In Word, for example, you can change the properties and invoke the methods of the current Word document by using the ActiveDocument property of the Application object. This ActiveDocument property returns a reference to the Document object that is currently active in the Word application. The following code does exactly what it says; that is, it saves the active document in the application. Read the code from left to right, "In this Application, with the Document referenced by ActiveDocument, invoke the Save method.

You instruct a Document object to Save and it does not require any more input from you. If a method requires more information, those details are called parameters. The following code runs the SaveAs method, which requires a new name for the file. Values listed in parentheses after a method name are the parameters. Here, the new name for the file is a parameter for the SaveAs method. You use the same syntax to set a property that you use to read a property.

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The following code executes a method to select cell A1 in Excel and then to set a property to put something in that cell. The first challenge in VBA programming is to get a feeling for the object model of each Office application and to read the object, method, and property syntax. The object models are similar in all Office applications, but each is specific to the kind of documents and objects that it manipulates.

The Advantages of VBA Macros in Excel

In the first line of the code snippet, there is the Application object, Excel this time, and then the ActiveSheet , which provides access to the active worksheet. After that is a term not as familiar, Range, which means "define a range of cells in this way. In other words, the first line of code defines an object, the Range, and runs a method against it to select it. The result is automatically stored in another property of the Application called Selection.

The second line of code sets the Value property of Selection to the text "Hello World", and that value appears in cell A1. The simplest VBA code that you write might simply gain access to objects in the Office application that you are working with and set properties. For example, you could get access to the rows in a table in Word and change their formatting in your VBA script.

That sounds simple, but it can be incredibly useful; once you can write that code, you can harness all of the power of programming to make those same changes in several tables or documents, or make them according to some logic or condition.

For a computer, making changes is no different from making 10, so there is an economy of scale here with larger documents and problems, and that is where VBA can really shine and save you time. Now that you know something about how Office applications expose their object models, you are probably eager to try calling object methods, setting object properties, and responding to object events.

To do so, you must write your code in a place and in a way that Office can understand; typically, by using the Visual Basic Editor. Although it is installed by default, many users do not know that it is even available until it is enabled on the ribbon. All Office applications use the ribbon. One tab on the ribbon is the Developer tab, where you access the Visual Basic Editor and other developer tools.

Because Office does not display the Developer tab by default, you must enable it by using the following procedure:. On the File tab, choose Options to open the Options dialog box. Under Choose commands from on the left side of the dialog box, select Popular Commands. Under Customize the Ribbon on the right side of the dialog box, select Main Tabs in the drop down list box, and then select the Developer checkbox. In Office , you displayed the Developer tab by choosing the Office button, choosing Options , and then selecting the Show Developer tab in Ribbon check box in the Popular category of the Options dialog box.

After you enable the Developer tab, it is easy to find the Visual Basic and Macros buttons. To protect Office users against viruses and dangerous macro code, you cannot save macro code in a standard Office document that uses a standard file extension. Instead, you must save the code in a file with a special extension. For example you cannot save macros in a standard Word document with a. When you open a. Examine the settings and options in the Trust Center on all Office applications. The default setting disables macro from running, but warns you that macros have been disabled and gives you the option to turn them back on for that document.

You can designate specific folders where macros can run by creating Trusted Locations, Trusted Documents, or Trusted Publishers. The most portable option is to use Trusted Publishers, which works with digitally signed documents that you distribute. For more information about the security settings in a particular Office application, open the Options dialog box, choose Trust Center , and then choose Trust Center Settings.

Some Office applications, like Outlook, save macros by default in a master template on your local computer. Although that strategy reduces the local security issues on your own computer when you run your own macros, it requires a deployment strategy if you want to distribute your macro.

Getting started with VBA in Office

When you choose the Macro button on the Developer tab, it opens the Macros dialog box, which gives you access to VBA subroutines or macros that you can access from a particular document or application. Another button on the Developer tab in Word and Excel is the Record Macro button, which automatically generates VBA code that can reproduce the actions that you perform in the application. Record Macro is a terrific tool that you can use to learn more about VBA.

