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12. Macros and VBA

12.16 The Personal Macro Workbook

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PERSONAL.XLSB is a hidden workbook that opens every time Excel starts. Macros stored there are available in all workbooks – ideal for your everyday utilities (TrimCityColumn, FormatHeader, DeliveryFee).

Steps in Excel

  1. Developer › Code › Record Macro › Store macro in: Personal Macro Workbook › record any small action › Stop Recording. Excel creates PERSONAL.XLSB (in the XLSTART folder).
  2. Close Excel – when asked save changes to the Personal Macro Workbook? click Save.
  3. Open the VBE (Alt + F11) – VBAProject (PERSONAL.XLSB) appears in Project Explorer. Copy your general macros into its module.
  4. To edit it as a sheet: View › Window › Unhide › PERSONAL.XLSB (hide it again afterwards with View › Hide).
  5. Run from any workbook with Alt + F8 (macros show as PERSONAL.XLSB!FormatHeader), or add them to the Quick Access Toolbar.

Ravindra Bagale's Tip

A macro in the Personal Macro Workbook exists only on your computer – many students send the file to a colleague and the macro button doesn't work. Keep macros that everyone needs in the file itself (.xlsm) or in an add-in. And when closing Excel, don't click "Don't Save" for PERSONAL.XLSB, otherwise the new macro is lost.

Worked example — the personal macro workbook

Why

Neha Shah in Pune and James O'Neill abroad both need a clear, repeatable way to use the personal macro workbook on a GreenField Dairy sheet without breaking totals.

What

The Personal Macro Workbook is the Excel idea this page teaches. We will walk one tiny example end to end.

How

  1. Open a blank sheet. In A1 type a short label for the personal macro workbook.
  2. Enter a small made-up value for Neha Shah using $ where money appears.
  3. Add a second value for James O'Neill using € so you see mixed currencies stay numeric.
  4. Apply the method from this lesson step by step (menu or formula as shown above).
  5. Check the result still works inside SUM or a simple check cell.

Formula / action

Follow the formula or ribbon steps shown in this lesson (keep values numeric).
Result: The demo cell shows the expected result for GreenField Dairy's sample row.
Meaning: Once the personal macro workbook is correct on one row, copy the same pattern down the column.

Practice tasks (10+)

Try these on a blank sheet. Open a hint only if you are stuck. No quiz — just practice.

1. Rebuild the smallest example of the personal macro workbook on a blank sheet for FreshGo Mart.

Hint: Use only the steps on this page. Keep numbers numeric.

2. Change one input for Sana Sheikh and confirm the result updates.

Hint: If the result is stuck, check absolute vs relative references.

3. Repeat the same steps with a £ or € value for James O'Neill.

Hint: Formatting must not break SUM.

4. Write the result meaning in one plain sentence next to the cell.

Hint: Imagine explaining it to a new joiners.

5. Add a second row and fill the method down.

Hint: Double-click the fill handle if the pattern is consistent.

6. Break the example on purpose, then fix it using this lesson.

Hint: Common break: text instead of a number.

7. Apply the personal macro workbook to a 5-row made-up FreshGo Mart table.

Hint: Keep column headers clear.

8. Check your answer with a simple total or COUNT.

Hint: A wrong total usually means a format or key mismatch.

9. Swap ₹ and $ on one column and re-check totals.

Hint: Stored values stay the same; only the display changes.

10. List two mistakes beginners make with the personal macro workbook.

Hint: Look back at the tip box on this page.

11. Teach the steps out loud in under one minute.

Hint: Why → What → How.

12. Save the sheet as FreshGoMart_practice.xlsx.

Hint: Use a clear file name for class.

Loading practice tasks...

  1. Last used row (Easy): Which row number is the last filled row? The headings are in row 1.
  2. Late orders (Easy): How many rows have Status "Late"?
  3. Total amount (Easy): Add up the Amount column.
  4. Worst delay (Easy): What is the largest number in the Days late column?
  5. Late orders in Pune (Medium): How many orders are Late and in City "Pune"?
  6. Customer for an order (Medium): Find the Customer for Order ID "DL-704".
  7. Money stuck in late orders (Medium): Add up the Amount column for rows where Status is "Late".
  8. Big orders (Medium): How many rows have an Amount of 2000 or more?
  9. Message text (Medium): Build the text "N late orders", where N is the count of Late rows.
  10. Average delay of late orders (Hard): What is the average Days late for rows with Status "Late"? Round to 1 decimal.
  11. Tag for the first row (Hard): For the first row, return "Chase" if Days late is 3 or more, else "OK".
  12. Warning or all clear (Hard): Return "Warning" if any order is 3 or more days late, else "All clear".

See all practice tasks in the Task Hub →

Quick revision cards

Three standalone cards. Each one explains the idea with its own example. Scan the QR to open this lesson.

Revision card 1: What is The Personal Macro Workbook?
Card 1: What is The Personal Macro Workbook? · Download PNG
Revision card 2: Tiny example — The Personal Macro Workbook
Card 2: Tiny example — The Personal Macro Workbook · Download PNG
Revision card 3: Checklist — The Personal Macro Workbook
Card 3: Checklist — The Personal Macro Workbook · Download PNG