Home → End User Setup → Configuring Excel → Excel Macro Security Settings
Applies to: All products that run as Excel add-ins
I know that Palisade add-ins include some macro code, but I am concerned about security. How should I set up Excel for the greatest possible security that is compatible with Palisade software?
Since about 2003, all of our products have been digitally signed. Excel treats digitally signed macros differently from those that are not digitally signed, and this lets you maintain a higher level of security while still running macros from trusted sources like Palisade.
With digitally signed versions of our software, here are the recommended settings.
Excel 2010, Excel 2013, Excel 2016:
Click File » Options » Trust Center » Trust Center Settings » Macro Settings. Select "Disable all macros except digitally signed macros" or "Disable all macros with notification" and click OK.
Optional but recommended:
Add your Palisade folder as a trusted location, as follows. In Excel Options » Trust Center » Trust Center Settings » Trusted Locations, click "Add new location". Browse to the Palisade folder — usually C:\Program Files (x86)\Palisade or C:\Program Files\Palisade — select "Subfolders of this location are also trusted", and click OK.
(In theory, this should not be necessary. In practice, it sometimes solves permissions problems.)
In Trust Center Settings » Add-ins, if "Disable all Application Add-ins" has a check mark, remove it.
Also in Trust Center Settings » Add-ins, "Require Application Add-ins to be signed by Trusted Publisher" should not be checked (ticked). If you do need this option checked, you must also add your Palisade folder as a trusted location (second bullet).
Excel 2007: Click the round Office button, then Excel Options » Trust Center » Trust Center Settings » Macro Settings. Select "Disable all macros except digitally signed macros" or "Disable all macros with notification" and click OK.
Excel 2003: Click Tools » Macro » Security and select Medium or High. In the same dialog, on the Trusted Publishers tab, make sure that "Trust all installed add-ins and templates" has a check mark. Click OK.
If you have versions of our products that were released before 2003, you will need to set macro security to Low in Excel 2003, and you will not be able to run those older products at all in Excel 2007 or later.
See also: Group Policy and Office Customization Tool Settings: Technical Reference
Last edited: 2017-12-18