBA is that
✅ VBA is built right into Excel. With VBA, you can use Excel as a graphical user interface (GUI), but Python doesn’t have a great way to use all the built-in tools meant for dragging and dropping, visually editing and shaping Userforms and other Excel native tools.
✅ Almost everyone is familiar with Excel and VBA to some degree. It’s super easy to work with. Excel is used by 81% of offices worldwide and has so much support and years of development and refinement, whereas Python is open-source (although very robust and strong communities/documentation).
✅ I find Excel/VBA to also be super easy to work with. With Python, the learning curve is much steeper and you have to install all this extra stuff, it’s not really usable out of the box and certainly harder on your team if you get a different job and they have to figure out what you did.
✅ Python IS great if you need to analyze really HUGE amounts of data or if you need highly specialized tools for data analysis. If you need to use millions and millions of rows of data, you may need to utilize tools designed for database-level analysis (although powerBI can handle large datasets nowadays).
📊Excel VBA is quite the workhorse and an amazing tool for quickly creating a wide range of highly specialized time-saving workflow solutions, so I do very much love it. But there are many solutions out there for many problems, for sure!
Thanks for the comments, dudes! Love the discussion👍👍
Seriously ??? This bogus rumor has been circulating for at least 15 years. Not gonna happen. Let it go !
Joe Anderson, former Microsoft Access MVP (2009-2019)
Hi Joe, Thanks for the comments. I agree, it's a rumor that VBA is going away. In the video I show the upcoming new warning and what's entailed with the new processes that people will be facing when they get (unsigned) macro enabled wbs from the internet. If they're not trusted publishers or in a trusted location, the file will need to be manually unblocked. I also show people how to vet the code without letting it or any events run in the video. So hopefully this will give people hope and options in addition to helping people not get malware.
Thanks again for commenting, Joe. :)
@@ExcelVbaIsFun Sorry I might have been a bit harsh. But every time I see 'VBA' is going away, it causes my head to implode. Funny I have been working with Access virtually every day since the early days of Access 1.0 (still have those diskettes lol) when it was called Access Basic. I have yet in all these years I have yet to find anything I could not do with VBA, including tapping into third party APIs and so on. Legendary products like Rick Fisher's Find & Replace and MZTools and a few others further enhanced the functionality of VBA. About a year ago, I did get bored with the color options in the editor. So I googled around and sure enough, someone had figured out how to customize the colors. BOOM.
@@joeanderson3423 Bro - I'm right there with you. I freaking love VBA. Thanks again for the fun comments!! 👍
When you got to the where and when, I ended up going back in the video multiple times because I thought that perhaps I had just missed the what. But no, you just made the very unintuitive choice to put that part at the end. I can guarantee that because of that, nobody remembered the when by the end of the video, which is actually when you knew whether you care about the when at all...
Hi Jasper,
Thanks for your candor and tips. I could use more people to help me with planning or a second pair of eyes and ears. It was my assertion that the entirety of the video after the 01:44 Rollout Timetable (where and when) was all talking about the what. Perhaps I was off. Can't please them all, but I sure want to try. Thanks again for your comments! :)
THEY SHOLD COME UP WITH MACROSS BUTTONS....INSTEAD OF TEDIOUS SOFTWARE CODES
maybe they will deprecate all their products, support would be easy then.
Hi Transcriptor, Don't worry, VBA isn't going anywhere, they're just upgrading their warning message and only for files from the internet from unknown publishers. It will be totally fine :)
VBA don't switch off
Yes, correct, they aren't switching it off exactly. :)
Will never happen. The entirety of legacy finance runs on VBA and excel.
I think you're exactly right. It would be chaos and for no reason. If they want to upgrade vba that's fine, if they want to implement a very long transition period for something else, that's ok too but this new update is merely a new warning to help people avoid malware and only affects untrusted sources from the internet with macro enabled files.
@@ExcelVbaIsFun I honestly wish they would extend it further. Allow proper code comparisons, source control, testing etc. I get they want to move people to visual studio but it’s often just not an option for devs or analysts on the business side.
