ECON10151 Lecture 5
Automating Tasks with Excel Macros
Oct 2024
Learning Outcomes
• Be able to record and run macros in Excel to automate table formatting and create charts.
• Understand the principles of macros and apply them to efficiently handle repetitive tasks in Excel.
Introduction
In this week’s lecture, we will explore macros in Excel, which are powerful tools designed to automate repetitive tasks. A macro is essentially a series of instructions or commands that can execute multiple actions with a single click. Macros are created using Visual Basic for Applications (VBA), a programming language integrated into Excel that allows you to customise functionality.
With macros, you can perform a variety of tasks, such as formatting cells, performing calculations, and generating charts, all while saving time and reducing the likelihood of errors. To get started, the first step is to enable macros in Excel. This will allow us to harness their full potential as we delve into creating and using them throughout this course.
1 Setting Up Macros
The Macro feature is located under the Developer tab. However, the Developer tab is not displayed in the Excel ribbon by default, but you can easily add it to access macro-related features.
• For Windows Users
1. Click on the File tab.
2. Select Options.
3. In the Excel Options window, choose Customise Ribbon.
4. In the Customise the Ribbon section, locate the Main Tabs list and check the box next to Developer.
5. Click OK to apply the changes.
• For Mac Users
1. Click on Excel in the top menu.
2. Preferences.
3. Choose Ribbon & Toolbar.
4. the Customise the Ribbon section, find the Main Tabs list and check the box next to Developer.
5. Click Save to confirm the changes.
Save the file: Remember to save your file with the .xlsm extension to ensure that macros can be enabled and utilized.
2 Practice with Macro
Dataset
The dataset contains monthly sales data for different Lego themes from October to December. Each table provides information on the number of units sold (in thousands) and revenue generated (in USD millions).
• Theme: The specific Lego product category (e.g., Star Wars, Friends).
• Units Sold: Number of units sold during the month (in thousands).
• Revenue: Total sales revenue for the month (in USD millions).
Imagine you are a data analyst working for the Lego Company. You have been assigned the following tasks to enhance the sales data tables for the last quarter report of 2023. This means you need to complete the following tasks for October, November, and December.
Main Tasks:
1. Format the Table:
• Insert Title:
– Insert a new row at the top of each table.
– Merge the cells in this row to create a title space.
– Enter the title: ”Monthly Sales” and ensure it is centred within the merged cells.
– Bold the title and apply an appropriate colour to enhance visibility.
• Format Headers:
– Bold the headers of each table to ensure they stand out.
– Select a different shade of colour for the header cells to further distinguish them from the data.
• Format Values:
– Insert the currency dollar sign $ for revenue data.
2. Highlight the schemes with the top 10% of units sold and create a chart displaying the units sold for each Lego theme across the months.
2.1 Task 1: Format Tables with Macro
To complete these tasks, we first need to apply them to the data for October. Then, we can repeat the same actions for November and December. The Macro will help us record the steps for October, and we can then run the Macro to automate the formatting and chart creation for November and December.
Step 1 Record Macro
Go to the Developer tab and click on Record Macro.
Figure 1: Record Macro
Then, set up the information for this macro and name it ’Format’ . Click OK
Figure 2: Name Macro
From this point forward, everything you do in Excel will be recorded.
1. Insert Title:
- Insert a New Row: Right-click on the first row number of your table and select Insert from the context menu to add a new row at the top of the table.
- Merge Cells: Highlight the cells in the newly inserted row that span across the width of your table. On the Home tab, click on the Merge & Center button in the Alignment group.
- Enter Title: Click on the merged cell and type "Monthly Sales . " , then press Enter. Ensure the title is centred in the cell.
- Bold the Title: Highlight the title text. Click on the Bold button (or press Ctrl + B) in the Font group on the Home tab.
- Apply Colour: With the title cell still selected, click the Fill Color button (paint bucket icon) in the Font group on the Home tab. Choose an appropriate colour from the palette to enhance visibility.
2. Format Headers:
- Bold the Headers: Highlight the header row of your table. Click on the Bold button (or press Ctrl + B) in the Font group on the Home tab.
- Select a Different Shade of Colour: With the header row still selected, click the Fill Color button in the Font group. Choose a different shade of colour from the palette to distinguish the header cells from the data.
