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Word Macros -- Working With Word Macros
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Part 2: Planning Your Word Macro
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The most important step in creating effective Word macros is careful planning. While it might seem a bit obvious, you should have a clear idea of what you want the Word macro to perform, how it will make your future work easier, and the circumstances under which you intend to use it. Otherwise, you may end up spending time creating an ineffective macro that you won’t use.
Once you have these things in mind, it is time to plan the actual steps. This is important because the recorder will literally remember everything you do and include it in the macro – if you type something and then delete it, every time you run the macro Word will make the same entry and then delete it. You can see how this will make for a cumbersome, inefficient macro. When you are planning, here are some things to help you along:
- Plan the commands and order in which you want the macro to perform them.
- Know the shortcut keys for the commands you plan to use. This is particularly important for navigation: You will not be able to use the mouse for navigation within the document area when you are running the recorder. Further, you will create a leaner macro if you use a shortcut key rather than the arrow keys, as each keystroke will be included.
- Plan for messages that Word might display and that will stop the macro.
- Use as few steps as possible to keep the macro lean.
- Do at least one test run before you start recording.
After you’ve planned your Word macro and done a run through, you are ready to record it.
Next: Recording Your Word Macro
Previous: Intoduction to Word Macros
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