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: 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 2021

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 2021. 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

Splitting Text to Multiple Cells

When processing data, you may have a need to split a long text string into shorter chunks of text consisting of whole ...

Discover More

Hash Marks Displayed Instead of Cell Contents

Have you ever entered information in a cell only for it to appear as hash marks? This tip explains why this happens, how ...

Discover More

Ribbon Acting Strangely

The ribbon is the place where Word stores all the tools you need to work with your documents. What happens when the ...

Discover More

Professional Development Guidance! Four world-class developers offer start-to-finish guidance for building powerful, robust, and secure applications with Excel. The authors show how to consistently make the right design decisions and make the most of Excel's powerful features. Check out Professional Excel Development today!

More ExcelTips (ribbon)

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

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

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 0 + 7?

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 © 2025 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.