Protecting Your First Project

This guide walks you through creating your first VBA Padlock project. You’ll learn the complete workflow from opening an Office file to distributing a protected application.

Follow these steps to transform your VBA code into a secure, compiled DLL.

1. Launch VBA Padlock

   Open VBA Padlock from the Start menu. You will be greeted by the Welcome Screen.

   

2. Open your Office file

   Click Open Office File and select your macro-enabled file (example: SimpleTest.xlsm). VBA Padlock creates a .vbapadlock project folder alongside your file to store project settings and scripts.

3. Set Project Information

   In the Project Info tab, define your application’s identity.

   • Title: The name of your tool.
   • Security Code: Click Generate to create a unique cryptographic link between your Office file and the DLL.

   

4. Write your Protected Scripts

   Navigate to the Edit Script tab. This is where you write the sensitive logic that will be compiled and hidden from users.

   

   Use the following example code for your first test:

   ' Main.bas
   Public Function CalculateTotal(price As Double, taxRate As Double) As Double
       CalculateTotal = price * (1 + taxRate / 100)
   End Function
   
   Public Function ValidateLicense() As Boolean
       ValidateLicense = IsLicenseValid()
   End Function

5. Compile the DLL

   Press F5 or click Compile Project. VBA Padlock transforms your script into a high-performance, encrypted DLL.

   

6. Inject the VBA Bridge

   To call your compiled functions from Excel (or Word/Access), you need a “Bridge”.

   • Click Create VBA Bridge → Inject Into Office.
   • This adds a module named VBAPadlockBridge to your Office file.

   

7. Test the Protection

   Open your Excel file, go to the VBA Editor (Alt+F11), and create a new macro to call your compiled code using VBAPL_Execute:

   Sub TestProtectedCode()
       Dim total As Variant
       ' Calling the compiled function "CalculateTotal" from the "Main" module
       total = VBAPL_Execute("Main|CalculateTotal", 100, 8.5)
   
       MsgBox "Total: $" & Format(total, "0.00")
   End Sub

   When you run this macro, Excel executes the code inside the DLL, keeping your logic completely hidden.

   

8. Distribution

   When you are ready to share your work, go to the Distribution tab. Your application now consists of your Office file and the bin folder containing the compiled DLLs.

   

You can easily add licensing and trial restrictions to your project: