Assign a Macro to a Button in Word 2013

Assign a Macro to a Button in Word 2013: Video

This video lesson, titled “Assigning Macros to a Button in Word 2013,” shows you how to assign macros to a button in Word 2013.

Assign a Macro to a Button in Word 2013: Overview

You can assign a macro to a button in Word 2013. Word 2013 lets you assign a macro to a button that appears in the Ribbon, the Quick Access toolbar, or to an unused keyboard shortcut of your choosing. This can make running macros much easier than the process involved with running them through the “Macros” dialog box. Once you have assigned a macro to a button or a keyboard shortcut, you can simply click the button or press the keyboard shortcut in order to run the associated macro.

You assign macros to buttons or keyboard shortcuts in the “Word Options” dialog box. You can access this dialog box by clicking the “File” tab in the Ribbon and then clicking the “Options” button in the lower left corner of the command panel. This will open the “Word Options” dialog box.

Next you must decide if you want to assign the macro to a button on a tab within the Ribbon, to a button in the Quick Access toolbar, or to a keyboard shortcut.

If you want to assign the macro to a button on a tab within the Ribbon, then first click the “Customize Ribbon” category at the left side of the “Word Options” dialog box. Next, use the “Choose commands from:” drop-down to select the “Macros” category. You should see the macros that you created appear within this column. You can then select the “Main Tabs” command from the “Customize the Ribbon:” drop-down. You will then see the tabs and groups appear in the column as a collapsed outline. You can click the plus signs to expand a tab and see the groups within it.

When you add macro buttons to a tab, they must appear within their own custom groups that you create on the tab. To do this, start by selecting the name of the tab within which you want to create your custom macro button group. Then click the “New Group” button at the bottom of the column to add a new group to the selected tab. Also note that you can create your own custom tab itself by clicking the “New Tab” button, instead, if you prefer to add your macros to a custom tab versus a custom group. Once you have created a custom group, make sure it is selected in this column. Then select the name of the macro to add to this custom group by selecting it from the “Choose commands from column:.” You can then click the “Add >>” button that appears between the columns to add the selected macro to the selected custom group in the Ribbon. Note that you can then select the custom group, custom tab, or macro button that you have created and click the “Rename…” button at the bottom of the column in order to rename the custom group or custom tab using the “Rename” dialog box. In the “Rename” dialog box, you can select a button symbol from the “Symbol:” section, if desired, and then type a name for the button, group, or tab into the “Display name:” text box. Then click the “OK” button to apply your changes.

Also note the “Reset” button at the bottom of this column next to the “Customizations:” label. You can click this button to select either “Reset only selected Ribbon tab,” or “Reset all customizations” from the drop-down menu that appears. This will reset the currently selected Ribbon tab, or reset all customizations based on which command you choose. You can use this to reset unwanted customizations to the Ribbon, if they occur.

If you want to assign a macro to the Quick Access toolbar instead of to the Ribbon, start by selecting the “Quick Access Toolbar” category from the left side of the “Word Options” dialog box. Then select “Macros” from the “Choose commands from:” drop-down. The name of your macro should appear in the list below the drop-down menu. Select the name of the macro that you want to add to the Quick Access toolbar from this list. Then click the “Add >>” button in the middle of the options window to move the command from the left list to the list at the right side of the window. The list at the right side of the window is a listing of the buttons that will be available on the Quick Access toolbar. Note that you can click on the name of the macro shown in the list at the right side, and then click the small upwards and downwards pointing arrows that are next to it in order to move the command up or down through the listing of button commands. Also, if you want to give the button a different picture, you can select the name of the macro in the list at right and then click the “Modify…” button at the bottom of the list. In the “Modify Button” dialog box that appears, you can click on the button picture that you want to use for the macro from the “Symbol:” list, enter a name for the button into the “Display name:” text box, and then click the “OK” button.

If you want to assign a macro to a keyboard shortcut instead of a button, start by clicking the “Customize Ribbon” category at the left side of the “Word Options” dialog box. Then click the “Customize…” button in the lower left corner of the options side of the dialog box. That will open the “Customize Keyboard” dialog box. Select “Macros” from the “Categories” list at the left side of this dialog box. That will then display all of the available macros in the “Macros:” list at the right side of the dialog box. Select the macro that you would like to assign to a keyboard shortcut from the “Macros:” list. Next, click into the “Press new shortcut key” text box and press a new keyboard shortcut combination, such as “Alt”+“Shift”+“B”, for example. If the selected keyboard shortcut is assigned it will display the function to which the keyboard shortcut has been assigned below the “Current keys:” list. If it is unassigned, it will display that fact in the same location. Make sure that the keyboard shortcut that you use is unassigned. If you assign a macro to a standard, or assigned, keyboard shortcut you will overwrite the standard shortcut! Once you can see that your keyboard shortcut is unassigned, click the “Assign” button and then click the “Close” button.

Once you have finished assigning your macros using the “Word Options” dialog box, click the “OK” button in the lower right corner of the dialog box to finish your customization and close the dialog box.