Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Word in Microsoft 365. If you are using an earlier version (Word 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Word, click here: Writing a Macro from Scratch.

Writing a Macro from Scratch

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated July 27, 2023)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Word in Microsoft 365

Many of the tips used in WordTips rely upon macros in order to run. Some readers may not know how to enter a macro from scratch in Word. There are actually two ways you can create macros. First you can record a macro, which is appropriate when you want to record a series of steps you perform quite often. The second method of creating a macro, writing one from scratch, is much more powerful.

To create a macro from scratch, follow these steps:

Make sure the Developer tab of the ribbon is displayed.
In the Code group, click Macros. Word displays the Macros dialog box. (You can also display the Macros dialog box by simply pressing Alt+F8.)
Using the Macros In drop-down list (near the bottom of the dialog box), select where you want your new macro stored. Select Normal.dotm (Global Template) if you want your macro available in all documents; select a different template if you want the macro available only with that particular document template. You can even assign a macro to a specific document.
In the Macro Name box, type a descriptive name you want assigned to the macro you are writing. (Make sure the name doesn't have any spaces in it.) Optionally, you can enter information in the Description box.
Click on Create. The VBA Editor is started and you can write your macro.
When you are through, close the macro window by selecting the Close and Return to Microsoft Word option from the File menu, or press Alt+Q.

Note:

If you would like to know how to use the macros described on this page (or on any other page on the WordTips sites), I've prepared a special page that includes helpful information. Click here to open that special page in a new browser tab.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (6821) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Word in Microsoft 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Writing a Macro from Scratch.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. Learn more about Allen...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Correctly Repeated Words

There are times when you need to repeat a word in a document, but doing so triggers an "error reaction" from Word's ...

Discover More

Animated Recalculation in Excel

Excel includes some animation capability that is enabled by default. If the animation is bothersome to you, then you'll ...

Discover More

Unique Military Date Format

Some industries (such as the military) have special formatting that they use to represent dates. Here is one such format ...

Discover More

Do More in Less Time! Are you ready to harness the full power of Word 2013 to create professional documents? In this comprehensive guide you'll learn the skills and techniques for efficiently building the documents you need for your professional and your personal life. Check out Word 2013 In Depth today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Setting the Left Indent of a Paragraph in a Macro

When using a macro to format text, you can set all sorts of attributes for paragraphs or individual characters. One ...

Discover More

Moving the Insertion Point in a Macro

One of the common things done in macros is to somehow "process" documents, which often means moving the insertion point ...

Discover More

Moving to the Start or End of the Real Document

The main body of your text is only one part of what makes up the entire document. Documents can consist of other ...

Discover More

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

Notify me about new comments ONLY FOR THIS TIP

Notify me about new comments ANYWHERE ON THIS SITE

Hide my email address

What is 1 + 1?

2020-03-31 08:25:34

Pia

Hello,

I have to write a macro to change the branding and the structure of a word document (method of procedure - MOP) based on the following requirements:

1. We have a MOP document written in our company's template. The client, however, wants the same document in their company's format. So, we need to rebrand the document per the client company's template.

2. We also need to make changes to the placement of content. For example, in our document, there is a section called "Pre-installation Checks". The content from this section needs to go into a table in the Client's document. So, it means we need to make structural changes to the document.
There would be more such structural changes throughout the document. I can work on those if you can provide an example for one such change.

The idea here is for the engineers who are not very familiar with Word to work on these documents with just a click of the macros.

Could you please help with writing a macro for these two requirements?

Thank you!

This Site

Got a version of Word that uses the ribbon interface (Word 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the menu interface.