I am sure all of you would have filled some sort of application or form some day or the other. And you must be the coolest guy around if you didn’t get irritated by the repeated procedure of filling the same information over and again. It simply is an irritating waste of time, isn’t it?
A Macro is a shortcut to a task you do repeatedly. Computer macros in Microsoft Word are a sequence of commands that you can record and associate with a shortcut key combination. These are designed to simplify instructions which are repeated over and again. This helps in saving considerable time by replacing an often-used, sometimes lengthy series of action with a shorter action.
Microsoft word support macros which simplify things by allowing you to record repeated steps and play them back anytime you want. For example, when typing a form letter involving repeated task with multiple steps or inserting “greek” text to test the layout of a document, you’re performing macro on your own. Take for the case of recording a macro that automatically prints the cover letter to a monthly report. This ensures that each cover is printed exactly the same way thereby reducing the possibility of making errors.
How to create a Macro?
Creating a macro is simple. In older versions of Microsoft Word, Macros are found under the “Tools” menu. In newer versions (Word 2007 or later), it can be accessed as a button under the “View” ribbon. The macro editor remembers anything you type and when you’re finished just click the mouse to stop recording. To play it back, just highlight the macro you created, and click “Run”.
Then there are these “power users” who likes to fine-tune Word macros in Visual Basic for Applications(VBA) which is derived from the general Visual Basic 6 programming language. Since VBA is a common macro language in other Microsoft Office products, it can extract information from other MS products like Excel Spreadsheet without performing those tasks yourself. Since all PC versions of Word support VBA, macros too are used in them.
Can macros be used across Mac and PC?
Microsoft Office 2008 for Apple’s OS X operating system does not support macros, so even if it loads it may appear different compared to that on a PC. However the newer version Office 2011 which is the standard MS suite on OS X, supports VBA thereby ensuring that macros can be used across the platforms.
So the next time you get annoyed by the tedious repetition of actions that your work entails, just set up a macro to it for you at the click of a button.
A Macro is a shortcut to a task you do repeatedly. Computer macros in Microsoft Word are a sequence of commands that you can record and associate with a shortcut key combination. These are designed to simplify instructions which are repeated over and again. This helps in saving considerable time by replacing an often-used, sometimes lengthy series of action with a shorter action.
Microsoft word support macros which simplify things by allowing you to record repeated steps and play them back anytime you want. For example, when typing a form letter involving repeated task with multiple steps or inserting “greek” text to test the layout of a document, you’re performing macro on your own. Take for the case of recording a macro that automatically prints the cover letter to a monthly report. This ensures that each cover is printed exactly the same way thereby reducing the possibility of making errors.
How to create a Macro?
Creating a macro is simple. In older versions of Microsoft Word, Macros are found under the “Tools” menu. In newer versions (Word 2007 or later), it can be accessed as a button under the “View” ribbon. The macro editor remembers anything you type and when you’re finished just click the mouse to stop recording. To play it back, just highlight the macro you created, and click “Run”.
Then there are these “power users” who likes to fine-tune Word macros in Visual Basic for Applications(VBA) which is derived from the general Visual Basic 6 programming language. Since VBA is a common macro language in other Microsoft Office products, it can extract information from other MS products like Excel Spreadsheet without performing those tasks yourself. Since all PC versions of Word support VBA, macros too are used in them.
Can macros be used across Mac and PC?
Microsoft Office 2008 for Apple’s OS X operating system does not support macros, so even if it loads it may appear different compared to that on a PC. However the newer version Office 2011 which is the standard MS suite on OS X, supports VBA thereby ensuring that macros can be used across the platforms.
So the next time you get annoyed by the tedious repetition of actions that your work entails, just set up a macro to it for you at the click of a button.
