XL: Recently Used File List Disabled

ID: Q158159

The information in this article applies to:
  • Microsoft Excel for Windows, version 5.0
  • Microsoft Excel for Windows 95, version 7.0
  • Microsoft Excel 97 for Windows

SYMPTOMS

The most recently used file list located on the File menu is unavailable. After you enable the Recently Used File List option in the Options dialog box and restart Microsoft Excel, the recently used file list is still unavailable.


CAUSE

The Most Recently Used (MRU) list of files list located on the File menu will be unavailable after installing the Microsoft Excel Virus Search 1.2 Add-In, Xlscan.xla. The Recent File List is unavailable to prevent the spreading of viruses. After you install the Virus Search add-in, all workbooks and workbook templates that you open by clicking Open on the File menu or by clicking the Open button on the Standard toolbar are checked automatically for macros.


WORKAROUND

To make the most recently used file list available on the File menu, do the following:

  1. On the Tools menu, click Options.


  2. Click the General tab.


  3. Select the Recently Used File List option.


  4. Click OK.


This is a temporary solution, because the Recently Used File List is unavailable when you restart Microsoft Excel. This setting can be automatically turned on through a Visual Basic for Applications macro.

Microsoft provides examples of Visual Basic for Applications procedures for illustration only, without warranty either expressed or implied, including, but not limited to the implied warranties of merchantability and/or fitness for a particular purpose. The Visual Basic procedures in this article are provided 'as is' and Microsoft does not guarantee that they can be used in all situations. While Microsoft support professionals can help explain the functionality of a particular macro, they will not modify these examples to provide added functionality, nor will they help you construct macros to meet your specific needs. If you have limited programming experience, you may want to consult one of the Microsoft Solution Providers. Solution Providers offer a wide range of fee-based services, including creating custom macros. For more information about Microsoft Solution Providers, call Microsoft Customer Information Service at (800) 426-9400.

The following macro will turn on the Recently Used File List. 

   Sub Auto_Open()
       Application.DisplayRecentFiles = True
   End Sub
Enter the macro code on a module sheet. For the macro to open every time you start Microsoft Excel, put this macro in the Personal.xls file which is saved in the "C:\MSOffice\Excel\XLStart" folder. The location of the XLStart folder may be different depending on what you chose during setup.

NOTE: If you open a workbook from the Microsoft Excel Recent File List, Windows File Manager, Windows Explorer, an electronic mail message, or from a Web browser (such as the Microsoft Internet Explorer), the workbook is not checked automatically for macros that might contain viruses. If you open workbooks in any of these ways, or if you decide to open a workbook with macros, you can check these workbooks as follows and remove the Laroux virus before you save the workbooks or pass the virus on to other workbooks.

To clear the virus from open workbooks:

  1. On the Tools menu, click Virus Search.


  2. Click Yes when you are prompted to search for the virus.


  3. Select Currently Open Workbooks and then click OK.


  4. If the Virus Search add-in reports that the Laroux virus was found and removed from a workbook, it prompts you to save the workbook. Click Yes, so that the clean copy of the workbook replaces the infected copy on your disk.



STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the Microsoft products listed at the beginning of this article. We are researching this problem and will post new information here in the Microsoft Knowledge Base as it becomes available.


MORE INFORMATION

The Microsoft Excel Virus Search 1.2 Add-In, Xlscan.xla, is a tool that protects you against the ExcelMacro/Laroux macro virus and will help identify other macro viruses.

The Microsoft Excel ExcelMacro/Laroux macro is a nonharmful, nondestructive concept virus that appends a module sheet named "Laroux" to a workbook. It does not harm data or files in any way. This is the first replicating macro virus ever discovered in Microsoft Excel. The virus only affects workbooks created in Microsoft Excel version 5.0 for Windows, Microsoft Excel version 5.0 for Windows NT, and Microsoft Excel 7.0 for Windows 95 and Windows NT, including certain localized versions of Microsoft Excel (for example, versions of Microsoft Excel translated to German). This virus does not affect earlier versions of Microsoft Excel for Windows and it does not affect any version of Microsoft Excel for the Macintosh. Information about the Microsoft Excel ExcelMacro/Laroux virus can be found at Microsoft's World Wide Web Site at

http://www.microsoft.com/excel.
The Microsoft Excel Virus Search 1.2 Add-In macro can be downloaded from
http://www.microsoft.com/excel/productinfo/vbavirus/add_in.htm.
For additional information on the Laroux macro virus, please see the following article(s) in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
Q154131 XL: Q&A about Excel Macro/Laroux Macro Virus

Q150990 WE1280: Virus Search Add-in, Version 1.2 Is Available

Additional query words: web

Keywords : xlvbahowto xladdins xlweb
Version : WINDOWS:5.0,7.0
Platform : WINDOWS
Issue type :


Last Reviewed: November 4, 1999
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