What is VBA in Excel? Beginner’s Guide (2026)

I am sure that by now many of you will have encountered situations where they clicked on one button to generate a report/send some emails/scrub thousands of rows of data. Chances are this was done using VBA. 

This guide outlines what VBA is and gets you started with writing your own VBA code without requiring prior programming experience. 

What is VBA? 

So what does the word “VBA” stands for? Well, the answer is simple if you know about this program properly. 

The term VBA means Visual Basic for Application. This is one of those terms where the whole term actually represents the programming language itself (which we will see shortly). So VBA is an embedded programming language in the application software packages provided by Microsoft such as Excel, Word, Access, and Outlook. 

In simpler words, VBA is basically a scripting language contained in Excel that lets the user do various things with it. From automating specific tasks to making custom-made tools to controlling your excel sheet without even needing to click through anything on your mouse. And all these things can be done simply by learning some basic concepts behind writing code in this language called Visual Basic for Applications. 

Visual Basic for Applications(VBA) is basically a scripting language that was introduced by Microsoft. This entire concept is based upon another older language made by Microsoft known as “Visual Basic.” However, unlike its parent version, VBA is created specifically for usage internally into office-related applications. 

What is VBA Macros? 

But this is where newbies usually get stuck. What’s VBA macros? Or do I need to write codes for everything? 

First let me explain – the term ‘Macro’ itself means simply a series of instructions. These can be either written or recorded and will be run automatically in excel when triggered. In other words these instructions have been written in VBA. And the actual piece of code/Recording (macro) which does the work, we call it MACRO! 

So don’t confuse between VBA & Macros, they’re totally different from each other. 

Let me make it clear here – A Macro can be created with out any coding through the “Macro Recorder”, but those actions would be limited only to what you have recorded. Whereas if you want to write the actions in the whole programming languages known as VBA then it has got its own syntaxes, variables, logics etc… allowing you to write loops, conditionals, custom functions. So there’s no denying that writing the codes in VBA is much powerful! 

In summary, although every Macro will be developed using VBA coding language, but all of your VBA codes don’t mean to get developed as Macros. 

What language do you use for creating Macros in Excel? 

So, What language do I use to create Macros in Excel? 

Yes! You are right. 

Visual basic for applications(VBA) is used to develop macros in excel. 

With the help of an inbuilt macro recorder in excel, excel automatically translates our click & action into vba codes in the background. So that we can easily use these codes in future. 

How to Open VBA in Excel 

So now that we know why writing code can be useful for us as analysts let’s talk about how to start with it. 

The very first thing that you need to do in order to write some code is to have access to the VBA editor. Let me show you how to open VBA in Excel: 

• Open Excel and choose File, Options. 

• Click Customize Ribbon. 

• Make sure you check the Developer box here at the far-right side of this window. Then just hit OK. 

Then you should see a Developer Tab on the Ribbon. 

Select Developer and go to the bottom of the menu bar, click Visual Basic (you could also press Alt+F11 on windows and Fn+Option+F11 on Mac) 

You’re going to find yourself inside the VBA Editor where you’ll be able to write, edit & run your code! There are several panels here, including the Project Explorer, the Code Window and the Immediate Window (a nice little area to play around with smaller chunks of code). 

How To Write Some VBA Code In Excel As A Beginner? 

First, you have to open up the Project Explorer by right-clicking on the Name Of Your Workbook, then go to insert & click module. 

Then make sure that you create a sub procedure here, as normally vba code starts with ‘sub’ & ends with ‘end sub’. Now to execute this whole program just press F5 OR run. 

Finally, you need to save the file as a Macro Enabled Workbook (.xlsm). And here is a sample of visual basic code. Here’s an example of visual basic code. 

A simple example of visual basic code: 

Sub SayHello() 

  

MsgBox “Hello, welcome to VBA in Excel!” 

  

End Sub 

To write values into cells. 

Sub EnterData() 

  

Range(“A1”).Value = “Sales Report” 

  

Range(“A2”).Value = 1000 

  

Range(“A3”).Value = 2500 

  

End Sub 

Here’s an example where we use a loop (one of the most powerful features of VBA) to do this: 

Sub HighlightHighSales() 

  

Dim i As Integer 

  

For i = 1 To 10 

  

     If Cells(i, 1).Value > 1000 Then 

  

            Cells(i, 1).Interior.Color = RGB(0, 255, 0) 

  

     End If 

  

Next i 

  

End Sub 

This checks the first 10 rows in Column A and highlights in green if they are greater than 1000. This is an example of the type of automation you can create using this training. 

In this course, we provide in depth training about Excel VBA. Our aim here is to provide Advanced training on how to use Excel VBA. 

After mastering the fundamentals, you set the stage for some pretty cool advanced automation! 

Is there a possibility of exporting multiple pdfs from excel vba? 

Yes! If you have to create an invoice, payslip or monthly reports for different customers, looping over sheets and exporting them individually (e.g. ExportAsFixedFormat) makes sense. 

Can we use excel vba to fetch data from webpages? 

Absolutely! Either by using internetexplorer / winhttp object to download content, querying url’s structured data via querytables or by scraping html elements to extract what you need. 

