Utilizing Macros in Microsoft® Excel®

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Utilizing Macros in Microsoft® Excel®

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mail: P.O. Box 509 Eau Claire, WI 54702-0509 • telephone: 866-352-9539 • fax: 715-833-3953email: customerservice@lorman.com • website: www.lorman.com • seminar id: 401009

Prepared By:Dennis Taylor

Taylor Associates

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Mastering Microsoft Excel Macros1

In this seminar, you will learn:

Why you’ll need (and want) to use macros

How you can record a macro in a few simple steps

How you can store macros in your own personal workbook

How to quickly run a macro with a keystroke shortcut 

How to rapidly access a macro from a button on the Quick Access Toolbar

The basics of VBA – the programming language behind every macro

How to edit macro code

1

2

Why you need macros2

As you work with Excel, you may find yourself repeating the same sequence of commands and actions, for example:

updating sales figures on multiple worksheets

plotting latest monthly data on a chart

applying special formats

locating cells with formulas or cells with values

re‐configuring a mailing label address layout into a database layout

With a macro, you can store these sets of procedures and not need to repeat the entire sequence of actions each time you need them performed. 

You will save a lot of time and effort and improve accuracy by creating macros 

Sample Short Macros3

Apply a special numeric format that has no toolbar button equivalent

Use a special format for displaying values in millions

Print a selected area

Create subtotals for a group of cells 

Turn double accounting underlining on or off.

Select all cells within a selected range that are blank

Round cell values on the actual cells instead of writing/copying formulas and using additional columns

Hide a row if values exceed a certain amount

3

Multi-step Macros4

Remove records of employees whose termination date has passed. Append these records to an archival database Sort the database by department and name Create summary totals by department Print the list showing the detail and summary together Collapse the list and print just the summary Remove the subtotals and sort the full database by employee name and print Sort the database by date of hire and print those results

A macro that performs a series of tasks might resemble this sequence of actions for updating an HR database list twice a week

How do you create a Macro?5

There are three major ways to create a macro

Record the various commands and keystrokes that comprise the tasks you want to automate. These actions get translated into the coding language VBA

Type macro code using VBA – Visual Basic for Applications

Copy macro code from existing macros or from Help screens

The recording method is the dominant technique for creating macros, but it does not cover all possible actions you want a macro to perform

You’ll need to type certain macro statements that have no equivalent recording method; structures such as Do Loops, For Statements, and If…Then…Elsestructures, must be typed or copied into your macro code 

With some macros, you’ll use a combination of all three techniques

4

Steps to record a macro6

1. Click the drop arrow below the Macros button on the View tab in the Ribbon

2. Click Record Macro

3. Provide a macro name –a) no spacesb) cannot begin with a numberc) use the underscore character or uppercase 

letters to simulate word breaksd) limited to 255 characters. 

4. If desired, provide a shortcut key combination. 

All combinations automatically use the Ctrl key. Hold down the Shift key to create a combination such as Ctrl+Shift+G as a shortcut. 

Avoid lowercase letters so as to not replace commonly used shortcuts such as Ctrl+c for Copy and Ctrl+v for Paste 

Steps to record a macro - continued7

5. Select a location to store the macro. Store in This Workbook if you intend to use it only in the current workbook.Store in Personal Macro Workbook if you want it to be available in any workbook. 

6. Type a description of what the macro does. Not critical, but helpful – to you and to others.

7. Click OK to begin recording

5

Record your actions8

Perform all the actions that youwant stored in the macro

When finished recording, click the droparrow below the Macros buttonon the View tab in the Ribbon

Click Stop Recording

Steps to record when creating a macro that adds color to all worksheet cells with values:

• Click the Home tab in the Ribbon• Click  the Find and Select button in the 

Editing group• Click Go To Special• Click the Constants button• Uncheck the boxes for Text, Logicals, 

and Errors• Click OK• Click the Fill Color Button in the Font

group on the Home tab of the Ribbon• Click a color• Click any cell

Some macros require typing code9

Record a macro to toggle Double Accounting Underline on or off

Only two steps can be recorded:1. Turn Double Accounting Underline off2. Turn Double Accounting Underline on

Additional code – "if " logic – must be typed or copied from another macro

Demo of how to build this macro

6

Some macros perform complicated lengthy tasks rapidly

10

A macro to transpose data in mailing label layout into Excel database (list) layout 

Although mostly created by recording, this macro, too, requires adding additional code to automate a basic procedure so that it gets performed many times.

