Powerful PowerPoint for Educators: Using Visual Basic for Applications to Make PowerPoint Interactive

Figure 3.1. Do You Want to Enable Macros?
In newer versions of PowerPoint (including PowerPoint 2002), un der the
Security tab, there is a but ton for “Macro security . . . ” (see Figure 3.2).
Figure 3.2. Se curity Tab Un der Op tions
Click this button to bring up the Macro Security di alog box (see Fig ure 3.3).
You can choose high, medium, or low security. If you choose high security,
you will not be able to use VBA. Medium security is prob ably your best choice.
You will be able to run PowerPoint presentations that contain VBA, but you will
be asked if you want to enable macros before PowerPoint opens the pre sentation
(see Fig ure 3.1). With low se curity, you will be able to open all PowerPoint pre-
sentations without be ing asked if you want to enable macros.
38 In tro duc ing Vi sual Ba sic for Ap pli ca tions

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Be careful when you click on the “Enable Macros” but ton. If the slide show
was written by you or someone you trust, choose En able Macros. If not, it is gen-
erally a good idea to choose Disable Macros because some un scrupulous person
might have in cluded a vi rus in your file. Your students, when running your pre-
sentation, will have to choose Enable Macros.
Fig ure 3.3. Macro Se cu rity Di a log Box
Con clu sion
You now have a basic un derstanding of what VBA is and how it fits into the 
world of ob ject-oriented pro gramming languages. You also know the relation-
ship between VBA scripts and macro vi ruses (although you would never use
VBA for ne farious pur poses). You are now ready to learn how to write VBA
scripts.
Ex er cises to Try
Ä
If you use a newer version of PowerPoint, set your macro se cu-
rity to medium or low. If you use an older ver sion of PowerPoint,
en able macro pro tec tion.
Ä
Look at a simple PowerPoint pre sentation that you have created
in the past. Using pen cil and pa per (or a drawing pro gram or an
organization chart slide in PowerPoint), try to draw a chart of all
the parts of the presentation. Put the presentation at the top (you
can call it