How can i merge excel workbooks in vba? 

Open up all your source files via Workbooks.Open, iterate over worksheets and just Copy-Paste their contents into one big master-file before closing each individual file again (without saving).

 

How to Learn Macros in Excel 

You can start by using the Macro Recorder. It helps you record actions and see the code it creates. Learn the basics of VBA programming. This includes variables, data types, loops, conditions and functions. Try automating something you do manually. This will help you understand the object model. You need to know how Workbook, Worksheet, Range and Cells are connected. 

Create applications. Examples include a budget tracker, invoice generator or data cleaner. Learn to fix errors. Use features like On Error Resume to do this. 

If you prefer a course look for an Excel VBA course. It should have projects and real business examples. Avoid courses with theory. 

To enable Macros in Excel (Fixing Security Warnings): 

When you open a file you might see a Security Warning. Macros have been disabled” bar. This is because Excel disables macros to protect you from code. 

Here’s how to enable them: 

• If you trust the files source click Enable Content in the bar. 

• If the bar is not there go to File > Options > Trust Center > Trust Center Settings > Macro Settings. 

• Choose to disable all macros with notification. This is safer than disabling or enabling all macros. 

• If you create your files save them in a Trusted Location. Go to File > Options > Trust Center > Trusted Locations to do this. This way Excel won’t warn you each time. 

Be careful with macros, from files you didn’t write or trust. Malicious macros can be a problem. 

VBA Data Types and Variables 

To write code you need to understand what variables are. Variables are like containers that hold information while your code is running. 

The common types of data are: 

• Integer – this is a whole number, like 1 or 250 

• Long – this is a bigger whole number, used when Integer is not enough 

• Double – this is a number, like 99.75 

• String – this is text, like “Sales Report” 

• Boolean – this is True or False 

• The date and time values are also important. 

• Variant – this is a type that can store any kind of data it is good for beginners but it is a bit slower 

You declare a variable with the Dim statement then you give it a name and a type. 

Sub DeclareVariables() 

  

Dim customerName As String 

  

orderTotal As Double 

  

Dim isPaid As Boolean 

  

customerName = “Rahul Sharma” 

  

orderTotal = 4599.5 

  

isPaid = True 

  

End Sub 

When you declare your variables properly it is much easier to read and fix your code especially when your macros get a bit long. 

VBA functions and keywords are very important for anyone who is just starting out. 

Keyword/Function	Purpose
If…Then…Else	This runs code when a test is true or not
For…Next	This repeats an action a number of times
Do…Until	This repeats an action until a condition is not true
MsgBox	This pops up a message for the user
InputBox	This asks the user to enter a value
IsError	This checks whether a cell contains an error or not
IsEmpty	This determines whether a cell or variable is empty
Cells(row, column)	This refers to a specific cell using numbers
Range	This refers to a range of cells
Application.ScreenUpdating	This turns off screen updates for a bit

Here are some basic building blocks that you will use in all of your VBA projects:  
These are the basics that you will use every day when you are working with VBA. 

How to Debug VBA Code 

Even simple macros can go wrong sometimes because of typing mistakes or wrong cell references. Here are the best ways to use the VBA Editor to fix your code: 

1. Breakpoints: You click in the margin beside a line of code to stop execution at that line. Then you press F5 to run up to that point.  
2. Step through code – You press F8 to execute your code one line at a time and see what happens.  
3. You use the Immediate window: You press Ctrl+G to open it. Then you type ? and the variable name to quickly view the value of a variable.  
4. You add a Watch – You click on a variable and select “Add Watch” to monitor the value of the variable throughout the program.  
5. You deal with errors: You use On Error Resume Next to ignore errors or On Error GoTo ErrorHandler to go to a section of your macro that handles errors. 

Fixing code is a skill that you can learn quickly with practice. Most of the time when you are working with VBA you are fixing code not writing code. 

Automating Outlook Emails from Excel VBA 

One thing that people often want to do is send emails from Excel without having to open Outlook. You can do this by using Outlooks object library within Excel VBA: 

Sub SendReportEmail() 

  

Dim OutlookApp As Object 

  

Dim OutlookMail As Object 

  

Set OutlookApp = CreateObject(“Outlook.Application”) 

  

Set OutlookMail = OutlookApp.CreateItem(0) 

  

With OutlookMail 

  

.To = “manager@example.com” 

  

.Subject = “Monthly Sales Report” 

  

.Body = “Hi please find the monthly report.” 

  

.Attachments.Add ActiveWorkbook.FullName 

  

.Send 

  

End With 

  

End Sub 

This is useful for sending out reports, reminders or notifications from a spreadsheet without having to copy and paste into an email client. 

Here are some useful Excel VBA keyboard shortcuts: 

Shortcut	Action
Alt. F11	Opens/Closes the VBA Editor
F5	Runs the macro
F8	Steps into line, by line
Ctrl. G	Opens the Immediate Window
Ctrl + Break	Ends a running macro
F9	Sets a break point in the line

These shortcuts are good to know when you are writing and testing code. They will save you a lot of time.