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Can I ENABLE the "enable editing" protection on one file after I greenlit it?

  1. #1
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    Can I ENABLE the "enable editing" protection on one file after I greenlit it?

    Every place I've looked, people only want to *disable* the protection as it's a nuisance and it some circumstances it merely slows them down. However I'm trying to "turn on" protection for an individual file. (I already have the Trust Center settings clicked.)

    Here's a sequence I did. Windows 10, Excel 365 (jeez Louise, I THINK that means 2016)
    1. Saved foo.xlsx from an email to a C: folder
    2. Opened foo.xlsx
    3. Got the yellow banner Protection warning "~~files from the Internet are not safe"
    4. Closed the file. (BTW it did what I wanted or expected.)
    5. Outside of Excel, copied foo.xlsx to test.xlsx
    6. Opened test.xlsx
    7. Got the yellow banner "Protected view - be careful..." and the button to enable
    8. I clicked to Enable editing.

    Now apparently this unflags the file properties. In explorer file properties, it does not show the blurb at the bottom "this file came from another computer...", nor now does it have the checkbox to unblock the file in the properties dialog. I'll regard that as a nice convenience, that it "remembers."

    First, verify or assert that the above happens to you, and that I'm not in a misbehaving condition; I say that because it "seems" to permanently unflag some "protected" or "unsafe" file property when you click "Enable editing". (If on your box, if it asks again the next time you open it, maybe I have a configuration issue)

    But here's an apparently nasty side effect. If I delete test.xlsx, and do steps 5 and 6 again, no banner warning now, and no blurb on the file properties! It's as though Excel didn't just unflag the file itself, but set up some kind of "trust" for any file named test.xlsx. You see, foo is still "dirty" so to speak, and I want Protected View to occur when I open any copy of foo. It DID do that the first time, but after I Enabled Editing, now, even a freshly created test.xlsx doesn't get the banner.

    The danger is that when I copy some other downloaded file to delme.xlsx, will it get the banner, or is that a "trusted" filename now?

    I know that .xlsx suggests no macros so this might be regarded as overkill paranoia, but the truth is that I actually want the banner prompt in this circumstance.

    So: is there a way to "untrust" delme.xlsx?

    Bonus question: is there a way to "reflag" a file? You know, when you right click the folder entry and view properties, once you tick the checkbox to unblock a file, you aren't given an opportunity to reverse your choice.
    Chip, if you can read this, you're STILL making the world a better place with your immeasurably valuable gifts. Every week, you continue to help me (and untold numbers of others) tremendously. Practically no alternative outlets can match your effectiveness, even over the vast number of topics you demystify and empower usage of. You were, and still are, amazing.

  2. #2
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    Re: Can I ENABLE the "enable editing" protection on one file after I greenlit it?

    Update: I just thought WTH, search the registry - and I found c:\test.xlsx here:

    Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Excel\Security\Trusted Documents\TrustRecords

    Is the upshot that I just need to delete it from here?

    If so, it's unsettling, because that means that every time I greenlight test.xlsx or scratch.xlsx, even when I copy a new spreadsheet to it, the "name" is sacred - not just the contents of a file that I greenlit.

    If this is what's causing Excel to not warn on the file, I'd like to turn that "feature, not a bug" OFF if you know how. I'm happy just to rely on the actual file *contents* itself being unflagged (i.e., as seen in the "Property" you can see in the Folder entry for the file). I don't want every file named test.xlsx to be green-lit for the rest of eternity. Virus writers should be pleased with it though. They all say thanks, Microsoft! A nine year old will be able to exploit this

  3. #3
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    Re: Can I ENABLE the "enable editing" protection on one file after I greenlit it?

    As far as I can tell, the above mentioned registry location is in fact the trigger for "permanent" greenlighting. I deleted the entry, reopened test.xlsx, and the warning now appears. Please let me know if anyone knows a way to inhibit that registry entry from forming. If there isn't any direct way via configuration, I can write some personal.xls code if anyone can identify a telltale sign that the file was greenlit, or the that the registry entry creation occurred. My worst case envisioning, if all other avenues are useless, would be to walk through the registry entries and compare wb.name to each as I do App_WorkbookOpen(ByVal wb As Workbook) in personal's EventClass. That is just so gruesome an idea.

    A more practical approach might be if there was some telltale (like an event) that gives evidence that I have just answered "enable editing", then I could have the WorkbookOpen code ask me if I want that filename permanently blessed, and if I answer no, it could delete the registry entry.

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