if you select cell A16, that cell is what Excel gives you. In the next section, you take a look at what the same macro looks like when recorded in relative reference mode.
In the context of Excel macros, relative means relative to the currently active cell. So you should use caution with your active cell choice – both when you record the relative reference macro and when you run it.
First, make sure the Chapter 1 Sample File.xlsx file is open. Then, use the following steps to record a relative-reference macro:
1. Select the Use Relative References option from the Developer tab, as shown in Figure 1-5.
2. Before recording, make sure cell A1 is selected.
3. Select Record Macro from the Developer tab.
4. Name the macro AddTotalRelative.
5. Choose This Workbook for the save location.
6. Click OK to start recording.
7. Select cell A16 and type Total in the cell.
8. Select the first empty cell in Column D (D16) and type = COUNTA(D2:D15).
9. Click Stop Recording on the Developer tab to stop recording the macro.
FIGURE 1-5: Recording a macro with relative references.
At this point, you have recorded two macros. Take a moment to examine the code for your newly created macro.
Select Macros from the Developer tab to open the Macro dialog box. Here, choose the AddTotalRelative macro and click Edit.
Again, this opens the Visual Basic Editor to show you the code that was written when you recorded your macro. This time, your code looks something like the following:
Sub AddTotalRelative()
ActiveCell.Offset(15, 0).Range("A1").Select
ActiveCell.FormulaR1C1 = "Total"
ActiveCell.Offset(0, 3).Range("A1").Select
ActiveCell.FormulaR1C1 = "=COUNTA(R[-14]C:R[-1]C)"
End Sub
Notice that there are no references to any specific cell ranges at all (other than the starting point “A1”). Let’s take a quick look at what the relevant parts of this VBA code really mean.
Notice that in line 2, Excel uses the Offset property of the active cell. This property tells the cursor to move a certain number of cells up or down and a certain number of cells left or right.
The Offset property code tells Excel to move 15 rows down and 0 columns across from the active cell (in this case, A1). There’s no need for Excel to explicitly select a cell as it did when recording an absolute reference macro.
To see this macro in action, delete the total row for both tables and do the following:
1. Select cell A1.
2. Select Macros from the Developer tab.
3. Find and select the AddTotalRelative macro.
4. Click the Run button.
5. Now select cell F1.
6. Select Macros from the Developer tab.
7. Find and select the AddTotalRelative macro.
8. Click the Run button.
Notice that this macro, unlike your previous macro, works on both sets of data. Because the macro applies the totals relative to the currently active cell, the totals are applied correctly.
For this macro to work, you simply need to ensure that
❯❯ You’ve selected the correct starting cell before running the macro.
❯❯ The block of data has the same number of rows and columns as the data on which you recorded the macro.
Hopefully, this simple example has given you a firm grasp of macro recording with both absolute and relative references.
Other Macro Recording Concepts
At this point, you should feel comfortable recording your own Excel macros. Here are some of other important concepts you’ll need to keep in mind when working with macros.
Beginning with Excel 2007, Excel workbooks were given the standard file extension .xlsx. Files with the .xlsx extension cannot contain macros. If your workbook contains macros and you then save that workbook as an .xlsx file, your macros are removed automatically. Excel warns you that macro content will be removed when saving a workbook with macros as an .xlsx file.
If you want to retain the macros, you must save your file as an Excel Macro-Enabled Workbook. This gives your file an .xlsm extension. The idea is that all workbooks with an .xlsx file extension are automatically known to be safe, whereas you can recognize .xlsm files as a potential threat.
With the release of Office 2010, Microsoft introduced significant changes to its Office security model. One of the most significant changes is the concept of trusted documents. Without getting into the technical minutia, a trusted document is essentially a workbook you have deemed safe by enabling macros.
If you open a workbook that contains macros in Excel 2010, you see a yellow bar message under the Ribbon stating that macros (active content) have, in effect, been disabled.
If you click Enable, it automatically becomes a trusted document. This means you no longer are prompted to enable the content as long as you open that file on your computer. The basic idea is that if you told Excel that you “trust” a particular workbook by enabling macros, it is highly likely that you will enable macros each time you open it. Thus, Excel remembers that you’ve enabled macros before and inhibits any further messages about macros for that workbook.
This is great news for you and your clients. After enabling your macros just one time, they won’t be annoyed at the constant messages about macros, and you won't have to worry that your macro-enabled dashboard will fall flat because macros have been disabled.
If the thought of any macro message coming up (even one time) unnerves you, you can set up a trusted location for your files. A trusted location is a directory that is deemed a safe zone where only trusted workbooks
