Skip to content

Macro Security

High Tech Forms uses Word VBA macros for licensing and form automation, including field-to-field table navigation. Open forms in Windows desktop Word; Word for the web does not run VBA macros. These instructions do not establish compatibility with Mac or mobile Word.

Only allow macros for files you know came from High Tech Forms or documents you created from those templates. Do not enable all macros globally or disable Protected View.

A yellow “Macros have been disabled” warning

For a verified High Tech Forms file, select Enable Content if Word offers it. If the file came from an unexpected email or an unknown sender, do not enable it.

In Word, File > Options > Trust Center > Trust Center Settings > Macro Settings shows your settings. “Disable VBA macros with notification” allows a per-file decision where policy permits. Do not change an organization's stricter policy; ask IT for approval instead. You do not need to enable “Trust access to the VBA project object model” to use forms.

A red “source of this file is untrusted” warning

Newer Office security can block internet-origin files without offering Enable Content. This differs from the yellow warning.

For an individual file whose origin you have verified:

  1. Close the file in Word.
  2. Locate the actual template or document in Windows File Explorer.
  3. Right-click it and select Properties.
  4. On General, if Unblock appears, select it and choose Apply, then OK.
  5. Reopen the file in Word and review any remaining warning.

If no Unblock option appears, or macros remain blocked, contact your IT administrator or High Tech Forms Support. Organizational policies can still block a file after it is unblocked.

Trusted locations

An IT-approved folder dedicated to verified High Tech Forms files may be configured through File > Options > Trust Center > Trust Center Settings > Trusted Locations. Files there bypass important security checks: do not trust Downloads, your entire Documents folder, a drive root, or a general shared folder. Ask IT before adding a location and do not bypass managed policy.

If automation still does not work

  • Start the document from the Software Manager rather than editing the template directly.
  • Confirm that macros are permitted for that file.
  • Supply support with your Word version (File > Account > About Word), the form name, and the exact warning text. Do not send confidential form data unnecessarily.
  • See table navigation if Tab is moving through ordinary cells instead of fillable fields.

Older instructions and references

The old Word 2007–2016 security guidance is superseded by this page: changing a macro setting alone does not override current internet-file blocking or IT policy.