Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. If you are using an earlier version (Excel 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Excel, click here: Stepping Through a Macro with a Worksheet Visible.

Stepping Through a Macro with a Worksheet Visible

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated May 26, 2025)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021


1

Ted asked if there was a way to step through VBA code while viewing a worksheet, so he could view the effects on the worksheet as each step in his macro is executed.

This is actually quite easy to do—all that needs to be done is to arrange the Excel window and the VB Editor window so that both of them are visible at the same time. In other words, neither one of them should be "full screen." You can arrange the window sizes so that you maximize what you can see in your worksheet, and minimize what you see in the VB Editor—perhaps showing only a few lines of code in the window.

Another closely related approach is to make the Excel workbook full-screen, and then make the VB Editor window as small as possible, overlaying the Excel screen. With the VB Editor window active, you can step through the macro using F8 and view the results in the background, on the Excel workbook.

Finally, there is always the option that you can add a second monitor to your system. With two monitors, you could open the Excel workbook on one screen and then display the Visual Basic Editor on the other.

Note:

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

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (6194) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Stepping Through a Macro with a Worksheet Visible.

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. ...

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What is one less than 8?

2021-08-14 16:44:36

David J Bonin

Three monitors are even better than two!

Just sayin...


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