@@BrettHoTep fully agree! 👍
No VBA?
What, are Microsoft going to resurrect Visual J++ ?
Naw, VBA isn't going anywhere, just a few changes for files from unknown web based sources.
Hi, Thanks for this video, I want to ask something to you, do you offer VSTO training for Excel & Outlook, if yes I am very much interested in it.
Thanks
Kashif
Hi Kashif! VSTO is on my massive to-do list. Thanks for the comments! :)
I don’t like vba.. they need better intervention of office Apple with visual studio
VBA does work really well on Mac for Excel with the exception of ActiveX controls. Since Apple doesn't allow ActiveX (not Microsoft's fault), Excel for Mac has to rely on shapes and form controls to do similar things. I wish it was more intuitive to control files/folders using Mac VBA, but Ron de Bruin has some neat tricks on the topic. Thanks for the comments!
If this be a clickbait so help me
Hi adam! No, this is a huge change happening to workbooks from unknown sources from the internet. In the video, I show you when the new warnings start rolling out, that NO - VBA is not going away, but Microsoft is protecting people who open anything they get from anyone to avoid malware. I show you how to unblock files, how to create trusted documents, trusted file folder locations that won't block or show these warnings and how to code sign. Also I show how to vet the code from a workbook without letting the code run! :)
Nope!
VBA isn't going anywhere, exactly. But there is an update coming that will help protect people from online unknown publishers. No big deal, you can unblock a file or toss it in a folder that's considered a "Trusted Location". Thanks for the comment!
vba is indeed getting obsolete
VBA never will gone, cause a lot of business is builded on xlsm.
So, relax and press F8. :)
Firmly agree, John! Thanks
Two words: Adobe Flash. The end is coming it's only a matter of time.
@@jpegjpg All good things come to an end, it's true. VBA isn't going anywhere right now, but if it was, I firmly believe MS would have a long-term transition plan in place so we wouldn't all go burn them to the ground in protest. :)
VBA is a "zombie" programming language, no longer developed and supported but - as long as ~80% of worlds finance is based on Excel & macros, it will never be gone. Even though Microsoft already implemented _Automate_ tab in Excel online version with TypeScript, which is really fun, VBA was, is and will be always with Excel ;)
Agreed. I've been in fortune 100 companies doing on-site seminars and I see most of the workers using Excel as I'm headed to my classroom. It's everywhere and VBA is the wizard behind the curtain that helps us all! :)
Go, go VBA
Yes, Kevin! AGREED!
What do you expect from Microsoft. They cannot even make a secure operating system ( just look at all the updates and fixes they do). I only wish there was an alternative to Windows, but nothing yet. If they got rid of all the BLOTWARE they could be on the right track.
Yep, I think we're on the right track. They're not doing anything to remove VBA, just helping people avoid malware by educating people. That's not too bad an idea. It also encourages people to mark their work with a code signing cert or for people to learn to vet code from unknown sources. All good :)
Sorry but I hated VB as a language. Why not update Excel with a fresh dose of JavaScript instead.
Hi Ben. There have been talks about eventually doing more with JS, so fingers crossed, maybe they can add libraries to supplement what we have now and help us all someday. Thanks for the comment! :)
You make me feel like a dork when I have to ask you to explain what an acronym stands for the first time you mention it. It's a rampant thing with techies, and I am not a fan. Who do you think you are talking to? Slow TF down, we're not all on your level. I don't mean slow down to a boring pace; or course that would be stupid too.
Hi John,
Thanks for your input. Can you explain which acronym I didn't review, please? Also, I know speed is definitely an issue with any tutorial. For example, I had another person complaining (kind of rudely) that this video could have been explained in 5 minutes. It's really hard to please everybody and trying to do so is a pointless endeavor.
