WD98: File Based on Business Plan Template Gives Macro Warning (185132)

SYMPTOMS

When you create a new document or open an existing document based on the Business Plan template, the following warning message may be displayed multiple times:

The Workbook you are opening contains macros. You should make sure to only open documents with macros that are from trusted sources, since some macros may contain harmful viruses.

CAUSE

When you install Business Tools and Templates from the Value Pack, Business Plan Document (Microsoft Word template) and Business Plan Workbook (Microsoft Excel workbook) are created in the Planning folder of the Templates folder. Because the Excel workbook contains macros, Excel displays the warning message. The Word template contains several automatic links to the Microsoft Excel workbook.

With the option for "Update automatic links at open" enabled in Word 98, Word starts Excel to update each of the automatic links in the Word document. With Macro virus protection enabled, the Business Plan Workbook is opened in Excel, and the message is displayed for each link in the Word document. Because the Word template is linked to the Microsoft Excel workbook, the correct source for the links must be updated before the document is opened. (This is the cause for this particular template taking a long time to open.)

When you open a document based on the Business Plan template, you may receive a message stating:

The action cannot be completed because Microsoft Excel is Busy

If this message appears, click Retry. This indicates Word is updating the links in the document but is timing out when updating the link. When you click Retry, you are able to continue opening the document.

RESOLUTION

To resolve this problem, use one of the following methods.

Method 1: Disable Update Automatic Links At Open

To disable the Update Automatic Links At Open feature, follow these steps:

On the Tools menu, click Preferences, and then click General.
Click to clear the "Update automatic links at Open" check box.

When you use this method, Word will not update the links in the template. It will create the links to the Excel workbook without updating them. If the Word template has not been saved with the updated link information, the link information may not be current.

If you are creating a document for the first time based on the Word template, the link information will not be current. Therefore, each link to the Microsoft Excel workbook will need to be updated manually. If you click Update Now after updating the source for the links, the macro warning listed at the beginning of the article is displayed for each link.

To manually update the link, follow these steps:

On the Edit menu, click Links.
Select the link.
Click Change Source.
Select the source file, and click Open.
Click Update Now.

Method 2: Disable Macro Virus Protection

To disable macro virus protection, follow these steps:

On the Tools menu, click Preferences, and then click General.
Click to clear Macro Virus Protection check box.

CAUTION: This method will disable the macro warning message; however, this will leave Excel 98 vulnerable to macro viruses. Once you have completed the task, enable the Macro Virus Protection in Excel.