Microsoft Office

Introducing Visual Basic for Applications 39
Creating VBA Macros
Excel provides two ways to create macros:
n Turn on the macro recorder and record your actions.
n Enter the code directly into a VBA module.
The following sections describe these methods.
Recording VBA macros
In this section I describe the basic steps that you take to record a VBA macro. In most cases, you can record
your actions as a macro and then simply replay the macro; you needn’t look at the code that’s automatically
generated. If simply recording and playing back macros is as far as you go with VBA, you don’t need to be concerned
with the language itself (although a basic understanding of how things work doesn’t do any harm).
Recording your actions to create VBA code: The basics
Excel’s macro recorder translates your actions into VBA code. To start the macro recorder, choose Developer ➪
Code ➪ Record Macro (or, click the Record Macro icon in the status bar). Excel displays the Record Macro
dialog box, shown in Figure 39.7.
FIGURE 39.7
The Record Macro dialog box.
The Record Macro dialog box presents several options:
n
n
n
Macro Name: The name of the macro. By default, Excel proposes names, such as Macro1,
Macro2, and so on.
Shortcut Key: You can specify a key combination that executes the macro. The key combination
always uses the Ctrl key. You can also press Shift when you enter a letter. For example, pressing
Shift while you enter the letter H makes the shortcut key combination Ctrl+Shift+H.
Store Macro In: The location for the macro. Your choices are the current workbook, your
Personal Macro Workbook (See “Storing macros in your Personal Macro Workbook,” later in this
chapter), or a new workbook.
n Description: A description of the macro (optional).
To begin recording your actions, click OK. When you finish recording the macro, choose Developer ➪
Code ➪ Stop Recording (or click the Stop Recording button in the status bar).
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