How To Record A Macro Using Microsoft Word Part 2

Introduction

Hi, my name is Philip King, and welcome to Part 2 of my tutorial on Recording A Macro Using Microsoft Word.

In this tutorial you learn how to do two things:

• How to assign a macro to a keyboard shortcut and then run the macro using the keyboard shortcut.
• How to assign a macro to a toolbar button and run the macro from the toolbar button.

 

This is the second of a three part tutorial covering the recording of a macro using Microsoft Word, how to assign shortcut keys and toolbar buttons for the macro and how to make modifications to your macros.

• Part 1: Recording a Macro
  Search and Replace all occurrences of a word or phrase in an open document.
• Part 2: Creating Macro Shortcut Keys
  Assign a macro to a quick-key (shortcut) and a toolbar button so it can be run quickly.
• Part 3: Editing a Macro
  How to edit and make changes to macro.

 

This video tutorial, How To Record A Macro Using Microsoft Word Part 2,
is also available as a HD PDF file for download. You will need Adobe Acrobat 9 or better to view.

 

 

 

Why Use A Macro?

Why would you want an macro? Well there’s nothing quite like a macro for getting repetitive work done quickly and although creating macros can seem mysterious it’s really quite simple. So in this three part tutorial I’ll show you the basics of creating, running and changing a macro for Microsoft Word. For my demonstrations I’ll be using Word 2003 but the techniques I’ll show you can be used on any version of Microsoft Word.

The Next Step

In Part One you learned how to use the Macro Recorder to turn your keystrokes and mouse movements into a macro code. You also learned how to run the macro using the Tools > Macros menu command.

Assign A Macro To A Shortcut

In this section, you will learn how to assign a macro to a quick-key or keyboard shortcut and a toolbar button so the macro can be run easily.

Continuing On

So, continuing on from the last lesson, lets begin by assigning our macro to a quick-key or keyboard shortcut.

Begin by clicking the Tools menu tab followed by the Customize menu item or by Right-clicking within an empty area to the right of the menu and toolbar buttons.

Select the Customize menu item.

Choose the Command tab in the Customize dialog box if it’s not already open and the macros template file in the Save In dialog box if it’s not selected.

Click the Keyboard button at the bottom of the Customize dialog box and search for the Macros item in the Categories selection box.

Select the Macros item and our macro, ChangeCoName in the Macros selection box. Again, check the Save changes in drop down menu has the correct template selected, it’s usually correct.

Click inside the Press new shortcut key: text box then press the shortcut key combination you would like to use, such as Ctrl+F12.

Click on the Assign button and the shortcut key combination will appear in the Current keys box.

Click the Close button to close the Customize Keyboard dialog.

Again click the Close button to close the Customize dialog, and lets see if our new shortcut selection works. Type the shortcut key combination (Ctrl+F12) and you should see the changes instantly.

Congratulations

Congratulations, you’ve created your first macro shortcut key combination.

Now lets assign a macro to a toolbar button.

Assign A Macro To A Toolbar Button

Begin by clicking the Tools menu tab followed by the Customize menu item.

With the Customize dialog box displayed select the Commands tab and scroll down in the Categories selection box until you find the macros item. Select Macros and then in the Commands selection box, look for our macro. It will be called something like, Normal.NewMacros.ChangeCoName.

Drag To Menu Bar

We are now going to drag this item to a menu bar. So, click on the icon and drag the item to a menu bar and release it. The macro will appear on the menu bar as a button.

Right Click within the new ChangeCoName button and select the Name field within the menu. Edit the button name as required, and then select the Image and Text menu item.

The menu will probably disappear at this point so Right Click the ChangeCoName button again and select the Change Button Image menu item where you can choose a nice icon for your button.

Once again the menu disappears so Right click within the new ChangeCoName button and select the Edit Button Image menu item.

This action displays the Button Editor dialog window where you can modify your chosen icon. Click the OK button when your satisfied with the appearance of the button.

Click the Close button to close the Customize dialog box and lets see if our new button works. Click the ChangeCoName button, and you should see the changes instantly.

Congratulations

Congratulations, you’ve created your first macro toolbar button.

I hope you enjoyed this session. Don’t forget to let me have your thoughts on this video. See you soon.

You may also be interested in the following: