Why cant I enable macros in Word?

The MerusCase QuickSave Macro allows you to quickly and easily make changes to any Word documents in MerusCase. Just download the document, make any necessary changes to the content, and click the Quicksave button to upload the document right back to your Case File.

Enabling Macros in Microsoft Word 2016 and Microsoft Word 2013

1. Click the File tab.

2. Click Options.

3. Click Trust Center, and then click Trust Center Settings.

4. In the Trust Center, click Macro Settings.

5. Select the option labeled “Enable all macros”.

6. Click OK.

Enabling Macros in Microsoft Word 2010 and Microsoft Word 2007

1. Click the Microsoft Office Button.

2. Click Access Options.

3. Click Trust Center, and then click Trust Center Settings.

4. In the Trust Center, click Macro Settings.

5. Select the option labeled “Enable all macros”.

6. Click OK.

Enabling Macros in Word for Mac 2011

1. In the Word menu, click Preferences.

2. Under Personal Settings, click Security.

3. Clear the check box labeled “Warn before opening a file that contains macros”.

Macros in Word 2016 for Mac

Word for Mac 2016 (the version included in Office365 for Mac) does not currently have support for Third-Party macros. This means, as much as we would like there to be, there is no way to enable the Quicksave macro in this version of Word. However, please take a look at our Save to Merus Add-In for Microsoft Office, which is compatible with Word 2016 for Mac.

Files from the internet are often put into ‘Protected View’ by default in Word. Using ‘Protected View’ you can read a file and see its contents but you reduce the ability to edit the document or have it function with outside systems, such as MerusCase.

Exiting Protected View to edit, save, or printing

In order to edit, save, or print a document that has been opened up in ‘Protected View’ you may either -

1. On the yellow Message Bar that appears when first opened, click ‘Enable Editing’.

2. If the Message Bar is no longer there or is red, click ‘File’ then ‘Edit Anyway’.

Changing my ‘Protected View’ Settings

To keep ‘Protected View’ from continuing to be a problem you may adjust the settings to lessen how often it defaults to ‘Protected View’ or disable it all together. Before completely disabling it please contact your IT administrator.

1. Click ‘File’ then ‘Options’.

2. Click ‘Trust Center’ then ‘Trust Center Settings’ and ‘Protected View’.

3. Adjust settings by checking and unchecking selection boxes and clicking ‘Okay’. MerusCase suggests at the very least unselecting the ‘Enable Protected View for files originating from the Internet’ and clicking ‘Okay’.

Additional Information on ‘Protected View’

For more information on ‘Protected View’ please check out Microsoft’s page about the subject: Microsoft Office - ‘Protected View’.

eMarking Assistant and Rubric-O-Matic use Microsoft Word macros to provide functions which will help you mark assignments and provided feedback. However, macros can also be potentially harmful and you should only enable macros from trusted sources. The macros in the eMarking Assistant and Rubric-O-Matic documents have been locked to prevent modification or inclusion of malicious macros.

It is important that you do not change the security settings in Word (FILE > Options > Trust center > Trust center Settings > Macro settings & Protected view) so all macros in all documents are enabled without notice (see video at the end of this page).  The safest options are to set Word to open documents in Protected mode and disable macros but to notify you so you can override these on a document by document basis.

Depending on what version of Microsoft Word you are using your screen might look different but the general process is similar (see video at the end of this page). You can also find information by searching for your version of Word and “enable macros” or “protected mode” or “enable content” or “enable editing” or “reading mode” e.g. “Word 2013 enable macros”.

“Protected mode” is displayed at the top of the document

Recent versions of Windows and Office record where the file was downloaded from. If the file came from the internet or a network drive, the file is often opened in “protected mode” and you need  to follow the prompts to “edit it” before you can use eMarking Assistant”. Sometimes Word will say that the file is “potentially dangerous”.

“Enable content” or “Enable macros” is displayed at the top of the document

When you open the document you may see a pink or yellow ribbon at the top of the document saying that you need to Enable Content or Enable Editing or Enable Macros before you can start using eMarking Assistant.

The document is opened in “Reading mode”

Recent versions of Windows and Office may open the file in “Reading mode” which displays in a large font and you need to open the VIEW menu and select Edit document before you can use eMarking Assistant.

Old versions of Word might ask “Do you want to enable macros in this document”

Tick the box to enable macros in this document.

Old versions of Word might not display anything

Word macro security settings

Some versions of Word will be set to disable all macros without notification. All versions of Word have 4 settings as shown in the following image. In this case you should change the security level to disable all macros with notification and this will allow you to decide on a document by document basis if you want to enable or disable the macros.

Why won't my macros enable?

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Why are macros greyed out?

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