Mastering Macros in Excel: A Comprehensive Guide

Macros play a crucial role in streamlining workflows, proving to be incredibly useful in today’s fast-paced environment. In this blog, we’ll explore why we need Macros in Excel and understand various methods for running Macros in Excel.

What is a Macro in Excel?

In Excel, a macro is a sequence of instructions or commands that automate repetitive tasks by recording a series of actions performed within the software. Essentially, it’s a way to simplify complex or routine operations. Macros can be created by using Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) or recording actions step-by-step within Excel.

Using the Macro Recorder – Picks up user actions in a stepwise fashion without any coding.
Using VBA – Enables advanced customization and scripting in case of complex automation.

Macros are automated instructions that carry out repetitive tasks in an efficient manner in Excel. Rather than doing the same activities over and over again, Macros will allow the user to record and automate some processes, thereby saving time and preventing errors.

They allow users to automate tasks like formatting data, generating reports, or performing calculations, thereby enhancing efficiency and saving time by executing multiple actions with just a click of a button or a keyboard Excel shortcut.

Example – Let’s say you have an Excel file that is pouring over with sales figures. Instead of these exhausting manual additions every time, you can create a Macro that does the work for you.

How It Works:

Start recording yourself selecting sales data to apply the SUM function once.
Save the Macro.
If you wish to calculate the total sales, just trigger the macro, and Excel will promptly deliver the requested information.

It is quite simply your personal-assistant function in Excel. It will follow every one of your steps automatically, relieving you of repetitive tasks, thereby facilitating and accelerating data analysis-with improved reliability.

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Why Do We Need Macros in Excel?

Macros are essential tools for Excel users who frequently perform repetitive tasks. They offer several benefits, including:

Simplifying Complex Operations: Macros in Excel transform several routine steps into one, thus saving lots of time while avoiding errors along the way. Irrespective of whether it is data analysis, financial modeling, or large calculations, Macros help in creating an easy workflow, and ensure more accurate performance, making them key for data-driven professionals.
Enhancing Productivity: Macros automate repetitive tasks while also minimizing errors, thereby speeding up and improving workflow efficiency. The users, freed from manual processes, save time on individual tasks and work with higher productivity overall.
Consistency: Macros play a pivotal role in maintaining uniformity across data formats, calculations, and reports. Therefore, it helps to enhance the accuracy and dependability of tasks, especially when dealing with large datasets or performing recurring operations.
Time-Saving: By automating processes, Macros saves significant time. Tasks that might take hours when done manually can be completed within seconds or minutes using a well-designed macro.
Personalizing the Functions: Macros empower the creation of personalized tools and functionalities that are finely refined to suit your exact specifications.

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Turn on the Developer Tab in Excel

Enabling the Developer tab enables advanced features in Excel like Macros, form controls, and automation tools. In fact, this tab provides a great deal of flexibility for creating, customizing, and managing complex tasks that go beyond standard Excel operations.

Here is the step-by-step guide to enable the developer tab in Excel:

Step 1 – Open Microsoft Excel, and you’ll see a row of tabs across the top of the screen, including “Home,” “Insert,” “Page Layout,” and more. The Developer tab isn’t there by default, so you’ll need to turn it on.
Step 2 – Click on the “File” tab at the top left corner.
Step 3 – On the left side of the menu, scroll down to the bottom and choose “more,” where you’ll find the “Options” tab. Click on “Options” to proceed.
Step 4 – Within the Excel Options window that appears, find and click on “Customize Ribbon” on the left-hand side.
Step 5 – On the right-hand side, you’ll see a list of main tabs with checkboxes. Look for the “Developer” checkbox, and enable it by ticking the box adjacent to “Developer.”

Step 6 – Click “ok” at the bottom to confirm, and once you’ve enabled the Developer tab, you’ll see it displayed alongside other tabs like “Home,” “Insert,” etc., at the top of the Excel window.

How to Record a Macro

Let’s explore the process of recording a macro through a straightforward example. Imagine that your manager provides you with an employee table each month and instructs you to highlight the columns where the salary exceeds $58,000. In this scenario, we will utilize Macros for this task:

Step 1 – Click on the Developer tab on the Excel ribbon, and within this tab, select the option to Record Macro. This will open the “Record Macro” dialog box.

Step 2 – Provide your Macro with a clear name in the “Macro name” field. For instance, let’s name our macro “formatting_salary.” Make sure to avoid spaces or special characters in the macro name.
Step 3 – Assigning shortcut keys to Excel Macros enables swift execution. By assigning a specific key combination, like “F,” you can easily trigger the macro by pressing those keys. This step is optional.
Step 4 – Choose where you want to store the macro. You can store it in “This Workbook” (accessible only in the current workbook), “New Workbook” (accessible in any new workbook), or in “Personal Macro Workbook” (accessible in any workbook).
Step 5 – Adding a description to your macro can make it easier to understand its purpose or what it does. Let’s say we add a description like “This macro is designed to format the salary cell.”

Step 6 – Once you’ve set up the details, click OK to start recording your actions.

Step 7 – Excel is now recording every action you perform, so go ahead and carry out the tasks you want the Macro to automate. Now, head over to the “Home” tab.
Step 8 – Select the salary range and then use “Conditional Formatting” to format the salary according to specific conditions.
Step 9 – Afterward, select “Highlight Cells Rules” and then opt for the “Greater Than” tab.

Step 10 – When you see the ‘Greater Than’ dialog box, in the first column, enter ‘$58,000’ to filter values greater than this amount. In the second column, select ‘Light Red’ to color-format these cells.

Step 11 – We’ve formatted our salary cells according to specific conditions, and these steps have been saved in a Macro.

