Animations won't run properly?
Files containing macros won't open?

Sometimes when we try to open spreadsheets containing macros the buttons and scroll bars appear as objects that are not connected to the spreadsheets. We can drag these objects around the screen but clicking on them does not make graphs move or animations run.

The problem is that software is trying to protect us from viruses that can hide in macros. Protection isn't a bad thing, but if you are sure you want to run the macros (which means you are sure the files came from a safe source) then you have find a way around the security built into your software.

When dealing with Excel spreadsheets it is likely that the security is coming from within Excel itself. The following steps should allow you to turn down your security settings to run an animation. If you are on a network system you may or may not have permission to complete all of these steps.

• Save the file to a disk or the temp directory of the computer you are using.
• Close the file but remember where it is so that you can open it later.
• Open Excel.
• Go to the Tools menu.
• Click on Options.
• Click on the Security tab.
• Click on the button for Macro Security (bottom right).
• Choose “low”. (It probably says medium or high right now.)
• Click OK (a couple of times) to get back to the Excel screen.
• Now try opening the file from Excel (if you close Excel in the meantime you might have to repeat these steps).
• You should get a dialog box asking you whether it is okay to run the macros. Choose yes.
• You may (or may not) want to change the macro security setting back when you are done.