Excel VBA Tutorial for Beginners
VBA stands for Visual Basic for Applications. It’s a programming language built into Microsoft Excel, allowing you to automate tasks, create custom functions, and build user-defined tools.
While Excel has powerful built-in features, sometimes you need more control. That’s where VBA comes in. The Macro Recorder helps automate actions, but when things get more advanced, you’ll need to write VBA manually. Don’t worry—we’ll walk you through the process step by step.
What is Computer Programming?
Computer programming is simply telling a computer what to do using logical steps. Think of it as converting your manual thinking process into a language the computer understands. VBA is one of the easiest places to start because you already have Excel!
Example: Calculating an Average in VBA
Let’s calculate the average of 3 numbers: 3, 6, and 12. The steps are:
- Add the numbers
- Divide by the total count (3)
- Display the result
Here’s the VBA code for that:
TOTAL = 3 + 6 + 12
SOLUTION = TOTAL / 3
Range("A1").Value = SOLUTION
Getting Started with VBA
To access the VBA Editor in Excel:
- Press Alt + F11 to open the VBA Editor.
- Insert a new module using Insert > Module.
- Start writing your VBA code inside the module.
Try copying and pasting this into your module and pressing F5 to run:
Sub ShowAverage()
Dim total As Double
Dim result As Double
total = 3 + 6 + 12
result = total / 3
Range("A1").Value = result
End Sub
Why Learn Excel VBA?
VBA helps you:
- Automate repetitive Excel tasks
- Create custom Excel functions
- Build dynamic user interfaces
- Save time and reduce errors
Next Steps
Ready to dive deeper? Explore these beginner-friendly tutorials:
Keep practicing, and soon you’ll be building your own powerful Excel tools!
What is involved in a programming project
When we think about creating a project we start by thinking about what it is we want to accomplish. We usually start with an overall goal. A goal may be to create an Inventory Tracking Project that will increase our efficiency and lead to less missing inventory. We then list our objectives. We list everything that we want the project to accomplish. After we have stated our overall goal and listed out objectives then we can start thinking about what procedures will be needed to accomplish these objectives. We will need to write a coded procedure to handle each one of the procedures.
We write programs in procedures because:- It makes the program easier to read.
- We only have to write the procedure once and then we can call it as many times as we need to.
- If there are multiple programmers working on the project they can be assigned different procedures to work on.
- It makes it easier to track errors. Let's say that when I run the program the amount of taxes is coming out wrong. I don't have to search the entire program to find this error I just go to the procedure where taxes are computed.
There is a lot more to programming than just coding. You will have to research as to where the data will be coming from. Coming up with the proper test data and doing the actual testing can take longer than creating the program. Coming up with testing material that test all possibilities is essential. The program you create may use files that were created and updated in many other programs. The program you create might create and update files that will be used in other programs. All of these programs will have to be run to make sure the results are what is expected.
Careful planning is the key to a successful project. Getting all the details and planning a program can be far more difficult than the actual creation of the program. Good communication skills are necessary to get all the program requirements from those requesting the program. Those requesting a program often have a hard time communicating exactly what it is they want. Sometimes they are not even sure what they want. There will be a lot of back and forth with them, showing displays & outputs then verifying that this is what they really want. Unless it is absolutely necessary do not start writing any code until you have final approval for the project.
Programming environments keep improving and you can do more with less code than ever before. While that may make programming easier, programming languages are capable of doing far more than they have in the past which means that there is more for the programmer to learn and remember.
If you had a room full of programmers writing the same program, each programmer would code his program differently. Does this mean there is no right or wrong way of creating a program? No. The best program is the program that runs the fastest, is the most user friendly, and has the best error protection. The program should also be well documented and easy as possible to follow. You or another programmer may have to make changes to the program years from now and you will not remember what the program does or what data was used in the program, etc. unless you have everything well documented.
Programmer Skills: A programmer must be able to spend long periods of time in deep concentration. A programmer needs a variety of skills:
* Patience
* Good Communicator
* Problem Solver
* Good Study Skills
* Reading Skills
* Most importantly – Persererance
If after learning a new skill, you find yourself saying what if I tried this and what if I tried that, then you are on your way to becoming a good programmer.
More VBA Resources
To further expand your knowledge, check out these helpful resources:
Conclusion
This Excel VBA tutorial for beginners has shown you how to write a basic macro, navigate the Visual Basic Editor, and understand the benefits of automating tasks in Excel. Start experimenting and take your Excel skills to the next level.