Disable warning messages for external files
- Oct. 3, 2021
 | Example files with this article: |
Introduction
In my previous article, I showed you how you can easily document processes and business rules for a TM1 model. One of the options we discussed, was that you can click on a cell that contains the HYPERLINK function. It will open up the linked file and jump to it. Very useful and saving us precious time !
However, Excel will show us some warning messages that could be (in my opinion) nerve breaking. "Yes Microsoft, I really do know it's an external file, you don't have to inform me every single time I click on such a hyperlink." It's even 2 messages per link, for me at least, so that does not help reducing the blood pressure.
Is there any way to turn off these annoying messages ? It turns out that this is the case. Not in plain Excel with a certain setting, as you would expect. You can look at all the Options with File, the Trust Center, etc. but no possibility there. Not in VBA either: "Application.DisplayAlerts = False" brings no joy. Only option left: the registry ! Silly and amazing the way it is, but to me this seems the only way out.
Registry changes
Below you can find my 4 changes in this domain of warning messages:
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Excel\Security] "ExtensionHardening"=dword:00000002 [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Common\Security] "DisableHyperlinkWarning"=dword:00000001 [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\.RUX_auto_file] "EditFlags"=dword:00010000 [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\.pro_auto_file] "EditFlags"=dword:00010000
Copy/paste the code into a plain text file, and save the file with extension .reg. Then double click the filename, confirm twice and that's it. Make sure to adjust the 16.0 as the Excel version number, and to change/add the extension names (.pro and .RUX in my case). Also, along the way you need to associate for instance Notepad++ as the default app on the PC to open PRO and RUX files, if it's not already the case.
For your information: the code above can be obtained by doing the registry change manually, then export the contents of the key/folder. This will reduce the risk of typos or other errors. Hexadecimal values, decimal values, string values, ... it's easy to make an error and messing around in the registry can have nefarious consequences.
I hope that you can save as much time as I do with these small hacks !
