word 2003

Hello
I went to open a word document and a box kept appeararing that was difficut to undertsand but had to do with macros.
The box would not allow me to run my pc as it kept asking if I should keep changes etc.
I don't know where it came from or what it means.
I had to image to recover my system .
I would supply more information if I were able to but "macros" stuck out.
In the future, what can I do when this very long and confusing dialogue box appears and ties me up?
Thank you

 

Some Office documents, inc Word documents contain self executing code, a macro, and as any self executing code can be dangerous Windows wants you to confirm that you are happy for this code to run. If the document is one you have created yourself it's probably OK, but if it's a document you have received in an email, or have downloaded from a website, it may not be.

So where did this particular document come from?

 

>>I copied and pasted some words from another website who gave me instructions about another matter.
How do you avoid having this problem occur if you need to put this information in your word document?

 

If it was simply text that you copied and pasted there really shouldn't be any problem, but if what you copied included what is called a Code Box that would explain the problem. A code box looks similar to a quote box and is usually headed Code.

Is that the case?

 

When one uses the pc, many issues are taking place all at once. I cannot recall pasting the code you describe.
Is there some way to avoid having this happen again, such as;
-some place I can disable, if advisable
-some tasks not to perform with Word
-any other task that you can think of to avoid this

It is the first time it has occured and I am not skilled enough to know how to respond to that dialogue box.
I am leery of Word because of its complexities for a llimited level user.
I have an all in one that needs Word to function so I cannot revert back to my word works processer I liked so much.
Thank you for your help

 

Hello
I wanted to impart the information below to you.

"If you have trouble with a macro dialogue box in Word = Save the document as an RTF file. Close the original document, open the RTF file, and save that as a Word document file. That removes the invisible bits that tell Word there is or was a macro in the document."

This sounds good but in My Documents I have 13 Word files so if this occurs I do not know if I should do it to all files or not.
I do not want to expirement that is why I am asking.
Thank you

 

That sounds like a useful procedure, but you would only need to take that action in the event that you get a macro warning when you open a document.

You really need a Word 2003 user to advise you what options it has for macros. Possibly you could disable them completely, but I don't know.

 

In Word 2002 SP3, under Tools > Options, Security tab, at the bottom is a button 'Macro Security'. If it's the same in Word 2003 set it to High, which should automatically disable any macros.

 

I understand and appreciate your help.
Thank you for the information.

 

>>I am going to follow your advice but for learning purposes, I was curous. If I removed Word then reinstalled it, the problem may go away but probably all my Word files would be gone too, correct?

 

Fortunately not. Your Word files will remain where they are, and uninstalling the program won't affect them at all. However there is zero chance that reinstalling Word will make any difference to how it deals with macros, so just make sure the security setting is on high and you shouldn't be troubled again.

 

If you go to Tools, Macro, and select Macros, how many macros do you see listed there? You can delete macros from that screen.

 

>>I have learned a lot about the issue from you and I thank you for your cooperation.
Btw, when the problem occured, I Googled it and was told about the macro setting. It was on high but the dialogue box would not go away. This dialogue box went on to discuss ceritficates and "enabling something".
I could not find out where I could enable anything like this and the box never said where to go to do this. I have read help in Word without much success.
I know I have asked a lot of you so we can call it a day if you wish with my thanx. if you know about enabling, perhaps you could tell me where to do so.
In any case thank you

 

I wanted you to know that ultimatly I uninstalled Word and installed the suite. It did fix the problem. I did everything under the sun before doing this.
I have a question;
Under folders> view, if you check to show hidden file extensions then rename a file, a question comes up and says '"if you change this it will... I forgot the rest.
Will this bring me right back to the macro issue again?
I have left it so I cannot see the extensions so I hope the issue will not return.

 

I recommend you keep the file extensions showing, as they are important to the correct operation of Windows programs. Renaming a file and not adding the correct extension will cause unexpected problems, such as the file not being listed when you do a File > Open in Word for instance.

