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.
Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated May 26, 2025)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021
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:
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.
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2021-08-14 16:44:36
David J Bonin
Three monitors are even better than two!
Just sayin...
Got a version of Excel that uses the ribbon interface (Excel 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the menu interface.
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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:
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