Can you disable an excel spreadsheet after a period of time?

**MSTARS** · 11-12-2008, 04:16 PM

Hi everyone. This is my first post here, and I hope to learn a lot on this forum!!
My name is Chad, and this project I am working on is my first big project in excel for business.

I am currently taking MS Office 2007 in college, and hope this will aid in my project.

I am currently working on a sales script, for telemarketers, the script is to be sold with a liscence for a period of one year.

My question, is there any way to have the customer need to enter in a liscene number before the script will work the first time, and automatically cease working after one year??? (Needed to purchase a new, updated, registered copy?)

**shg** · 11-12-2008, 05:27 PM

One way to do it:

Force the user to enable macros (a topic unto itself, and amply covered here; search for it).

Add a worksheet that is xlVeryHidden (which means it can only be unhdden if you have access to the VBE). Store the expiration date someplace on that sheet.

In the Workbook_Open event (and perhaps occasionally at other times), check the current date. If it's within the expiration date AND not less than any other date on the sheet (to ensure that the user hasn't set the date back), record the current date on a new line and run the sheet normally. If not, exit.

Protect the VBA project with a long and random password.

**MSTARS** · 11-17-2008, 03:46 AM

Okay it took me a while, but, after running through every page I could find and a couple google pages I think I have the first part right but I need confirmation.

I originally used a tutorial to add a splash sheet, that automatically disapears after so many seconds, then after an other tutorial I got this scenario:

I copied and pasted the scripting, and I had to add a new sheet to my workbook which was to be labeled Prompt.
Now, When the workbook is opened, the only sheet available is Prompt,(which I have edited to tell the user to enable macros) until the user clicks "enable macros", then the whole workbook loads.

Using the tutorial I did, I could not get both this and a splash screen to work at the same time.

Is there a good tutorial on how to do this from scratch., After they enable macros, I would Like a new splash screen to pop up.

MORE SPECIFICALLY to the advise you have give me

In the Workbook_Open event (and perhaps occasionally at other times), check the current date. If it's within the expiration date AND not less than any other date on the sheet (to ensure that the user hasn't set the date back), record the current date on a new line and run the sheet normally. If not, exit.

What is the code for this? I have veryhidden the sheet and located the Workbook open event.