Excel® 2007 Bible

Chapter 39. Introducing Visual Basic for Applications

<feature><title>In This Chapter</title>

• Introducing VBA macros

• Creating VBA macros

• Recording VBA macros

• More about recording VBA macros

• Writing VBA code

• Learning more about VBA

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This chapter is an introduction to the Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) macro language—a key component for users who want to customize Excel. This chapter teaches you how to record macros and create simple macro procedures. Subsequent chapters expand upon the topics in this chapter.

Introducing VBA Macros

In its broadest sense, a macro is a sequence of instructions that automates some aspect of Excel so that you can work more efficiently and with fewer errors. You may create a macro, for example, to format and print your month-end sales report. After the macro is developed, you can then execute the macro to perform many time-consuming procedures automatically.

You need not be a power user to create and use simple VBA macros. Casual users can simply turn on Excel’s macro recorder: Excel records your actions and converts them into a VBA macro. When you execute this macro, Excel performs the actions again. More advanced users, though, can write code that tells Excel to perform tasks that can’t be recorded. For example, you can write procedures that display custom dialog boxes, add new commands to Excel’s menus, or process data in a series of workbooks.

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If you plan to work with VBA macros, you’ll want to make sure ...