I would do this with a VB application, rather then a macro. Depending on the version of excel you are using VB6 or .Net would work. You can still use the macro editor to figure most of it out.
The reason to use a seperate program is that way the resulting excel file can be macro free (emailing with a macro can be problematic) - and the Bumpkins have no way of messing up the actual program.
If you have to go the macro route - try putting the original file on a secured shared drive, give the users the rights to read from it only. This will keep them from being able to delete/modify/destroy the original.
The reason to use a seperate program is that way the resulting excel file can be macro free (emailing with a macro can be problematic) - and the Bumpkins have no way of messing up the actual program.
If you have to go the macro route - try putting the original file on a secured shared drive, give the users the rights to read from it only. This will keep them from being able to delete/modify/destroy the original.