Preventing auto_open and Workbook_Open events from running

Today’s author is Jan Karel Pieterse, an Excel MVP. You can find more useful tips from Jan Karel on his website: http://www.jkp-ads.com/. This post provides detailed instructions to prevent auto-open and Workbook-Open events from running.

As a fulltime developer I oftentimes open files containing VBA and want to be able to run code. At the same time I sometimes want to prevent Workbook_Open event code or an Auto_Open macro from running. This little article shows you how to achieve that.

Excel 2010

Macro security set to low or trusted document

If you have set your macro security to "Enable All Macros" or you have already set the document to trusted or the document is in a trusted folder, click File, Open, select your file and hold down the shift key when you click the Open button:

Fig. 1: Selecting the file from the File, Open dialog (Excel 2010)

Of course your file might be listed in the Most Recently Used files (MRU) list.  In that case, hold shift when you click the file in the list:

Fig. 2: Clicking the file on the MRU (Excel 2010)

Doing so will prevent the Workbook_Open event from firing and the Auto_Open macro from running.

Macro security set to prompt

If your document is not in a trusted folder, has never been set to be trusted and macro security is set to something other than enable all macros to run, you can repeat what I've shown above.

Normally, if you open such a document, Excel will show the security bar. In this situation however, due to you holding down shift, Excel shows this window:

Fig. 3: Enable macros dialog (Excel 2010)

Because you held down the shift button when you clicked the file in the MRU or when you clicked the Open button, you can now just click "Enable macros" and no Automacros will run.

Excel 2007

Macro security set to low or trusted document

If you have set your macro security to "Enable All Macros" or you have already set the document to trusted or the document is in a trusted folder, click File, Open, select your file and hold down the shift key when you click the Open button:

Fig. 4: Selecting the file from the File, Open dialog (Excel 2007)

Of course your file might be listed in the Most Recently Used files (MRU) list.  In that case, hold shift when you click the file in the list:

Fig. 5: Clicking the file on the MRU (Excel 2007)

Doing so will prevent the Workbook_Open event from firing and the Auto_Open macro from running.

Macro security set to prompt

If your document is not in a trusted folder, has never been set to be trusted and macro security is set to something other than enable all macros to run, you can repeat what I've shown above.

Normally, if you open such a document, Excel will show the security bar. In this situation however, due to you holding down shift, Excel shows this window:

Fig. 6: Enable macros dialog (Excel 2007)

Because you held down the shift button when you clicked the file in the MRU or when you clicked the Open button, you can now just click "Enable macros" and no Automacros will run.

Excel 97, 2000, XP, 2003

Macro security set to low or trusted document

In case your macro security is set to low, or your VBA code is signed and you have set the publisher as trusted, you must hold down the shift key when you click the Open button on the File, Open dialog:

Fig. 7: Opening the file from the File, Open dialog (Excel 97-2003)

Of course your file might be listed in the Most Recently Used files (MRU) list.  In that case, hold shift when you click the file in the list:

Fig. 8: Clicking the file on the MRU (Excel 97-2003)

Doing so will prevent the Workbook_Open event from firing and the Auto_Open macro from running.

Macro security set to medium or higher

If your macro security is set to at least "Medium" and you have never set its publisher to trusted (for a signed macro) you can forget about holding shift when opening the file or clicking the file on the MRU list. Instead, you must hold shift when you enable macros:

Fig.9: Hold shift when you press Enable macros

Doing so will prevent the Workbook_Open event from firing and the Auto_Open macro from running.