A VBA macro that is set up to run during a slide show presentation does not run as expected in PowerPoint 2003 (827116)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2003

SYMPTOMS

When you create a Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2003 presentation that contains a Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) macro that is set up to run during a slide show presentation, the macro may not run as expected when you view the slide show.

Note If you view the slide show before you close and save the file for the first time, the macro will run as expected. This behavior occurs only after the document has been saved, closed, and then reopened. When the presentation slide show is viewed, the macro does not run.

CAUSE

This behavior occurs because the default PowerPoint 2003 security setting for macros is High and does not permit the macro to run.

RESOLUTION

To resolve this behavior, you can digitally sign a macro project and then trust the digital signature in PowerPoint.

To digitally sign a file or a macro project, use a digital certificate. If you do not already have a digital certificate, you must obtain one.

You can obtain a digital certificate from one of the following sources:
  • A commercial certification authority, such as VeriSign.
  • Your internal security administrator or Information Technology (IT) professional.
  • You can create a digital signature yourself by using the Digital Certificate for VBA Projects utility in Microsoft Office Tools.
To create a digital certificate for your own use, follow these steps:
  1. Click Start, point to All Programs, point to Microsoft Office Tools, and then click Digital Certificate for VBA Projects.
  2. In the Create Digital Certificate dialog box, type the name that you want to give to your certificate, and then click OK.

    In the SelfCert Success dialog box, click OK.
Note Because a digital certificate that you create yourself is not issued by a formal certification authority, macro projects that are signed by using such a certificate are referred to as self-signed projects. Depending on how Office digital-signature features are being used in your organization, you might be prevented from using such a certificate and other users might not be able to run self-signed macros for security reasons.

To digitally sign your macro project, follow these steps:
  1. Obtain a digital signature from one of the sources listed earlier in this article.
  2. Open the PowerPoint presentation that contains the macro project that you want to sign.
  3. On the Tools menu, point to Macro, and then click Visual Basic Editor.
  4. In the Project Explorer, select the project that you want to sign.
  5. On the Tools menu, click Digital Signature.
  6. Do one of the following:
    • If you have not previously selected a digital certificate or you want to use another one, click Choose, select the certificate that you want to use, and then click OK two times.
    • To use the current certificate, click OK.

WORKAROUND

To work around this behavior, change the macro security setting before you reopen the presentation. Use this workaround only if you cannot obtain a digital signature.

Note Microsoft recommends that you use the digital signatures that are mentioned in the "Resolution" section of this article instead of lowering your macro security settings.

To change the macro security setting, follow these steps:
  1. Start PowerPoint.
  2. On the Tools menu, point to Macro, and then click Security.
  3. In the Security dialog box, click Medium, and then click OK.
When you open a presentation that contains a macro you will be warned that the presentation contains a macro, if you click Enable Macros, the macro runs as expected when it is triggered.

If you select Low as your security setting, the macro runs with no warning message when it is triggered.

Note You must change the security setting, save, close, and then reopen the presentation before the new setting takes effect. If you change the setting while the presentation is open, the macro will not run until you reopen it with the new settings.

MORE INFORMATION

For information about how to contact VeriSign, click the appropriate article number in the following list to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

65416 Hardware and Software Third-Party Vendor Contact List, A-K

60781 Hardware and Software Third-Party Vendor Contact List, L-P

60782 Hardware and Software Third-Party Vendor Contact List, Q-Z

Microsoft provides third-party contact information to help you find technical support. This contact information may change without notice. Microsoft does not guarantee the accuracy of this third-party contact information.
The third-party products that this article discusses are manufactured by companies that are independent of Microsoft. Microsoft makes no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding the performance or reliability of these products.
Modification Type:MinorLast Reviewed:8/29/2006
Keywords:kbdigitalsignatures kbProgramming kbslideshow KbVBA kbmacro kbprb KB827116 kbAudEndUser kbAudDeveloper
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