copy protection on workbooks is so weak, there isn't a lot of use in getting
carried away with it. Any VBA based solution can be overcome by disabling
macros for a start. Any password can be bypassed with a password cracker -
many of which are available on the web.

Files can be copied using Explorer/the command window, so not sure how you
intend to copy protect it.

If the structure and the formulas are what is important, that would be the
hardest to protect if the user needs to able to type things in the workbook.
You would need to put critical logic into a compiled DLL or com addin or
something like that.

--
Regards,
Tom Ogilvy

"Mike MacSween" wrote in message
...
I have an Excel Workbook I want to distribute. I want to copy protect it.
I
want to be able to email/post it to users, on first use they will be
prompted to enter a code, distributed with the workbook, they will then
connect to the web, and receive an 'unlock' key.

The web side of things will need to keep count of how many licences they
have bought.

Any ideas? I thought of doing this via a small vb app, then using one of
the
many 3rd party protection systems to protect the vb app, which will in
turn
open the workbook (perhaps with an encrypted password?).

Security isn't massively important, this doesn't need to be to banking
standards. I just want to track who has paid for it and prevent casual
copying. It isn't a mass market product to I doubt it'll appear on Warez
sites. The data in the spreadsheet isn't important, it's the structure and
formulae etc. The data isn't sensitive.

Yours, Mike MacSween