That being said, I'd love to help - can you share any terms I should have defined better. No shame in asking, my friend! :)
@@ExcelVbaIsFun I may be wrong, but I don't believe you defined VBA. I realize that your target audience is familiar with it, but I'm kinda on the edge, having been retired for a few. Somewhere in my cobwebbed memory I see Visual Basic for Applications? Might be worth a sentence or two to give some background. Good video, though!
You're right, of course! Thanks for your great input, Mike. You're spot on that it is Visual Basic for Applications (many simply refer to it as 'Macros' in Excel). Thanks
Clickbait title.
It's literally the exact question I was asked a few days ago based on all the channel. pasteboard.co/WuvDCbs5f413.png
Thanks for the comment! :)
VBA don't disable sir
It will be a new message to help people understand about internet files. It won't disable VBA, don't worry.
Could have ben 5 mins with all the content.
For sure, it could have been about 1 minute if I omitted all the details. It could have been about 6 minutes if watched at 2x speed. Thanks for the comment! :)
@@ExcelVbaIsFun Your choice. Slow waffle is not details. But you do you.
@@kylekinsey4000 Fast waffles then. media3.giphy.com/media/l8WKMOIUUKmYjGbUTg/giphy.gif
MS isn't disabling anything at all. No need to watch this video.
HI Mathias, You're right that MS isn't disabling VBA. They are however locking macro-containing workbooks obtained from the internet if they contain MOTW. If they're from a Trusted Publisher or saved in a Trusted Location, you won't have any issues. As for neat tips - this video shows people how to vet VBA code and open the document without letting any VBA code or Events run. I hope that's useful to you like it was for those who have enjoyed it thus far. Thanks for the comments! :)
too bad that VBA isn't going away. that would have been great news. i would love to see it replaced with a better programming language
Hi xybersurfer, There have been talks about eventually doing more with JS, so fingers crossed, maybe they can add libraries to supplement what we have now and help us all someday. I do love VBA, but there are lots of options, for sure. Thanks for the comment! :)
better programming language? you can't improve upon perfection! 😉
@@alquinn8576 no. there is a lot of room for improvement. the limitations become apparent when you use it for larger programs: weak typing, no stacktrace for raised errors, lack of inheritace (only interface inheritance), constructors are parameterless, some ad hoc rules like no possibility to create a dynamic array of anything other than of the type Variant or the ad hoc rule that object values are passed by value like "foo(obj.x)" or the unnecessary distinction between Sub and Function... etc. when i encounter these ad hoc rules it often feels like the designers of VB were really good at creating unnecessary work. i think C# would be much better suited. have you ever tried a language other than VBA?
@@xybersurfer Al Quinn has used C++ but what you think of flaws, Al Quinn thinks are quirks. Al Quinn likes the quirky
@@alquinn8576 I love this. Big fat heart on your comment!
Hello sir, I know it is out of context for this video but which books do you recommend to be expert on VBA? I am a master student on structural engineering. I want to develop my own programs, userforms and tables etc. about structural engineering for my thesis and later on researches and I put a hierarchy in my head like first study VBA then MATLAB and then go with the Python. I don't know whether this is true but in the undergraduate one of my instructors said that VBA should be the starting point for structural engineers 'cause we solve problems which includes matrices and you can cover up easily with it. The reason why I ask for a book is that watching videos can be exhausting for me. I already bought a education set for VBA which is told by a guy who works for Microsoft in Germany but at some point he started to go for another direction which is not appropriate for me. I try to apply the codes as I watch the videos and then I note them for remembering it. It kills both my brain and eyes. I am already dumb and have glasses 🤣. Could you help about it? Respect from Turkey.
Sure, Alperen, I like any books by Bill Jelen (MrExcel) and Tracy Syrstad on the subject. The dummies series are good, most books on the subject will have decent examples for you. All of my video courses also have commented code that you can experiment with as well as clean workbooks to follow along with (at www.excelvbaisfun.com/shop)
Hope that helps.
@@ExcelVbaIsFun Thanks sir. I am appreciated for it.
@@alperenozen7582 Very welcome, Alperen!