Microsoft Excel ActiveX Controls Disabled?

Question

I have some Excel worksheets that use ActiveX checkboxes to control certain activity. They worked recently but today started to give errors. I was alerted to this by a colleague, but it was still working on my computer. I checked his version of Excel against mine and his was newer. I noticed there were new Windows updates, so I did the update. After I applied pending updates, it now no longer works on my computer. I cannot check the ActiveX checkboxes any longer, and, as a part of trying to debug, it appears I cannot even add an ActiveX control to any worksheet, even a new worksheet, any more. I get an error dialog that says, "Cannot insert object." (I can still add form controls, just not ActiveX.) Anyone else experiencing this after a recent update? Any suggestions?

Thanks,

Mike

Answer 1

I know many answers have already been posted for this, but neither one answer independently worked for my site. So here is what worked for me:

Step 1: Uninstall the following updates - KB2920789, KB2920790, KB2920792, KB2920793, KB2984942, KB2596927

Step 2: Hide these updates so they do not get installed on subsequent reboots

Step 3: Delete folder Excel8.0 from C:\Users\<>\AppData\Local\Temp

Step 4: Restart workstatiion (I would also make sure the above mentioned KBs did not inadvertently get applied)

Answer 2

Simplified instructions for end-users. Feel free to copy/paste the following.

Here’s how to fix the problem when it comes up:

1. Close all your Office programs and files.
2. Open Windows Explorer and type %TEMP% into the address bar, then press Enter. This will take you into the system temporary folder.
3. Locate and delete the following folders: Excel8.0, VBE, Word8.0
4. Now try to use your file again, it shouldn't have any problems.

You might need to wait until the problem occurs in order for this fix to work. Applying it prematurely (before the Windows Update gets installed on your system) won't help.

Answer 3

Advice in KB and above didn't work for me. I discovered that if one Excel 2007 user (with or without the security update; not sure of exact circumstances that cause this) saves the file, the original error returns.

I discovered that the fastest way to repair the file again is to delete all the VBA code. Save. Then replace the VBA code (copy/paste). Save. Before attempting this, I delete the .EXD files first, because otherwise I get an error on open.

In my case, I cannot upgrade/update all users of my Excel file in various locations. Since the problem comes back after some users save the Excel file, I am going to have to replace the ActiveX control with something else.

Answer 4

It was KB2553154. Microsoft needs to release a fix. As a developer of Excel applications we can't go to all our clients computers and delete files off them. We are getting blamed for something Microsoft caused.

Answer 5

I'm an Excel developer, and I definitely felt the pain when this happened. Fortunately, I was able to find a workaround by renaming the MSForms.exd files in VBA even when Excel is running, which also can fix the issue. Excel developers who need to distribute their spreadsheets can add the following VBA code to their spreadsheets to make them immune to the MS update.

Place this code in any module.

Public Sub RenameMSFormsFiles() 
  Const tempFileName As String = "MSForms - Copy.exd"  
  Const msFormsFileName As String = "MSForms.exd"  
  On Error Resume Next 

  'Try to rename the C:\Users\[user.name]\AppData\Local\Temp\Excel8.0\MSForms.exd file  
  RenameFile Environ("TEMP") & "\Excel8.0\" & msFormsFileName, Environ("TEMP") & "\Excel8.0\" & tempFileName 
  'Try to rename the C:\Users\[user.name]\AppData\Local\Temp\VBE\MSForms.exd file  
  RenameFile Environ("TEMP") & "\VBE\" & msFormsFileName, Environ("TEMP") & "\VBE\" & tempFileName 
End Sub  

Private Sub RenameFile(fromFilePath As String, toFilePath As String) 
  If CheckFileExist(fromFilePath) Then 
      DeleteFile toFilePath  
      Name fromFilePath As toFilePath  
  End If  
End Sub

Private Function CheckFileExist(path As String) As Boolean 
  CheckFileExist = (Dir(path) <> "")  
End Function  

Private Sub DeleteFile(path As String) 
  If CheckFileExist(path) Then 
      SetAttr path, vbNormal  
      Kill path  
  End If  
End Sub    

The RenameMSFormsFiles subroutine tries to rename the MSForms.exd files in the C:\Users\[user.name]\AppData\Local\Temp\Excel8.0\ and C:\Users\[user.name]\AppData\Local\Temp\VBE\ folders to MSForms - Copy.exd.

Then call the RenameMSFormsFiles subroutine at the very beginning of the Workbook_Open event.

Private Sub Workbook_Open() 
  RenameMSFormsFiles  
End Sub

The spreadsheet will try to rename the MSForms.exd files when it opens. Obviously, this is not a perfect fix:

1. The affected user will still experience the ActiveX control errors when running the VBA code the very first time opening the spreadsheet. Only after executing the VBA code once and restarting Excel, the issue is fixed. Normally when a user encounters a broken spreadsheet, the knee-jerk reaction is to close Excel and try to open the spreadsheet again. :)
2. The MSForms.exd files are renamed every time the spreadsheet opens, even when there's no issue with the MSForms.exd files. But the spreadsheet will work just fine.

At least for now, Excel developers can continue to distribute their work with this workaround until Microsoft releases a fix.

I've posted this solution here.