Macros For Excel

You may have noticed when you open the Excel Master files you have downloaded, Excel will likely open the files in "Protected Mode". The reason this happens is that Excel allows you to create macros. Macros are a program written to eliminate the need to redo common tasks. For example, you can create a macro to calculate the future value of a growing annuity, a function that is not readily available in Excel. However, in using a spreadsheet created by someone else, there is the possibility that they have written a malicious macro in to the Excel workbook. As this article explains, using the Protected Mode allows you to see everything that is coded into the workbook without allowing the workbook access to your computer, thus preventing a malicious code from being loaded onto your computer.