He Microsoft Office package offers a wide variety of programs that, today, are essential for various tasks. These applications, including Powerpoint, have many functions. One of the most prominent are the Macros What are they, what are they for, and how to create one in PowerPoint software? If you want to know more, keep reading.
Making use of one or more Macros can greatly facilitate tasks that you carry out in the tool presentations. Therefore, it is essential to learn to work with them and thus get the most out of them.
Before create one, it is convenient that you know what they work for, their advantages, and the possible security vulnerabilities. Throughout this post we explain everything about the subject!
What are macros in PowerPoint and what is this tool for?
The Macro is a function that is available in different Microsoft Office productssuch as Word, Excel and Powerpoint. However, What are Macros and what is this tool for? Macros can be described as a process automation system.
A macro works like a recorder, as it is in charge of recreating the frequent tasks performed by the user, with the aim of simplify work and improve program capabilities. Hereby, the files of Powerpoint happen to contain an embedded code, which is written in the programming language of Visual basic.
What are the benefits of using Macros in PowerPoint?
Record Macros in Microsoft programs it is one of the most powerful features of the application suite. However, it is widely unknown to the general public. For that reason, it is necessary to highlight what are the benefits of using Macros in PowerPoint. The main advantage of using Macros it is save time.
When have you automated a task, it will no longer be necessary to make multiple keystrokes or interact with the mouse repeatedly. The created Macro is responsible for executing the recorded steps automatically. Second, we can mention the remarkable error reduction. Carelessness when creating a presentation is quite common. However, when recording Macros you reduce the margin of error considerably.
The recorder executes all the steps assigned for a specific task. Finally, use Visual basic to create Macros it allows you increase application capabilities. You can develop new functions for both Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, and thus use them when necessary.
Macro Security What are the main risks of using them?
Using Macros in routine tasks can greatly ease the workload. However, you must have an account what are the main risks of using them. For that reason, we give you a brief review on the Macros security and its vulnerabilities. It is necessary to highlight that there is no risk when you create a Macro. The problem arises when you run external Macros on your computer.
The Computer attackers are capable of creating malicious VBA codes, which can be embedded in an Office document. What are the consequences of running malicious macros? Well, everything lies in the commands. exist commands that can delete files from disk, and these are executed by the Macros corrupt. When opening a document that contains a Macro contaminated, it will automatically run on all future files.
Not only of PowerPoint, but also of Excel and Word, thus affecting all documents in the system. Fortunately, recent versions of Microsoft Office have section of security to protect your computer from unknown macros. If the Macro does not have a trusted certificate, it will not be able to run on the computer.
Similarly, Office applications after 2013, are configured so that all Macros be disabled, avoiding vulnerabilities. Note that the files that contain Macros, are identified by a "M" in their respective extensions. For example: xlsm (Excel), docm (Word), and pptm (Powerpoint). In this way, you can easily verify if any document you have received has any Macro.
Learn step by step how to create a Macro in PowerPoint from scratch
The Macros they are widely useful tools if used correctly. Not everyone is familiar with this feature, so here's a guide step by step on how to create a Macro in PowerPoint from scratch. You should consider that versions after PowerPoint 2013 does not have a Macros recorder. In those cases, to create or edit one, you need to run Visual Basic for Applications (VBA).
The steps to follow are those:
- Go to the tab "View". Then press the button "Macro". It is located on the upper right side.
- A new dialog window opens. There you must enter a name for the Macro.
- At the bottom of that window, you can find a drop-down menu titled as "Macro in". Click on that menu and select template or presentation in which you want to include the new Macro. Finally, add a description in the box "Description".
- When all the boxes are filled in, tap "Create" in the dialog window. This immediately opens the Visual basic.
- Then you must add a programming code for VBA, according to the task you want to automate.
- After entering the code, go to the tab "Records" in Visual Basic and select "Close and return to Microsoft PowerPoint." This way, the macro is saved in your presentation.
Later, you only have to append a button that executes the macro in the document. You can too activate the "Programmer" tab by right-clicking on the toolbar and selecting "Customize Ribbon". In this way you have a broader menu to work with macros and also open Visual basic. On the button "Record Macros", you can assign a button or a key to run the macro you just created. Finally, just press "To accept" and the Macro will be ready to run.