Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Excel in Microsoft 365. 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: Moving Macros from the Personal Workbook.

Moving Macros from the Personal Workbook

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated May 16, 2020)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Excel in Microsoft 365

1

It is not uncommon to place frequently used macros in the Personal.xlsb workbook. By placing them there, you are able to have the macros available all the time while you are using Excel. At some point, however, you may want to move the macros to a different workbook. For instance, you may want to place them in a workbook so they are easily accessible by anyone else opening the workbook.

To move macros from the Personal.xlsb workbook to a different workbook, follow these general steps:

  1. Make sure the workbook that is the target of your macro transfer operation is loaded.
  2. Unhide the Personal.xlsb file by displaying the View tab of the ribbon and clicking Unhide within the Window group.
  3. Press Alt+F11 to display the VBA Editor.
  4. Using the Project window, display the macros that you want to move.
  5. Select (highlight) and cut (Ctrl+X) the macros from their original location in Personal.xls.
  6. Using the Project window, display the module in the workbook where you want the macros to be. (If there is not an existing module in the workbook, you may need to create one.)
  7. Paste (Ctrl+V) the macros in the module.
  8. Close the VBA Editor.
  9. Hide the Personal.xlsb file by displaying the View tab of the ribbon and clicking Hide within the Window group.
  10. Close and save the workbooks.

It should be noted that when you move the location of the macros, the address by which they are called and invoked is also changed. Thus, if you have any menu items or toolbar buttons that were used to run the macros, these will need to be changed to point to the new location.

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 (10370) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Excel in Microsoft 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Moving Macros from the Personal Workbook.

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. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Aligning Decimal Numbers in Tables

Need to align numbers around their decimal point within a table? It's easy to do by using the three simple steps provided ...

Discover More

Getting a Warning for Markup

Many people, when collaborating on a document with others, use the Track Changes feature to show the effects of their ...

Discover More

Updating Automatically when Opening Under Macro Control

If your workbook contains links, you are normally given the opportunity to update those links when you open the workbook. ...

Discover More

Create Custom Apps with VBA! Discover how to extend the capabilities of Office 2013 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Access) with VBA programming, using it for writing macros, automating Office applications, and creating custom applications. Check out Mastering VBA for Office 2013 today!

More ExcelTips (ribbon)

Saving Changes in the Personal Workbook

The Personal workbook is a special place used to store information and macros that you can access from all the other ...

Discover More

Opening Personal.xlsb

If you start up Excel and all you see is your Personal.xlsb file, then you may wonder what you are doing wrong. The ...

Discover More

Personal Workbook Fails to Load

The Personal workbook is special; it is where you can store macros you want to use all the time in Excel. What do you do, ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is 6 + 5?

2020-05-17 01:08:55

Philip

Unhiding the personal workbook in the excel window is unnecessary ... 2 steps saved

This Site

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.

Newest Tips
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.

Links and Sharing
OUR COMPANY
OUR PRODUCTS
OUR SITES
 

Copyright © 2024 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.