Invisible Macros

by Allen Wyatt
(last updated August 24, 2019)

Do you like to customize Word by adding macros to different menu and toolbar options? If so, you may have noticed that you can't always find your macros when you try to attach one to a menu in the Customize dialog box. The macro may be visible in the macros list when you press Alt+F8, but not in the Customize dialog box.

The most likely cause of this problem is that the macro is not saved in the Normal.dot template but in some other template. It would be visible in the regular macros list because all the "reachable" macros are listed there, by default. It would not be visible in the Customize dialog box because only the macros in Normal.Dot are visible there, by default.

To get around this problem, there are two possible solutions. First, the macro can be moved to the Normal.Dot template file using the Organizer feature of Word. (You get there by clicking on Organizer from the Macro dialog box.) The second solution is to make sure your menu customization is saved in the same template in which the desired macro is saved. You do that by following these steps:

  1. Choose Customize from the Tools menu. This displays the Customize dialog box.
  2. Click on the Commands tab. (See Figure 1.)

    3. Figure 1. The Commands tab of the Customize dialog box.

  3. In the Categories list, choose Macros. The right side of the dialog box should list the macros available.
  4. If the macro you desire is not visible, use the Save In drop-down list to select a different template file. You should select the one you know your desired macro is saved in.
  5. Make your menu changes as desired.

Note:

If you would like to know how to use the macros described on this page (or on any other page on the WordTips sites), I've prepared a special page that includes helpful information. Click here to open that special page in a new browser tab.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (1911) applies to Microsoft Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Editing Custom Dictionaries

Custom dictionaries can be great, but they take quite a bit of time to create. Word provides a way you can edit your ...

Discover More

Adjusting Formulas when Pasting

The Paste Special feature in Excel can be used to uniformly adjust values and formulas. This tip shows how powerful this ...

Discover More

Converting PDF to Excel

Reports and other formal documents are often distributed in PDF format so that they can be read and printed on a variety ...

Discover More

Create Custom Apps with VBA! Discover how to extend the capabilities of Office 2013 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Access) with VBA programming, using it for writing macros, automating Office applications, and creating custom applications. Check out Mastering VBA for Office 2013 today!

More WordTips (menu)

Editing Word's Built-in Commands

Want to configure Word to do just what you want it to? You can even go so far as to change the actual way in which Word ...

Discover More

Intelligible Names for Macros

The names you use for macros can affect what you see when you add those macros to a toolbar. This tip explains how you ...

Discover More

Finding and Changing Word's Internal Commands

If you know how to create macros, you can easily create entire replacements for Word's internal commands. Here's all you ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is five more than 0?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)

This Site

Got a version of Word that uses the menu interface (Word 97, Word 2000, Word 2002, or Word 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.

Newest Tips
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.

Links and Sharing
OUR COMPANY
OUR PRODUCTS
OUR SITES
 

Copyright © 2021 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.