Introduction to Macros & VBA¶

A macro records your actions so you can replay them with one click — automating repetitive tasks. Under the hood it's VBA (Visual Basic for Applications).

Automation concept: repetitive tasks handled by code

Recording Your First Macro¶

View tab → Macros → Record Macro
  Name:        FormatReport
  Shortcut:    Ctrl+Shift+R
→ do your steps (format, sort, etc.)
→ Macros → Stop Recording

Now CtrlShiftR replays every step instantly.

What the Recorder Produces¶

Open Developer → Visual Basic (or AltF11) to see the generated code:

vba

5 lines

1Sub FormatReport()
2    Range("A1:D1").Font.Bold = True
3    Range("A1:D1").Interior.Color = RGB(33, 115, 70)
4    Columns("A:D").AutoFit
5End Sub

Each line is one recorded action. You can edit it directly.

A Tiny Hand-Written Macro¶

vba

3 lines

1Sub SayHello()
2    MsgBox "Total rows: " & Cells(Rows.Count, 1).End(xlUp).Row
3End Sub

MsgBox pops up a message; this one reports how many rows of data exist.

Macro-Enabled Files¶

Caution

Workbooks with macros must be saved as .xlsm (macro-enabled). A normal .xlsx silently discards macros on save. Also, macros from unknown sources can be malicious — only enable macros from files you trust.

When to Use Macros¶

+Repeating the same multi-step formatting/report every week

+Cleaning incoming data in a fixed way

+Building custom buttons for non-technical users

−Don't automate a one-off task — a formula or manual step is faster

−Don't reach for VBA when a formula or Power Query already solves it

Tip

Record first, then read the code. The macro recorder is the best way to learn VBA — do the task by hand, then study what Excel wrote.