XL2000: Signature Is Lost When You Send a Workbook That Has a Digitally Signed Project

When you send a Microsoft Excel 2000 workbook that contains a digitally signed macro as an e-mail attachment, the digital signature may be lost. You may also receive the following error message:

A supported fix is now available from Microsoft, but it is only intended to correct the problem that is described in this article. Apply it only to systems that are experiencing this specific problem. This fix may receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, Microsoft recommends that you wait for the next Office service pack that contains this fix.

To resolve this problem immediately, download the fix by clicking the download link later in this article or contact Microsoft Product Support Services to obtain the fix. For a complete list of Microsoft Product Support Services phone numbers and information about support costs, visit the following Microsoft Web site: Note In special cases, charges that are ordinarily incurred for support calls may be canceled if a Microsoft Support Professional determines that a specific update will resolve your problem. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for the specific update in question. The English version of this fix should have the following file attributes or later. The dates and times for these files are listed in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). When you view the file information, it is converted to local time. To find the difference between UTC and local time, use the "Time Zone" tab in the Date and Time tool in Control Panel.

   Date         Time   Version    Size         File name     
-----------------------------------------------------------
17-Dec-2002  09:32  n/a        1,704,132    Excel.msp
17-Dec-2002  09:59  n/a        4,317,784    Excel_admin.msp

After the hotfix is installed, the following file will have the listed attributes or later:

   Date         Time   Version         Size       File name
   ---------------------------------------------------------
   16-Dec-2002  08:06  9.0.0.7212      7,163,949  Excel.exe

To work around this problem, follow these steps:

1.	Click File, click Save as, type a name for the workbook, and then click Save. This preserves the digital signature.
2.	Click File, click Send To, and then click Mail Recipient (as Attachment).