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Editing VBA Code in Excel: A Beginner’s Tutorial

Excel Macros
Aug 29, 2025 3 min read
Editing VBA Code in Excel
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If you’ve started exploring macros, you already know how to record them to automate repetitive tasks. But here’s a little secret: knowing how to edit VBA code takes your Excel skills from good to truly powerful. Editing your VBA (Visual Basic for Applications) code means you can customize your macros exactly how you want, fix little issues, and even create new functionalities.

I’m excited to walk you through this journey step-by-step, reassuring you that you don’t need to be a coder or programmer to get a grip on VBA. We’ll explore the essentials of editing your macro code with simple explanations and examples—like having a friendly chat about Excel’s hidden engine.

Opening the VBA Editor

Let us begin by opening the VBA editor, a place where all our magic happens in Excel.

  1. From Excel, click the Developer tab.
  2. Click on Visual Basic inside Developer tab or just press Alt + F11 on your keyboard.

This opens the VBA Editor in a new window—don’t worry, it’s not intimidating after a bit of exploration.

Opening the VBA Editor

Understanding the VBA Editor Window Layout

When the VBA Editor opens, you’ll see a few key panels:

  • Project Explorer: Placed on the left side, listing all opened Workbooks and their components like sheets, user forms and modules.
  • Code Window: The large docking area where all of your VBA code is present.
  • Properties Window: Usually below the Project Explorer, showing properties for selected objects.
  • Immediate Window: A testing place that is useful for testing code snippets (once you are a pro, this window is very useful).

Spend some time clicking around, but here’s the golden rule—always save your work before making changes. It’s better to be safe than sorry!

VBA Editor Window Layout

Finding Your Macro’s VBA Code

Macros that you record typically store their code in Modules. To open yours:

  • In the Project Explorer, expand Modules.
  • Double-click the module named something like Module1.
  • The recorded macros will appear in the Code window.

The macro will be like below, but don’t panic we are here to learn:

Vba 
Sub FormatHeaders()
    Range("A1:D1").Select
    With Selection.Font
        .Bold = True
    End With
    Selection.HorizontalAlignment = xlCenter
    Selection.Interior.ColorIndex = 15
End Sub

Editing the Code: Making Simple Changes

Here’s where the fun starts! Let’s alter a few things to understand how editing the code impacts the macro.

Change the Range

Instead of formatting A1:D1, what if you want to format A1:F1? Just change:

Vba 
Range("A1:D1").Select

to

Vba 
Range("A1:F1").Select

Save the change by hitting Ctrl + S or clicking the Save icon.

Modify Formatting

Maybe you want the headers to be in italic instead of bold. Change:

Vba 
.Bold = True

to

Vba 
.Italic = True

Run your macro again in Excel, and see the difference right away!

Adding Comments: Your Notes for Later

Comments are lines that start with an apostrophe ('). They don’t run—they’re just notes you or others can read later. I always add comments to my macros to keep track of what each part does.

For example:

Vba 
' This formats the first row which is header with italic font and background color
Range("A1:F1").Select
With Selection.Font
    .Italic = True 
End With
Selection.HorizontalAlignment = xlCenter
Selection.Interior.ColorIndex = 15

A Quick Fix: Using Variables for More Flexibility

Let’s say your macro formats headers, but sometimes your header row is on row 3 instead of 1. Instead of changing the code every time, let’s introduce a simple variable:

Vba 
Sub FormatHeaders()
    Dim headerRow As Integer
    headerRow = 3
    Range("A" & headerRow & ":F" & headerRow).Select
    With Selection.Font
        .Italic = True
    End With
    Selection.HorizontalAlignment = xlCenter
    Selection.Interior.ColorIndex = 15
End Sub

Now, if you want to format a different row, just change the value of headerRow at the top without touching the rest.

Undoing Mistakes and Saving Your Code

Remember, you can always close the VBA Editor without saving changes if something goes wrong. Just reopen it later and start fresh.

Also, when saving your Excel file, use the .xlsm extension (Excel Macro-Enabled Workbook) so your code is saved alongside your workbook.

Working With Multiple Macros and Organizing Code

Keep your VBA project organized by:

  • Using descriptive module and macro names.
  • Grouping related macros into the same modules.
  • Adding plenty of comments!

This way, your VBA projects won’t turn into an unmanageable mess.

Things You Shouldn’t Worry About (Yet)

  • Complex programming concepts like classes or advanced error handling.
  • Writing VBA from scratch (at least not right away).
  • Making your macros perfect on the first try (you’ll learn by doing).

VBA is a language, but it’s one you can learn little by little, one step at a time. I still get stuck sometimes but having fun with it makes all the difference.

Final Thoughts: Keep Experimenting and Keep Learning

Editing VBA code may look intimidating, but as you’ve seen, it’s really just tweaking text that tells Excel what to do. Once you get the hang of basic edits and testing, you’ll unlock creative ways to automate, customize, and wow yourself with Excel power.

I encourage you to open the VBA Editor in your own Excel workbook today, find a macro you’ve recorded (or create one), and start playing with the code. Don’t stress about getting everything right—it’s all part of the learning adventure.

And hey, if you want to share your macro creations or stuck somewhere, leave a message—I’m always happy to help out because we’re all learning together!

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