Step 12 – After you’ve completed your actions, go back to the “Developer” tab and click on “Stop Recording”. Excel will stop recording your actions.

By doing this, we’ve effectively captured our actions in a macro, allowing us to easily repeat these tasks whenever needed.

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How to Run the Macro in Excel

There are various methods to execute a recorded macro in Excel. Let’s explore each one using the example we previously recorded, called “Formatting_salary,” with our employee table:

From the Developer Tab

Step 1 – Make sure you’re on the workbook where the macro was recorded. Next, go to the “Developer” tab on the ribbon and click the “Macros” button. This action will open up the Macros dialog box for you.

Step 2 – Within the Macros dialog box, you’ll find a list displaying all the Macros available in your workbook. Simply pick out the specific one you wish to run. For instance, let’s select the “Formatting_salary” macro we previously made to format the salary column.

Step 3 – Once you’ve chosen the macro, simply click ‘Run.’ Doing so will activate the selected macro, formatting our salary cells based on the conditions specified within the macro.

Using a Keyboard Shortcut

Step 1 – Go to the “Developer” tab on the ribbon and click the “Macros” button. This action will open up the Macros dialog box for you.
Step 2 – After you’ve opened the Macros dialog box, you’ll see a list showing all the available Macros in your workbook. Simply select the one you want to assign a shortcut to by clicking on it.

Step 3 – Click on “Options” and this will open up the Macro Options dialog box.

Step 4 – If you’ve been following along with our blog, you might have previously assigned a shortcut key within the “Shortcut key” dialog box. If not, you can simply assign any key combination there. For instance, Ctrl + Shift + F could be a useful choice.
Step 5 – Confirm the keyboard shortcut assignment by clicking ‘OK’ in the Macro Options dialog box. Then, whenever you need to execute the macro using the shortcut key you’ve set earlier, just press the specific keys you designated (such as Ctrl + Shift + F).
Step 6 – Select the range of values where you’d like to apply the macro, then press the shortcut key. This will format the cells based on the conditions specified in the macro.

Step 1 – Locate the Quick Access Toolbar (QAT) at the top left corner of the Excel window. Click on the small arrow pointing downward on the right-hand side of the QAT. From there, choose “More Commands” in the dropdown menu.

Step 2 – In the Excel Options dialog box, under “Choose commands from”, select “Macros”.

Step 3 – Choose the specific Macro you wish to add to the Quick Access Toolbar from the list provided. Then, simply click the “Add >>” button to place it in the list on the right side of the Quick Access Toolbar.

Step 4 – After choosing the Macro for your toolbar, you can rename its button by picking it from the list on the right and hitting “Modify.” When you’re happy with all your choices, just click “OK” to close the Excel Options dialog box.

Step 5 – Your macro button is now on the Quick Access Toolbar. To use it, just select the values you want to work with and click this button whenever you want to run the macro. Easy as that!

How to Save a Macro with the Workbook

Macro attached to the workbook automates everything worked within the file for anybody opening it. Thus, there’s no need for the installation or setting up of the same on different systems.

Here are the simple steps to save a Macro within your workbook:

Step 1 – Click on File -> Save As to save the workbook.

Step 2 – Click on the “Save as” option in the left panel

Step 2 – Select where to store the file, give it a name, and under “Save as type”, opt for “Excel Macro-Enabled Workbook”. Finally, click “Save” to secure your workbook, ensuring the macro is retained within.

How to Disable Macros

Disabling macros in Excel is very important for safety when dealing with files from unknown sources. Such macros can embed malicious code, and disabling them helps prevent malicious scripts from getting executed in your system. Here’s how you can disable macros in Excel:

Step 1: Click on the File Tab after opening Microsoft Excel.

Step 2: Select Options from the left-hand menu to bring up the Excel Options window.

Step 3: In the Excel Options dialog box, click on Trust Center.

Step 4: Click on Trust Center Settings to open the Trust Center window.

Step 5: From the list of options on the left, select “Macro Settings”.

Step 6: Choose one of the following options as per your security preference:

Disable all macros without notification: Turns off macros completely without any prompt.
Disable all macros with notification: Strips the macros from running, but allows you to enable them when necessary.
Disable all macros except digitally signed macros: Allows macros only if signed by a trusted publisher.
Enable all macros (not recommended; potentially dangerous code can run): Runs all macros without restriction, which is dangerous unless absolutely needed.

Step 7: In the end, confirm the adjustments made by clicking the OK button, thereby closing the window for the Trust Center.

Step 8: Restart the Excel program so that the new macro settings are applied.

Example Scenario:

Dataset Before Macros were Disabled

(This table has a macro that calculates the bonus column automatically.)

Dataset After Macros were Disabled

(The macro is disabled, and is not calculating the bonus column any longer).

Key Takeaways:

The Bonus column was auto-calculated prior to the disabling of macros.
After the macro was disabled, Excel terminated it, leaving the Bonus column empty.
The disabling of macros protects the user from malicious scripts while allowing the safe use of Excel.

Learnings from This Macros in Excel Guide

In recent times, when everything has come up to a speedily virtual world, macros redefine automated performance concerning the repetitive tasks resulting in productivity, efficiency, and accuracy. Mostly by taking a weight off the repetitive and complex processes, ending manual effort, reducing errors, and optimizing workflows, macros have become indispensable in such fields where maximum data processing happens, like with finance, accounting, manufacturing, etc.

Macros make mundane office tasks such as automating email replies, formatting documents, and even organizing files much easier, quicker, and cost-effective. With automation and data-driven decision-making gaining momentum in different business environments, Macro’s presence and impact will surely gain more momentum; hence a significant tool for professionals in their quest for efficiency in this competitive domain.