This macro is representative of those kinds of macros that handle huge amounts of data; it performs a repetitive task with amazing speed. 

The Personal Macro Workbook11

The Personal Macro Workbook does not exist until the first time that you store a macro there; Excel then creates this file. Upon a normal exit from Excel, a prompt asks you to save this workbook.

The Personal Macro Workbook, once created, is a hidden workbook that is always open (but usually hidden) when Excel is running. 

There is usually no reason to unhide this file.

Any macro stored here is always available because this workbook is automatically opened very time you start Excel 

7

Five different ways to run a macro:12

1. From the Macros button on the View tab2. With a keystroke combination that you previously defined 

3. From a new button  you placed on the Quick Access Toolbar4. From a graphic object, ClipArt, or picture placed on your worksheet5. After activating the Developer tab in the Ribbon, select the Macrosbutton in the Code group of the Developer tab.  

Methods 2 and 3 are ideal for Personal Macro Workbook macros. Method 4 is best for macros designed for a specific workbook.

Assign a macro to the QAT(Quick Access Toolbar)

Right‐click the QAT and select Customize Quick Access Toolbar

Click the arrow to the right of Popular Commands and click Macros 

From the list of macros, click the macro to be associated with the new button

Click the Add button and then the Modify button

Click one of the 181 buttons in the Modify Button dialog box

Click OK twice

13

8

Run a macro from a ClipArt image

Click the Insert tab in the Ribbon

Click Picture or ClipArt

Browse folders to locate a picture or use the ClipArt dialog box to locate an image

Double‐click the desired picture or image 

Right‐click the image and select Assign Macro

Double‐click the name of the macro to be represented by the button

14

The Visual Basic Editor

Press Alt+F11 to get to the Visual Basic Editor

VBA Project Explorer occupies most of the left side

The Code window occupies most of the right side

You might also see these windows: Properties ‐ lower left corner

Watch ‐ lower right corner

Mostly, your focus is on the Code window and the Project Explorer window 

Press Alt+F11 to go back to the Excel environment

15

9

Visual Basic Code

Macro code has syntax and rules, like speaking languages

Most macros contain code generated by recording, so you have some idea how to read the code if you recorded the macro

A macro begins and ends with the word Sub

The single quote character and everything to the right of it on a line is a comment. These lines are automatically green.

Other lines comprise the executable code of the macro 

16

Running a Macro in Step Mode

To run a macro step by step:1. Click in the macro code and press the F8 key2. Press F8 to step to the next line of code – the code line is highlighted in yellow3. Press the Reset button to stop the macro at any point; Press the F5 key to complete the remaining 

steps without stopping.

To see both the macro code and the Excel screen together, use the Restore button in the upper right corner of each application and then resize each application's window to about half the screen. Then you can observe the effects of the macro in the worksheet as you step through the code.

10

Make a macro interactive18

To make a macro more flexible, such as allowing it to prompt for user input, you can type the VBA statement InputBox into a macro, as in this example which prompts the user to type a sheet name. The macro then activates that sheet and process the data there.

SheetName = InputBox("SheetSelector", "Type sheet Name")

Worksheets(SheetName).Activate

19

Sub ConvertToDB()Range("B1").SelectActiveCell.Range("A1:A6").Select

Do Until IsEmpty(ActiveCell)Selection.CopyActiveCell.Offset(0, 2).Range("A1").SelectSelection.PasteSpecial Paste:=xlPasteAll,

Transpose:=TrueActiveCell.Offset(6, -2).Range("A1:A6").Select

Loop

Columns("D:I").SelectSelection.Sort Key1:=Range("D1"), Order1:=xlAscending,

Header:=xlGuess, _OrderCustom:=1, DataOption1:=xlSortNormal,

Orientation:=xlTopToBottomRange("C1").Select

End Sub

Conversion Macro

11

12

Notes