 

>>OK, That is what I will do.
I guess you can change the name before the period but not the extension after the dot.
You should not save a .doc as a.rtf for example.
I wonder if hiding or not hiding the extensions is the default?
For unskilled folks like myself, if the extension was not showing you could not change it -you could only rename the part in front of the dot.
Example - if there was a word file named tree.doc and the extension was hidden and I wanted to rename it I would only see 'tree' and rename it 'shrub'. The extension would not change, correct?

 

That's a good post peterr. Experienced users will always keep file extensions in view, yet maybe you are right - for those less experienced it may indeed be better not to show them, then as you say, they cannot forget to add the extension when renaming.

It is OK to change an extension providing the extension you change to is readable by the program you want to use. As Word can read both .doc and .rtf files that particular change would be OK. Changing the extension to .xls for example would cause Excel to try to open the file, which is not such a good idea

 

Thank you Earthling
I understand about Word recognizing both .doc + .rtf and now have a better comprehension of extensions.
I will stick with the default until I am more familiar with software, then will expose the extensions.
I think this will minimize error for now as I am renaming files and folders quite often.

 

I didn't explain this as well as I might have done :-o If you open Word first, and then ask it to open a particular file, it won't even look at the file extension, only at the format of the file. If it's in a format the program recognises it will open it regardless of its extension.

OTOH if you click on a file in Windows Explorer, Windows checks to see which program is associated with that file extension and tries to open the file with it. If the file format is one recognised by the program it will open. Otherwise you get an error message.

I really shouldn't be answering posts while watching Wimbledon semi-finals

 

Relax with tennis and put this aside for a rainy day.
I am unclear as to what this means to me as far as danger goes, so when you have time, I would be interested in hearing about it.
I too hope we are nearing the end of word but I don't want a problem.
Fyi, I was researching Word issues and found an article that said Norton has trouble with Word. You are supposed to disable or remove a plug in but I have no idea what that meant.

 

I looked in earlier, but got side tracked watching Ghana, and Holland- sorry.
I used macro's in excel and word, inadvertently,as I used to reference cells to thers and to other work pages, and had the macro warning when using another computer to open my files- I am not much more conversant with macro's, but I found , basically,if it was on a document that I created, then I would click to enable macro's, but if it was not on a document that I created, then I would I would click to accept not enabling macro's, in case it was a virus/trojan attempt.
For me, that lasted until I retired, and I never had a problem. So if you are asked -this document has macro's and they have been disabled, then just click o'k. I found that did not stop me using the document. Otherwise , if you look at the top menu, I seem to remember that it is on the main drop down from menu, that gives you a large box of areas to allow, save every 10 minutes etc: and you just tick the box to enable/disable macro's.

 

Holland is doing an amazing job.
I retired in 93 and have only been around pcs for about 9 years.
I have learned what I know through forums like this.
I did have a major problem before.
When I tried to close a word file, a box popped up saying a change had been made since it was established and I had a yes or no choice. Regrdless of the answer the box would not go away. I used task manager to escape. I purged my flash drives by pasting the contents to desktop then scanning. I then copied to a flash drive I formatted. I always do a system backup(image - Acronis) with my external hard drive so I replaced that backup with the one which was purged of the problem.
I purged by uninstalling word then installing the Suite with the 25 updates.
Finally all ran well.
I guess I opened Pandora's box because it has created a lot of speculation as to the cause.
I have been using the machine for years and not bumped into so many variables like hidden files, macros, unknown file extensions etc.
It isn't easy going for old guys but I take it as it comes and hope one of the several problems that can occur do not do so.
Each issue is a learning experience, however, this one was less well defined than previous problems.
Enjoy your retirement and keep busy. I like the grand children, pcing, walking while I learn Spanish, crossword puzzles, and of course the company of my wife of 40+ years.
Thank you for the help.