Hi, this is Wayne again with a topic “Recording Powerful Macros in Microsoft Word”.
In this article, I will show you how to record a macro in Microsoft Word and what is a macro. A macro is a way that you can automate common tasks that you do in Microsoft Word in this case and you can assign those macros to a keyboard shortcut or to a button. Let’S take a look so here I have a document that I’m working on and let’s say that this is going to end up being a manual or a book. That’S got lots of pages and, let’s say every so often I’m going to want to create section dividers that separate different parts of the text. I could certainly set up those separators and the sections every single time I need to, but why not create a macro to automate some of this for me and so, for example. Here I would like some blank space and a horizontal line separating these two sections to record the macro. To do this, I could simply go here to the view, Tab and then choose macros record macro, but if you’re going to use macros quite a bit in Your Word, documents you’ll probably want to add a new tab into Microsoft. Word. The way you do this is by going up here to this button in the quick access, toolbar and just choose more commands and there’s other ways to get to the same place. But here there’s a button that says customize ribbon and these are all the tabs that I currently have activated in Microsoft Word. If I browse down look, there’s a developer tab and by default for most people, it’s hidden.
So that’s why you need to enable it click. Ok now I have a developer tab so, like I said you can access macros here on The View tab in the macros group on the ribbon or just go here to the developer tab. One reason I like the developer tab, a little better is. I do get a few more options, just right there ready for me to click and use. Now there are a couple of different ways to create a word macro. You could click here on Visual Basic and use Visual Basic programming language to create your macro. That’S a little bit harder if you’re not a programmer. An easier way to do a similar thing is to click here on record macro.
This makes it as simple as possible to make your macro so I’ll click there, and it wants me to name the macro I’ll type in separator. Just so you know you can’t have any blank spaces in the macro name. So if there’s two words, you just push them together with no blank space. Next, do I want the macro assigned to a button or to the keyboard? These are both good options, but in this case I don’t really want a button getting in the way or covering up some of my text. I also don’t want to have to go find the button. I just want to use the keyboard so I’ll click here on keyboard, and here I need to set up a new keyboard shortcut key so for this I could do control s, but that’s already assigned to be file, Save Right.
What? If I did control C? Well, that’s already edit copy, so you might want to avoid some of the common keyboard shortcuts. One way to do that is to combine three keys to make your keyboard shortcut. So, like Ctrl shift s now, that’s also already assigned to something else. Style apply pane, but that’s not something I use on a regular basis, so I’m going to go ahead and reassign this next. I need to decide. Do I want to save these changes just in this particular word document or in all future Word documents by default? In word, it’s going to save it so that you can use it in all future Word documents, so that’s kind of nice that it’s the default option.
Next, you can go ahead and click assign and close now it looks like nothing happened, but what’s happening is Microsoft? Word is recording everything I do in the document and if you look at the mouse pointer, it looks like a cassette tape. The reason why is because you could use those old cassette tapes to record things and that’s what’s happening anything I do with the keys on the keyboard. Anything that I choose with the mouse is also being recorded, so I’m just going to tap enter on the keyboard.
Let’S say twice and then I want a separator, maybe a horizontal line. So I’m going to go to the Home tab and I’ll go here to the paragraph group, I’m going to click next to the borders button and here’s a button that gives me a horizontal line and then I’ll tap enter a couple more times and that’s a nice Separator creating some space between two sections of this manual that I’m working on. So at this point I’m done recording my macro, but I need to go here to the developer.
Tab click stop recording now, like I said earlier, I could just go to the view. Tab. Macros, stop recording, so that’s another way to do it, but you don’t get all of the options right there visible for you, so I click stop recording and my macro should be ready to use now.
So, let’s say later in my document, I get to a place where I want a separator put in I’ll. Just hold Ctrl hold shift and tap s and look what it does. So what a great time saver for me, instead of six or seven keyboard presses and instead of of going up and finding the exact option that I want to put in with the mouse all I have to do is control shift s for my separator. Let’S look at another option: let’s say that I find myself often having to put in my name and contact information into my documents. Why not turn that also into a macro so I’ll go here to developer record macro and I’ll call this contact info no spaces? I want it to be a keyboard shortcut and I’m going to use Ctrl shift C for contact.
That’S what that’s going to stand for. I want it to save in normal so that I can use this time after time as long as I’m using word on this computer, it should work for me. I click assign close now. It’S recording everything I do so.
I put in a name tap enter on the keyboard or return, but let’s say instead of having this space between the two lines, as normally happens in Microsoft. Word. What, if I want it to be immediately below I’ll, just hold shift and tap enter on the keyboard that put puts it immediately below type in the position again shift enter. I can put in the address again shift enter and I could put in email and phone number as well.
If I want and then I’ll just go up and click stop recording. Let’S try out the new macro, I’m going to delete all this and let’s say at the bottom of this document I want to put in the contact info Ctrl shift C and there it is maybe later on in a different part of the document. I want it again, Ctrl shift C and there it is again now those are just two examples of macros that you could create in Microsoft Word. There are many other powerful macros. You could create just only limited by your creativity for how you want to simplify, creating your documents. You can also look online for some ideas for word, macros that you could record one last thing to be aware of with the developer tab selected, you’ll notice that we have an option here for macro security when you use macros in a document by default. The next time you open it up, or somebody else opens up the document. The macro is disabled, but you get a notification saying that it’s disabled and you can click the button to enable the macros.
If you prefer, you could just disable all macros and not notify anyone, and they would have to be manually enabled or you could disable all macros, except for digitally signed macros or you could enable all macros not recommended, as you can see, because it is possible for Someone to create a malicious macro that could erase your data on your spreadsheet and things like that. So let’s say you open a Word document that you find online and there’s a macro attached to it. Do you really want that to be automatically enabled you don’t know what the person put into the macro? Maybe it just deletes stuff, or things like that, so you’ll have to be careful with this last option. For me, I almost always leave it here, disable all macros but give a notification, so I can re-enable it and we have some other options as well.
I’Ll click! Ok, if you want a list of all of your Macros, all you have to do. Is click here? Macros, it lists the macros that you have put in place. If you want to get rid of any of these, you can just select them and delete them. If you click edit, it takes you into the visual basic programming interface and that may be intimidating for many people.
You can also go here to organizer to get more information about your Macros and make some changes. You can rename some things so check that out. If you want to learn more and if there’s a lot of interest in this article, I’d be happy to show all of the ins and outs of this organizer and how it can help you. So I hope you’ll give macros in Microsoft. Word a try. There’S a lot you can do with them and I hope you’ve enjoyed watching this video. If you have please like, follow And subscribe, and when you do click the Bell so you’ll be notified. When I post another video, if you’d like to support my channel, consider clicking the thanks button below the video, you can also support me through my patreon account, or by buying Channel merch and you’ll, see information about those options in the description below the video foreign .