If the certificate was created using the SELFCERT program, it will automatically be installed on the computer where it was run.
Next, you will need to have your code-signing certificate ready. The same applies to other Office programs that support macros. In Word 2016, documents containing macros must be saved as the Word Macro-Enabled Document type.
Make sure that Developer is checked under Main Tabs and you are ready to go.Įnable the Developer Tab in Word 2016 (Image Credit: Russell Smith)Ĭreate the macro or Visual Basic Application (VBA) that you want to distribute. You will see on the right side of the window options for customization.Then click Customize Ribbon in the right-hand column.Click File, then Options in the column that appears on the right.You can do this by following these steps: Sign an Office Documentįrom within the Microsoft Office applications Excel, PowerPoint, Publisher, Outlook, Visio, and Word, make sure you have the Developer tab enabled in the ribbon. Self-signed certificates are issued by the computer on which they are created and unless exported to another computer, they are only trusted by the device where the certificate was created. You can find the executable in Program Files (x86) > Microsoft Office > root > Office16. You can create a self-signed certificate using the SELFCERT program included in Office 2016. Self-signed certificates should not be used in production environments but can be useful for testing. If you just want to test the code-signing process or some code internally, you can create a self-signed certificate. There is a fee for certificates issued by public CAs and they can vary a lot in price. Certificates issued by any of Microsoft’s certificate root program members will be trusted by Windows. If an internal PKI is not available, then obtaining a certificate from a public certification authority (CA) is the best option. Certificates issued by your organization’s PKI may or may not be trusted automatically by external partners, so you need to make sure you understand who you want to share your document with and the scope of the certificate issued.
If your organization has its own Public Key Infrastructure (PKI), speak to your IT department about how to request a code-signing certificate. There are several ways to obtain a certificate. The best way to do this securely and to keep your document being blocked as potential malware by antivirus software is to sign documents containing code with a certificate. Sometimes, macros prove such a productivity booster that you would like to share them with colleagues and business partners. Macros help save time and headaches by automating repetitive or complex tasks. In today’s Ask the Admin, I’ll show you how to sign Microsoft Office VBA code and macros so they can be distributed securely to business partners.
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