Creating a tamper-proof template

[Rudi]

Hi,

One of the personnel in my companies marketing dept. has approached me to ask for assistance in "locking down" a business template. This template will be used thoughout the company and this persons ideal is to have it as tamper-proof as possible in the following areas:

1. Locked out header and footer (all it has is a logo, pg numbers and general text (ie: no need to be edited)
2. Locked out document style - ie: Cannot change Heading level styles fonts or colours
3. A table of Contents that cannot be edited (fonts, colours, etc), only refreshed
4. When tables get inserted, they are always between the margins. Users must not be able to wrap a table.

I know of basic document protection (like locking Header and footer areas), and I know that styles can be protected, but I need some input as to how to go about this as well as if #3 and #4 can be done.

TX.

[StuartR]

For 3. you could put the TOC into a protected section, so that the user can't make any edits.

[HansV]

#4 is almost impossible to implement. If you let the users edit (parts of) the document, they can mess it up. The alternative would be to lock down the document completely and only let the user interact with it through a userform, but that is not realistic.

[StuartR]

I guess you could undo any table wrapping each time the user attempts to save the document, and then display a dialog box saying what you've done so they can review it before saving again.

[ChrisGreaves]

I guess you could undo any table wrapping each time the user attempts to save the document, and then display a dialog box saying what you've done so they can review it before saving again.

I'll go out on a limb here, and suggest VBA code to intercept the Save/SaveAs events and run a custom checker on the document.
Check that the Header/footers are original, check that the styles are original etc and record any aberrations in a log file.
Humanly review the log file and drag the "offender" in for review.
I mean, be gentle etc.
I've spent years trying to lock down templates and it just annoys the heck out of users.
I learned many years ago porting a KWIC index generator in COBOL punched-card mainframe days that the fewer rules I had to implement the better was the program.

When users start changing things it is usually for one of three reasons:-
(1) Genuine slip-of-the-finger or attention stuff. Accidents will happen, but if they keep happening re-training is called for.
(2) The template had design deficiencies. Well! We all know where the blame lies here.
(3) Malicious sabotage just for the hell of it.

I think it is all about team-building.

But see also the post I plan to make in a few minutes titled "Insoluble Form Problem?"

[Rudi]

TX for the replies thus far. I'll see if any more advice comes and then I'll dice the rutabaga!

[Jay Freedman]

VBA code that checks the completed form for "problems" (possibly including validating the entries and looking for missing/empty fields) is probably the best way... but be aware that for some users the macros won't run, either because of misconfiguration (the form document or template is stored in a location that isn't "trusted" in that copy of Office) or by Chris's #3. If the forms are going to be submitted and stored somewhere, the rules are more likely to be enforced if the code runs on the collection system.