Microsoft Excel Training

Creating Simple Macros

Introduction
We do a lot of repetitive tasks like copy
pasting, formatting etc.
A macros help us to automate tedious or
repetitive tasks with ease of a click of a button
or shortcut key.
A macro is a set of instructions that tells Excel
to perform one or more actions for you. Macros
are like computer programs, but they run
completely within Excel.
Macros can carry out sequence of actions
much more quickly than you could do yourself.
Agenda
There are 2 ways to create a a macro: You can
record it, or can build it by entering instructions
in a module. Either way your instructions are
encoded in the programming language MS
VBA.
Youll learn how to rerecord and execute a
simple macro.
Then you will learn how to view the recorded
macro and make it more useful by doing some
simple editing.
Overview
The overall process for recording a macro
consists of three steps.
Start the macro recorder and supply a name
for the macro.
Perform the actions you want to record
Stop the macro recorder.
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Using the Macro Recorder
Rather than type macros character by
character, you can have Excel create a
macro by recording the menu commands,
keystrokes, and other action needed to
accomplish a task.
Lets see how to create a macro to draw a
boarder around a selected area.
Using the Macro Recorder cont

1. Select the small area in a blank work sheet

2. Choose Tools>Macro>Record New Macro.
Excel displays the Record Macro dialogue
box.
3. Assign Name to the macro.
4. Assign a key combination to the macro by
entering a letter.
Using the Macro Recorder cont

5. Store the macro in the currently active work

book.
6. Enter a description for the macro in the
description box.
7. To begin recording click OK. Excel displays the
message Recording in the status bar and Stop
Recording tool bar.
8. Press Ctrl+1 and draw borders in the borders
tab.
9. Click the Stop Recording Macro button on the
Stop Recording toolbar.
Running a Macro Without Using
a Keyboard Shortcut
You dont have to know a macros key
combination to run the macro. Instead, you can
use the Macro dialog box:
Choose Tools>Macro, Macros to display the
dialog box.
Select the name of the macro, and click Run.
You also can use the Macro dialog box to view
and edit macros, as youll see in the next
section.
Behind the Scenes: The VBA
Environment
Now that youve recorded your macro, lets find out
what Excel did. When you clicked OK in the
Record Macro dialog box, Excel created
something called a module in the active workbook.
As you drawn a table in the worksheet, Excel
recorded your actions and inserted the
corresponding VBA code in the module.
The new module doesnt appear with the other
sheets in the workbook; to view the module,
choose Tools, Macro, Macros. Next, select the
Border macro, and click the Edit button.
Behind the Scenes: The VBA
Environment cont
The Visual Basic Editor (VBE) starts up, and
the module that contains the Border macro
appears.
The first and last lines of the code act as the
beginning and endpoints for the macro youve
recorded; a Sub statement starts the macro
and names it, and an End Sub statement ends
the macro. Youll notice that special VBA
terms, called keywords, are displayed in dark
blue.
Adding Code to an Existing
Macro
Suppose youve recorded a macro that enters a
series of labels, sets their font, and then draws a
border around them. Then you discover that you
forgot a step or that you recorded a step incorrectly
you chose the wrong border format, for example.
What do you do?
To add code to an existing macro, you can record
actions in a temporary macro and then transfer the
code into the macro you want to change. For
example, to the Border macro a step that sets font
and border options for the table, follow these steps:
Adding Code to an Existing
Macro cont
1. Choose Tools, Macro, Record New Macro.
Excel presents the Record Macro dialog box.
In the Macro Name box, enter MacroTemp and
click OK. Excel displays the Stop Recording
toolbar.
2. Choose Format, Cells, and click the Font tab.
Select Trebuchet MS, 10-point, and Bold Italic.
Then click OK to apply the formats.
3. Click the Stop Recording button on the Stop
Recording toolbar.
Adding Code to an Existing
Macro cont
4. Choose Tools, Macro, Macros. In the Macro
dialog box, select MacroTemp and click Edit.
5. A window appears that contains the original
macro you recorded plus the MacroTemp
macro.
6. Select all the code inside the macrofrom the
line beginning With through the line beginning
End Withand then choose Edit, Copy.
7. Scroll up to display the Border macro
Adding Code to an Existing
Macro cont
8. Click at the penultimate that contains this
statement:
EndSub
9. Press Enter to create a blank line. Then
position the insertion point at the beginning of
the blank line.
10. Choose Edit, Paste.
11. Scroll back down and delete the entire
MacroTemp macro, from the Sub statement
to the End Sub statement.
Adding Code to an Existing
Macro cont
To test the macro, return to Excel (press
Alt+F11 or select the Excel button on the
taskbar). Clear the company name and
address that you entered earlier when you
recorded the macro. Then press Ctrl+Shift+A.
Using the Personal Macro
Workbook
When you recorded the Border macro earlier, you
placed the macro in a module that belongs to the active
workbook. A macro that has been placed in a module is
available only when the workbook containing the module
is open.
To make a macro available at all times, store it in the
Personal Macro Workbook. This workbook is normally
hidden. you can unhide it by choosing Window, Unhide
and selecting Personal in the Unhide dialog box.
If you dont see the Personal file in the Unhide dialog box,
or if the Unhide command is unavailable, you have not
yet created a Personal Macro Workbook.
Using the Personal Macro
Workbook cont
To create one, begin recording a macro, as described
earlier in this chapter, andselect the Personal Macro
Workbook option in the Record New Macro dialog box.
Excel creates the Personal Macro Workbook and places
its file (Personal.xls) in the XLStart folder.
Excel opens Personal.xls, as it does any other file in the
XLStart folder, each time you start Excel.
Because the Personal Macro Workbook is always
available when you work in Excel, its a good place to
record macros that you want to be able to use in any
workbook.
Going On from Here
Youve learned how to create macros with the help of the
macro recorder. As you learn more about the VBA
programming language (a subject beyond the scope of
this session), youll notice that the macro recorder often
creates more code for a task than you really need. The
recorder adds these lines because it didnt (and couldnt)
know they werent necessary. You can edit them out
without changing the functionality of the macro in any
way.
As you move toward expertise in VBA, you will probably
find yourself creating most of your code directly in the
VBE, bypassing the recorder altogether
Conclusion
The best way to use the lessons learned
today is to practice it. Use the macros in
day to day office work.
Try to innovate and experiment on the
things you have learned.
Share your acquired knowledge with
others.
Where to Get More Information
Visit: www.gomzyxl.blogspot.com
Any questions, queries, suggestions or
comments?
 Thank You

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