Reading the generated code can give you insight into VBA and provide a stable bridge between your knowledge of Office as a user and your knowledge as a programmer. The only caveat is that the generated code can be confusing because the Macro editor must make some assumptions about your intentions, and those assumptions are not necessarily accurate. Open Excel to a new Workbook and choose the Developer tab in the ribbon. Choose Record Macro and accept all of the default settings in the Record Macro dialog box, including Macro1 as the name of the macro and This Workbook as the location.

Choose OK to begin recording the macro. Note how the button text changes to Stop Recording. Choose that button the instant you complete the actions that you want to record. Choose cell B1 and type the programmer's classic first string: Hello World.

Excel VBA Tutorial for Beginners: Learn in 3 Days

Stop typing and look at the Stop Recording button; it is grayed out because Excel is waiting for you to finish typing the value in the cell. Choose cell B2 to complete the action in cell B1, and then choose Stop Recording. Be aware of the similarities to the earlier code snippet that selected text in cell A1, and the differences. In this code, cell B1 is selected, and then the string "Hello World" is applied to the cell that has been made active. The quotes around the text specify a string value as opposed to a numeric value.

Remember how you chose cell B2 to display the Stop Recording button again? That action shows up as a line of code as well. The macro recorder records every keystroke. The lines of code that start with an apostrophe and colored green by the editor are comments that explain the code or remind you and other programmers the purpose of the code. VBA ignores any line, or portion of a line, that begins with a single quote.

Writing clear and appropriate comments in your code is an important topic, but that discussion is out of the scope of this article. Subsequent references to this code in the article do not include those four comment lines. When the macro recorder generates the code, it uses a complex algorithm to determine the methods and the properties that you intended.

If you do not recognize a given property, there are many resources available to help you. For example, in the macro that you recorded, the macro recorder generated code that refers to the FormulaR1C1 property. Not sure what that means?

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4. When to use VBA and why!
5. Excel VBA Tutorial.

Be aware that Application object is implied in all VBA macros. The code that you recorded works with Application. Select FormulaR1C1 in the recorded macro and press F1. The Help system runs a quick search, determines that the appropriate subjects are in the Excel Developer section of the Excel Help, and lists the FormulaR1C1 property. You can choose the link to read more about the property, but before you do, be aware of the Excel Object Model Reference link near the bottom of the window.

Choose the link to view a long list of objects that Excel uses in its object model to describe the Worksheets and their components. Choose any one of those to see the properties and methods that apply to that particular object, along with cross references to different related options. Many Help entries also have brief code examples that can help you. The combination of the loop and the conditionals is what drives this macro. The loop tells Excel to go through each cell in the selection, and the conditionals tell it what to do with that cell.

Finally, we get to write the results of our calculations to cells.

Here are the lines we use to do that:. When we run the macro with the Macros button in the Developer tab, we get our sums:. When you first look at the VBA macro above, it looks quite complex. But after breaking it down into its constituent parts, the logic becomes clear. Like any scripting language, it takes time to get used to the syntax of VBA. When you get stuck, running a Google search is a quick way to get your VBA questions answered. Sounds too good to be true? That's Windows, if you know how to use it. Explore more about: Your email address will not be published.

Terrible example of use for VBA! A pivot table would do the same job must faster, more reliable and scalable. Although I do agree should learn about VBA, this article is terrible at explaining why. Top Deals. Email Facebook Whatsapp Pinterest Twitter. What is Excel VBA? It's a programming language that enables you to control just about everything in Excel. You'll learn how to create Macros that can be run from things like a button on a spreadsheet, the Excel Ribbon - in fact, lots of places.

What Is VBA?

Learning Excel VBA will enable you to do a lot more with the software than you can via the normal spreadsheet view. Course Requisites You don't need to be an Excel Guru to take this course, just average Excel skills will do. If you're new to Excel then this is not the place to start. We have a full and free Excel course here on our main site: Free Beginners Excel Course. What software do I need?

You need Excel or greater to do this course. You can probably follow along if you have a version of Excel earlier than this, but the screenshots are all from later versions.