Macros have there base in Visual Basic and are actually a simplified way of programming.

At their simplest form Macros record your actions and place them into a mini-program of instructions that you can run with the click of a button.

Macros may seem similar to AutoText entries, but they are not.

Macros go one step further in allowing you to perform menu and dialog box selections.

You can use them to combine a common set of commands or perform routine formatting and editing that you do regularly.

Where Macros are stored is dependent on the Template you are using.

If you are using the Normal.dot template when you save your document you be asked if you wish to save your Macros to that template. If you choose No, they will be discarded.

All Macros save to Normal.dot are global and available for use in any document.

Give some thought before you start recording your Macro to understand exactly what you want to accomplish and how to accomplish it.

It is often a good idea to write out all the steps involved.

Think about the name you will use. Remember that in a couple of months you may need to use this Macro again and a name like Macro1 doesn’t say much.

Decide how you want to run your macro. Is it important or used enough to warrant a button on your toolbar or is a keystroke or no shortcut at all good enough.

Choose Tools>>Macro>>Record to start recording a new Macro.

Type a name for your Macro--important--macro names cannot contain spaces!

Then choose a Toolbar or Keyboard stroke to place your macro on, if you wish.

If you choose Toolbar you can drag the macro out to any visible toolbar.

When finished assigning how you will start your Macro, click on the close button.

The Record Macro toolbar appears and you can begin to record your Macro.

If you want to pause the Macro Recording you can do that at any time by pressing the pause button.

If you created a button or keystroke to run your Macro you can use that to play your Macro.

You can also run your Macro by going to Tools>>Macro>>Macros and choosing your Macro from the list and clicking on Run.

A Macro Exercise
Create one Macro to do all of the following

Replace the word "the" with "the" underlined and bolded and font size 18.

Insert your Name, today’s date, and your class at the top.

Divide the page into two columns.

Open the ClipArt Gallery and insert a picture of a computer at the top of your screen.

Export the document as an HTML file.