How Passwords Can Preserve Your VBA Macros

Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) is an excellent tool for writing and protecting computer programmes that you have written and wish to safely store.

People who regularly spend time creating documents via Microsoft (MS) products may at some point wish there was a new icon that would help them complete tasks even more quickly. For instance, if you have been tasked with entering data into an MS Excel worksheet in order to perform the same calculations it could help you to cut the time spent doing this by creating a new button that fulfils the desired function. In order to do this you would write a straightforward computer programme via VBA that can be integrated into your worksheet. The macros can be as detailed or straightforward as you like depending on the number of functions you wish the programme to perform.

VBA is easily-accessible in several MS products, including Excel, Word and Access, which means that in any of these applications you can write mini programmes to add more functions that suit the nature of your work. The idea of computer programming instils fear in some PC users but VBA strives to remove any doubts you may have about writing your own macros, if you prefer you can attend training courses that can help expand your knowledge on the subject. Macros are a great way to personalise your MS products, you can create shortcut calculations in MS Excel and change task bars in MS Word to suit you.

If you find you regularly need to apply a certain kind of formatting to documents for example, like indenting, you can write the programme then link it to a new icon - you simply have to press this each time you would like to activate the macro. Once you have spent some time developing your own programmes, it is likely that you will want to protect them from being changed. You may work in a busy office environment where constant use of a workbook may unintentionally lead to your macro being disabled or destroyed.

In order to prevent this happening you can add a password to your macro, so you can be sure that it will not be changed or damaged. Some computer users find that their macro can be applied throughout their company and may assist teams in their daily tasks. VBA allows you to share your macros with others by sending them to those who require the additional functions.

So if your department was regularly performing the same calculations on similar kinds of data then you could send your colleagues your macro that could quicken this process. Fellow workers could download the programme and either store it so it is used on just one worksheet or they could save it where it can be accessed by all worksheets saved in MS Excel. With any kind of file sharing there is the possibility that some sent data may contain viruses.

In fact the security measures on MS applications are likely to block your own macros from opening in order to rule out the possibility of damaging files being installed in your hardware. However it is possible to self-sign the security certificates created when you write your macro so that they can automatically open each time you need them. If you receive macros from others that are designed to help you with your daily digital tasks you can be sure that the chances of viruses affecting your computer are kept to a minimum by installing anti-virus software.