MS Office Macro Guide

MS Office Macro Guide
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Microsoft Office is vital to many businesses and individuals, yet most people miss one of its most powerful features. Macros provide the ability to automate commonly repeated actions and even create abilities that never existed in the program before.

Computer macros have existed since the early days of computing. They allow the user to create a series of actions that can be performed very easily or quickly, often by pressing a single button. They have advanced to the point where they can allow anyone with a basic understanding of programming to do things that the people who made the program to begin with never considered. Those without prior skills can still automate many functions.

Macro Basics

Macros can save a lot of time and effort for anyone who uses Microsoft Office . For those who have never used a macro, though, they can be intimidating and difficult. These articles can help almost anyone to create a few basic macros and understand them well enough to move to the next step in creating and understanding macros.

Visual Basic for Apps

While it is possible to create very simply macros without understanding Visual Basic for Applications (VBA), if you want to truly get the most out of your macros you need to be able to use VBA. So whether you are a coder who wants to be able to do more with Office or someone who uses Office programs and is not afraid of some very basic coding, learn how you can create a far better experience.

PowerPoint

Creating a PowerPoint presentation may seem like a huge task. One thing that can help simplify the process is to learn how to make PowerPoint do exactly what you want. Whether you want to impress your team with your knowledge of PowerPoint or simply look for a way to create your presentation without as much effort, there is no better method than using macros.

Microsoft Word

Word Macros

Of course, every program in Office is vital, depending on the type of work you are doing. Adding macros to each of those applications can be useful, but for most people the majority of time they spend using Office will be spent in Microsoft Word. That makes the ability to use macros in Word more popular than in most other Office programs. This is especially true since there are so many simple tasks that people perform repeatedly in Word. Learn how you can quickly repeat simple actions, create tools that the developers may have never even considered or even build an entire website using macros.

Excel

Spreadsheets are not usually much fun to create. Part of the reason for this is that creating them can often be repetitive and monotonous. If you regularly use MS Excel, understanding macros is a great way to save hours and decrease boredom. It can also help you to impress your boss or customers by accomplishing things that they never knew that Excel could do.

Advanced Macros

While many people may not even know that macros exist, there is a great deal of a lot of power available for anyone who takes the time to learn to use them. Still, while there are specific programs that can gain plenty of value from using macros, limiting them to working inside those programs can be far too constraining. The ability to use Access databases and MS Project can help the advanced user break those limits. On the other hand, there is enough power in macros to make them dangerous as well. While it is mostly controlled, anyone who wants to understand macros should be aware of the Macro Virus.

References

  • Image, screenshot from author’s computer