VBA Padlock Studio

VBA Padlock includes a dedicated development environment, VBA Padlock Studio, for analyzing your Office files, reviewing what gets protected, configuring licensing, and producing protected copies of your documents.

The Ribbon Interface

The Studio uses a modern ribbon interface designed to follow the natural workflow of protecting your application.

The Protect ribbon tab in VBA Padlock Studio

The primary tab, hosting the whole protection lifecycle in three groups.

Key Operations

Open Office File (Ctrl+O): Load your Excel, Word, PowerPoint, or Access file; its VBA is analyzed automatically.
Project Info & References: DLL metadata, Security Code, and the constant libraries compiled into your DLL.
Re-analyze / View Report: Refresh the analysis and read the Protection Review verdicts.
Compile (F5): Rebuild the encrypted DLLs with hot reload.
Produce Protected Office File / Test Run (Ctrl+F5): Build everything and inject it into a protected copy; Test Run opens it in Office too.
Distribute: Package the protected file and its DLLs as a ZIP or folder.
Advanced group: Syntax Check, Run DLL Function, VBA Bridge, Wrapper Generator, Publish Final DLL, Lock VBA Project, AI Settings.

Powerful Code Editor

VBA Padlock Studio features a built-in editor specifically optimized for working on compiled VBA logic.

VBA Padlock Code Editor

VBA-Compatible Syntax: Full highlighting for keywords, strings, comments, hex literals, and $-suffixed functions.
Protection Markers: Per-procedure gutter badges show what moves to the DLL and what stays in VBA.
Modular Design: Standard modules (.bas) and class modules (.cls), handled as tabs, with per-module lock against Re-analyze overwrites.
Rich Library: Access over 80 built-in functions directly from your compiled code.

Project Structure

When you open an Office file, VBA Padlock Studio creates a project folder alongside it to store your extracted source and settings.

Workspace Layout

MyWorkbook.xlsm                ← Your Office source file
MyWorkbook_protected.xlsm      ← The produced protected copy
MyWorkbook.vbapadlock/          ← Project Folder
├── project.xml                 ← Project settings + per-module metadata
├── Main.bas                    ← Default entry module
├── Helpers.bas                 ← Extracted / hand-written modules
├── PriceEngine.cls             ← Class modules
└── locale_en-US.json           ← Custom UI localized text

Productivity & Automation

Keyboard Shortcuts

Shortcut	Action
`F5`	Compile Project
`Ctrl`+`F5`	Test Run: produce and open the protected file
`Shift`+`F8`	Run Current Sub/Function
`Ctrl` + `S`	Save All
`Ctrl` + `O`	Open Office File

Automation

For CI/CD pipelines and automated builds, the Studio embeds an MCP server exposing its operations (open, build, package) to scripts and AI agents, plus a -silent switch for headless operation:

VBAPadlock64.exe -silent

See Build Automation & CI/CD and AI Settings.

Next Steps

Automatic Protection

The workflow the Studio is built around. Read the feature guide →

UI Reference

Explore every dialog and setting in detail. View reference →

Quick Start

Protect your first workbook in under 5 minutes. Follow the guide →

Compatibility

Check which VBA features are supported in compiled code. Learn more →