Macros are a timesaving feature that allow you to record a sequence of actions that you do in excel, and replay them back later.
You give each macro a name, and you can invoke them later, and Excel will "do" whatever it is you did when you recorded the macro.
To record a new macro:
1) Open Excel
2) Go to Tools->Macros->Record New Macro...
3) Type in a name for your macro and hit OK
(A new toolbar will popup with a "stop" button on it. Excel is now recording everything you do)
4) Do something, like, for example, select some cells and make them bold.
5) Click the "stop" button.
Now your macro has been recorded! You can play it back later by:
1) Open Excel
2) Go to Tools->Macros->Macros...
3) Select your macro from the list
4) Click "Run"
The actions you performed earlier will now be executed.
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Macros are written in Visual Basic for Applications, or "VBA". It is a programming language which uses the Excel Object Model to perform various actions. You can edit and create custom macros by writing the code manually in VBA. To do this:
1) Open Excel
2) Go to tools->macros->macros...
3) Select an already existing macro
4) Click "Edit"
(The visual basic editor will open, showing you the code for your macro)
At this point you are writing a program in Visual Basic. To learn how to edit macros, you need to learn visual basic, as well as the specific quirks related to excel macros in visual basic.
Recording a macro, and then using it as a template while you edit it is a common trick for making macros manually more quickly.
If you are not familiar with VB, I would not suggest attempting to edit your macros in any but the most simplest of ways. If you're brave, you can try to learn about editing macros in VBA here:
http://www.anthony-vba.kefra.com/
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