Protect Your VBA Code and Sell Your Office Solutions
Open the Excel, Word, Access, or PowerPoint file you already have. VBA Padlock compiles your macros into a native DLL automatically, and adds licensing so you can sell your work without ever shipping your source.
Free trial for Excel, Word, Access, and PowerPoint on Windows. No credit card, and no time limit while you evaluate.
Why Not Just Use a Password?
Because it is not a lock. A VBA project password is a flag stored inside the file, and free tools clear it in seconds. Obfuscation does not settle it either: your source is still in there, only harder to read.
Compilation is the only one of the three that removes the code.
- VBA project password Removed in seconds The password is a setting inside the file, not encryption. Free tools clear it and your source opens in the VBA Editor, unchanged. How passwords are bypassed
- Obfuscation Still readable Names get scrambled and junk code is added, but the logic, the loops, and the API calls are all still there for anyone patient enough to follow them. Why renaming is not protection
- DLL compilation The logic is removed Your procedures are compiled to bytecode inside a native DLL and deleted from the document you ship. What stays is what Office has to call there: forms, document modules, and the generated wrappers, none of which carry your logic. The Protection Review shows you exactly which is which, before you ship. See what compilation changes
Works with All Major Office Applications
Compile and protect VBA code across the entire Microsoft Office suite.
And Everything You Need to Sell It
Protection is half the job. Around it, VBA Padlock adds a licensing system with hardware-locked keys, online activation against your own server, and one-click packaging of the protected file and its runtime. All of it from a single Windows application, VBA Padlock Studio.
Three Steps, Fully Automatic
Since version 2026.2, you no longer move your code anywhere. Open the file you already have and VBA Padlock does the work.
Open your Office file
Point VBA Padlock at the workbook, document, database, or presentation you already have. It reads your macros and analyzes them on the spot. Nothing to rewrite, nothing to copy and paste.
See what gets protected
The Protection Review lists every procedure with its verdict: protected, or left in the document because Office needs it there. You can override any decision with a checkbox.
Produce and ship
One click writes a protected copy of your file: your logic is compiled and removed, and the glue code that replaces it is generated for you. Package it, and your buttons and formulas still work.
Or Write Your Own Code
Automatic protection handles your existing macros. When you want to go further, the built-in editor is right there: write new VBA, refine what was extracted, and compile it in one click. Then run it straight from your Office application without closing it, because a recompiled build is picked up on the fly.
- Write and edit VBA in the integrated editor, with syntax highlighting and IntelliSense
- Per-procedure markers show what gets protected as you type
- Compile in one click, with errors pointing to the exact line
- Hot reload: recompile and run your macro again without restarting Office
- Run a single compiled routine from the IDE with your own test values
Compiled, Not Just Hidden
Your VBA source is turned into compiled bytecode that lives inside native library files, and it cannot be decompiled back. Everything the compile gate accepts leaves the document, while your macros keep running inside Office exactly as before.
- Your existing macros are extracted and analyzed automatically
- Automatic 32-bit and 64-bit DLL generation
- Source code compiled into bytecode - not just obfuscated
- Wrappers and VBA bridge generated and injected for you
- Supports classes, Property accessors, Enum, Type, and 80+ built-in functions
Built-in Licensing & Activation
Monetize your VBA projects with a complete licensing system. Generate hardware-locked activation keys, manage trial periods, and control distribution, with cryptographically signed keys in either format.
- Short keys (HMAC) for email delivery, long keys (ECC Ed25519) for tamper-proof signatures
- Full, Trial, Subscription, and Time-limited license types
- Hardware-locked keys tied to specific machines
- Built-in key generator and activation dialogs
- Online activation with included PHP server kit
Messages
[Info] Built satellite DLL: bin\HelloWorld.dll
[Success] Compilation completed successfully.
[Info] Protected file created: HelloWorld_protected.xlsm
From the bundled 01_HelloWorld example, with the paths shortened.
What Changed in 2026.2
The August 2026 release removed the manual steps. Analysis, compilation and the swap all happen for you, and you approve what moves before anything is written.
- No code to move
- Your macros are read and analyzed where they sit, procedure by procedure. Nothing to copy, nothing to rewrite.
- You see every decision
- The Protection Review lists what gets protected and what stays in the document, with the reason for each one. Override any of it with a checkbox.
- Your original is never touched
- Produce writes a separate protected copy of your file, and takes a verified backup along the way.
Compiled, Signed, Verified, and Bound
Four protections, and every one of them is something you can check yourself.
- Compiled procedures removed Every procedure that compiles is turned into bytecode and deleted from the Office file you ship.
- Signed runtime DLLs Authenticode-signed by G.D.G. Software, so Windows names the publisher instead of Unknown Publisher.
- Integrity verified An internal cryptographic signature detects tampering. A modified DLL refuses to load.
- Bound to your file Each Office file is bound to its DLL through a unique Security Code.
Common Questions
Quick answers to get you started with VBA Padlock.
What is VBA Padlock?
VBA Padlock is a compiler and protection system for Microsoft Office VBA code. It compiles your VBA macros from Excel, Word, Access, and PowerPoint into native 32-bit and 64-bit DLLs with integrated licensing and activation systems. Your procedures are removed from the protected Office file and replaced by generated wrappers that call into the DLL, so the file you ship no longer carries the logic you wrote, and you can sell your VBA applications commercially.
Do my end users need VBA Padlock installed?
No. End users only need Microsoft Office installed on their computer. The compiled DLLs and a small VBA bridge module are all that's needed to run your protected code. VBA Padlock is only required on the developer's machine for compilation.
What is the difference between VBA Padlock and VBA project password protection?
VBA project password protection only hides your code inside the VBA editor - it can be bypassed in seconds with freely available tools. VBA Padlock takes a fundamentally different approach: it compiles your procedures into a native DLL and removes them from the Office file, leaving generated wrappers that call into the DLL. There is no password to remove, and what stays visible in the VBA editor is the scaffolding Office has to run there - forms, document modules, and those wrappers - not the algorithms you wrote. The Protection Review tells you exactly which of your code moved and which stayed, before you ship.
Does G.D.G. Software have access to my VBA code or data?
Absolutely not. VBA Padlock operates entirely on your local machine. Your VBA source code, Office files, and compiled DLLs are never uploaded or transmitted to our servers. G.D.G. Software has zero access to your code or data unless you explicitly share files with support for troubleshooting purposes.
Ready to Monetize Your VBA Projects?
Download VBA Padlock and start selling protected Office solutions. One-time purchase, no royalties, no subscription.
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