3. Format Values:
- Bold the Month Numbers: Selecting data (A3:A9) in the ”Month” column. Next, click on the Bold button in the Home tab.
- Insert Currency Dollar Sign for Revenue Data:
. Instead of selecting the data directly, use the shortcut for this. Click on cell D3 and then press Ctrl + Shift + Down Arrow to highlight the revenue data until the next empty cell.
. Right-click on the selected cells and choose Format Cells from the context menu. In the Format Cells dialog box, select the Number tab. Click on Currency or Accounting from the list on the left. Choose the appropriate options for decimal places and currency symbol (ensure it is set to $English (United States)). Click OK to apply the formatting.
Step 2 Run Macro
Now we need to use this macro to help us adjust the format of the data for November.
1. Go to the worksheet Nov, then click on the Developer tab. Click on Macros - choose ”Format”, and then select Run.
Figure 3: Run Macro
Please find the results below. Are they correct?
Figure 4: Results
Note that the headers and the title have been formatted. In the ’Month’ column, not all instances of ’Novem- ber’ are bolded due to the presence of additional rows in the table. However, the revenue data is consistently formatted with the currency sign. Despite the varying number of rows, the same formatting has been applied throughout. This discrepancy arises from the different methods used to select the data.
To improve this formatting, we can either re-record the entire sequence to update the Macro or edit the Macro by modifying the code behind it.
Step 3 Edit Macro
Macros are fundamentally based on Visual Basic for Applications (VBA), which will be introduced in the next lecture. For now, consider that each action or step we perform in Excel corresponds to a line of code that can be interpreted by the computer. This means we have the option to edit the code if we want to adjust any steps.
Let’s take a closer look at this Macro.
• Go to the Developer tab - Click on Macros - choose ”Format” - Select Edit
Now you are in the VBA editor, where you can see the code behind Excel. Please find the figure below.
Figure 5: Code for Macro
Let’s focus on the code related to formatting values.
• Edit Code: To ensure we employ the same procedure to select ’November,’ we can change the code for selecting all cells that include November to:
Range("A3").Select
Range(Selection, Selection.End(xlDown)).Select
The new code should be shown as below,
Figure 6: Edited Macro
• Close the window, and let’s clear the formatting applied earlier. Then, run the macro again to see whether it can apply the same formatting despite the varying number of rows.
Now the format should be applied to the other table, regardless of the number of data rows.
2.2 Task 2: Highlighting Information and Creating Charts with Macros Step 1: Record a New Macro Named ”Highlight”
1. Go back to the worksheet ”Oct.”
2. Go to the Developer tab, click on ”Record Macro,” and name it ”Highlight.” Then click OK.
3. Go to the ”Units Sold (thousand)” column, click on cell C3, and use Ctrl+Shift+Down Arrow to select the cells until the first empty cell.
4. Goto the Home tab, click on ”Conditional Formatting,” select ”Top/Bottom Rules,” then choose ”Top 10%”, and click OK.
5. Stop recording.
Step 2: Record a New Macro Named ”Create a chart”
1. Navigate to the worksheet named ”Oct.”
2. Go to the Developer tab, click on Record Macro, and name it ”Create a chart.” Then, click OK.
3. Select cell B2, then hold down Ctrl+Shift+Down Arrow to select all cells in columns B and C until the first empty cell.
4. Go to the Insert tab and select Clustered Column Chart to create the chart.
5. Stop recording
Step 3: Run Macros
Now, we can run these macros or assign them to buttons to filter or visualize data for the other months: November and December.
• Navigate to the Developer tab.
• Click on Insert to add a button. Assign the macro ”Highlight” to the button and rename the button to ”Highlight”
• Click on Insert to add a button. Assign the macro ”Create a chart” to the button and rename the button to ”Create a Chart.”
• Copy and paste these buttons into the worksheets for ”November” and ”December” .
• Run macros by clicking on these buttons
Important Note: Check the Chart Data
After creating the charts, check whether they display the correct data on the worksheets. If the charts do not show the correct data, follow these instructions to edit the macro:
• Go to the Developer tab.
• Click on Macros and select ”Create a chart.”
• Click on Edit.
• Delete any specific sheet references in the code to ensure it works on the active sheet. Example:
• Close the window and try running the macro again.