How to Prevent Users from Printing Excel File with JavaScript via C++

Possible Usage Scenarios

In our daily work, there may be some important information in the Excel file; in order to protect the internal data from spreading, the company will not allow us to print it. This document will tell you how to prevent others from printing Excel files.

How to Prevent Users from Printing File in MS-Excel

You can apply the following VBA code to protect your specific file from being printed.

  1. Open the workbook that you don’t want others to print.
  2. Select the Developer tab in the Excel ribbon and click the View Code button in the Controls section. Alternatively, you can press ALT + F11 to open the Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications window.


  3. In the left Project Explorer, double‑click ThisWorkbook to open the module and add some VBA code.


  4. Then save and close the code, return to the workbook. When you attempt to print the workbook, it will be prevented, and you will see the following warning box:


How to Prevent Users from Printing Excel File using Aspose.Cells for JavaScript via C++

The following sample code illustrates how to prevent users from printing an Excel file:

  1. Load the sample file.
  2. Get the VbaModuleCollection object from the VbaProject property of Workbook.
  3. Get the VbaModule object by the name “ThisWorkbook”.
  4. Set the codes property of the VbaModule.
  5. Save the workbook in XLSM format.
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
    <head>
        <title>Aspose.Cells Example</title>
    </head>
    <body>
        <h1>Update VBA Module Example</h1>
        <input type="file" id="fileInput" accept=".xls,.xlsx,.xlsm" />
        <button id="runExample">Run Example</button>
        <a id="downloadLink" style="display: none;">Download Result</a>
        <div id="result"></div>
    </body>

    <script src="aspose.cells.js.min.js"></script>
    <script type="text/javascript">
        const { Workbook, SaveFormat } = AsposeCells;
        
        AsposeCells.onReady({
            license: "/lic/aspose.cells.enc",
            fontPath: "/fonts/",
            fontList: [
                "arial.ttf",
                "NotoSansSC-Regular.ttf"
            ]
        }).then(() => {
            console.log("Aspose.Cells initialized");
        });

        document.getElementById('runExample').addEventListener('click', async () => {
            const fileInput = document.getElementById('fileInput');
            if (!fileInput.files.length) {
                document.getElementById('result').innerHTML = '<p style="color: red;">Please select an Excel file.</p>';
                return;
            }

            const file = fileInput.files[0];
            const arrayBuffer = await file.arrayBuffer();

            // Instantiating a Workbook object from the uploaded file
            const workbook = new Workbook(new Uint8Array(arrayBuffer));

            // Accessing VBA project and its modules
            const modules = workbook.vbaProject.modules;
            const module = modules.get("ThisWorkbook");

            // Setting module codes
            module.codes = "Private Sub Workbook_BeforePrint(Cancel As Boolean)\r\n  Cancel = True\r\n  MsgBox \"Refusing to print in paperless office\"\r\nEnd Sub\r\n";

            // Saving the modified workbook as a macro‑enabled workbook
            const outputData = workbook.save(SaveFormat.Xlsm);
            const blob = new Blob([outputData]);
            const downloadLink = document.getElementById('downloadLink');
            downloadLink.href = URL.createObjectURL(blob);
            downloadLink.download = 'out.xlsm';
            downloadLink.style.display = 'block';
            downloadLink.textContent = 'Download Modified Excel File';

            document.getElementById('result').innerHTML = '<p style="color: green;">VBA module updated successfully! Click the download link to get the modified file.</p>';
        });
    </script>
</html>
Filter VBA Project while loading a workbook with JavaScript via C++