Macros (VBA for Excel)

Introduction to VBA for Excel

VBA stands for Visual Basic for Applications. It is a custom version of the Visual Basic programming language that has powered Microsoft Excel’s macros since the mid-1990s. The programming interface of MS Excel will let you,

  • Create and Execute Macros (explained in the next section). Anything that the user can do in Excel from the user interface can be done by writing code in VBA for Excel.
  • Create User Defined Functions (UDFs).
  • Integrate Excel with other applications such as Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, Notepad, etc.

What is a Macro ?

Macros are codes written in VBA (Visual Basic for Applications), or recorded in MS Excel (or other MS applications) which helps to reduce the manual effort required for a job. Macros save your time and headaches by automating common, repetitive tasks. They reduce the possibility of human error that increases with many, repetitive keystrokes and tasks. The most important feature of an Excel macro is, it can be saved for future use, shared among multiple users.

In a layman’s language, a macro is a recording of your routine steps in Excel that you can replay using a single button

The best part is You don’t have to be a programmer or know Visual Basic Applications (VBA) to use Macros. You just need to copy the codes shared here and hit the run button to execute them. Save the file as a Macro enabled workbook for future use.


How to use the codes shared here?

  • Step 1: Copy the Code.
  • Step 2: Go to the Developer tab of the Excel ribbon and Click on Visual Basic to activate the Visual Basic Editor of Excel. ‘ALT + F11’ is the keyboard shortcut for the Visual Basic Editor.
  • Step 3: Right click on the tree view and select Insert to insert a new ‘Module’.
  • Step 4: Paste the copied code into the newly inserted module.
  • Step 5: Close the VB editor and Click on Macros in the Developer Tab. You will get a dialogue box with the list of Macros ready for execution. Click on the Run button to execute the macro.

Ready to use Macros


1. Add Multiple WorkSheets in a Workbook

2. Delete Worksheet/Worksheets

3. Insert Rows

4. Delete Rows

5. Macros to Insert and Delete Columns

6. Message Box and Input Box in VBA

7. Import and Export Text Files into Excel

8. Hide and Unhide Worksheets

9. Convert a worksheet into Very Hidden Mode

10. Delete every Worksheet, except Active Sheet

11. Create a PDF file from a worksheet

12. Convert Text into Upper, Lower or Proper Case

13. Join Text in Rows and Columns

14. Hide and UnHide Rows and Columns

15. Select the first 1000 cells of Column A

16. Protect and UnProtect sheets with Password

17. Text to Speech

18. AutoFit Rows and Columns

19. Reverse Text

20. Macro to convert Formulas into Values

21. Create a List of Worksheets

22. Count the number of worksheets in a workbook

23. Convert Numbers into Words

24. Split Data into Rows or Columns

25. Macro to create an Excel Table

26. Find and Highlight the Largest and Smallest numbers in a data set

27. Find and Highlight the Negative and Positive values

28. Italicize a specific row of every worksheet

29. Remove Data Validation

30. Select the First or Last worksheet

31. Create the list of Files and Subfolders

32. Sort worksheets in Alphabetical order

33. Rename every worksheet in a workbook

34. Macro to create Pivot Table

35. Close Workbooks

36. Group workbooks

37. Create a Workbook for every Worksheet

38. Create the Table of Contents

39. Create a copy of the Workbook with a Time stamp

40. Combine different workbooks

41. Activate the Data Form in Excel

42. Hide formulas in a worksheet

42. Highlight misspelled words

43. Delete blank worksheets

44. Delete Pivot tables

45. Open office Apps from Excel

46. Send workbook as mail through Outlook

47. Resize charts in a workbook

48. Highlight cells containing a specific Text

49. Delete Files and Directories from Excel

50. Create a picture of the selection

51. Perform arithmetic operation to a selection


Things to remember while using Macros

  • By default, the tab for developers is not displayed in excel. If you can’t see the Developer tab, use the quick access toolbar to activate it.
  • By default, Macros are disabled in excel. To execute macros, you will need to enable running macros.
  • We cannot Undo an action performed using Macro. Make sure that you have a backup of the data before executing the macro.
  • To save macros in a workbook, you must save your workbook in a macro-enabled format *.xlsm
  • Always fill in the description of the macro when creating one. This will help you understand your own work if you have to revisit it weeks or months later.