Excel VBA macro workbook startup - security warning - automatic update of links disabled

Question

I've created an add-in and installed it, but now when I open Excel I get an error pop-up telling me that the add-in file is a security risk and that automatic updating of links is disabled. I've looked it up and it refers to the Windows DDE protocol, but what does that have to do with this add-in? Does anyone know what's happening behind the scenes here?

Thanks

Answer 1

Excel does not know if the add-in is truly trusted so it is killing Dynamic Data Exchange so that your shiny new add-in can't download malicious code without the user knowing it. You are going to want to tell Excel to trust the plugin using the Excel trust center (Office Button > Excel Options > Trust Center > Trust Center Settings Button). Look at both the Add-Ins section and the Macro Settings section.

One thing you might want to consider is signing your code with a certificate (tools > Digital Signature in the Vb editor) and then having your end users add your cert to the trusted publishers. If your end users are in a domain setting, the trusted publishers can be set as a domain policy so the end users won't even have to think about it.