How to record a macro in Excel on Mac: step by step for Microsoft 365

Before you record: versions and what you need

Microsoft's Developer tab guide for Mac covers Excel for Microsoft 365 for Mac, Excel 2024 for Mac and Excel 2021 for Mac. If you use one of those, the steps in this guide match your screen. You need the Excel app on your Mac, with the workbook open in that app and editable.

Recording a macro does not record a video. Excel writes down the actions you take, then replays them when you run the macro. The result is a small block of VBA code saved inside the workbook. You can open that code later, but you do not need to read it to use a basic macro.

Show the Developer tab on your Mac

The Developer tab holds every macro control. Record Macro, Stop Recording, Macros and Use Relative References all sit there. Excel for Mac hides the tab until you turn it on, so start in Preferences. Open Excel > Preferences, choose Ribbon & Toolbar, and tick Developer under Main Tabs. Click Save, then check the ribbon. If the tab still does not appear, quit Excel and open your workbook again.

Worked example: a macro that formats a header row

Say you get a sheet each Monday with column headers in row 1. You bold the headers, fill them grey and centre them. Doing that by hand takes a minute or two. Recording it once lets a single shortcut repeat the same formatting every week.

Open the workbook with the header row in view. Leave Use Relative References off, because you want the macro to always format A1:F1. Click Record Macro, name it FormatHeader, set the shortcut to f, and click OK. Select A1:F1, apply bold, the grey fill and centring, then click Stop Recording.

Do not name the macro FMT1. That is a valid cell address, because column FMT exists in Excel. Excel may show an error saying the name is not valid. FormatHeader works, and so does Format_Header. Spaces are not allowed, so Format Header fails.

Relative references: the setting that moves the macro

A recorded macro repeats the addresses you clicked, unless relative references are on. With the toggle off, the macro always hits A1:F1, even if you run it on a sheet with the headers somewhere else. With Use Relative References on, Excel records your selection relative to the active cell.

Test both versions on a copy. Record a short macro with the toggle on, move to a different cell, run it, and see where the change lands. Then record again with the toggle off and compare. Keep the version that matches how your data is laid out.

Worked example: a macro that adds a total

Now a second example. Say column B holds sales from row 2 down to row 40, and you want a total in B41 each time you paste new data. Click B41 first, because that cell becomes your starting point.

Turn on Use Relative References before you click Record Macro. Click Record Macro, name the macro AddTotal, keep This Workbook selected, and click OK. Type =SUM(B2:B40) in B41 and press Return. Then click Stop Recording.

With relative references on, the formula moves with the cell you start from. Run the macro from a different row and the total follows that row. Check the cell address after each run, because a macro that starts from the wrong cell writes its total in the wrong place.

Naming, storing and shortcut rules

• Macro name: start with a letter, then add letters, numbers or the _ character.
• Macro name: no spaces, and no name that is also a cell reference, such as FMT1.
• Store macro in: keep This Workbook selected, the only choice Microsoft lists for Mac.
• Shortcut key: one letter, upper or lower case.
• Lowercase letter: run with Option+Command+letter, or Control+letter.
• Uppercase letter: run with Control+Shift+letter.

Macro security: why a recorded macro may not run

Excel for Mac sets macro rules in Excel > Preferences > Security. The three choices are Enable all macros, Disable all macros with notification and Disable all macros without notification. The default is Disable all macros with notification.

The default protects you from code in files you did not write. It also means a macro you recorded may stay blocked until you allow it. Check this setting first whenever a macro does nothing on a new Mac.

Excel for the web cannot record or run macros

Excel for the web can open and keep a workbook that contains macros. It cannot create, run or edit VBA macros. If your file lives in a browser, select Open in Desktop App above the ribbon. Then record, run and edit in Excel for Mac, and save the file as a macro-enabled workbook.

Edit, review and delete a macro later

Click Developer > Macros to see every macro in the open workbook. Select one, then choose Options to change its shortcut or description. Choose Edit to open the code editor. Inside the editor, F5 runs the macro, and F8 steps through it one line at a time.

You do not need to read the VBA code to use a basic macro. Opening it once still helps you see what the recorder stored. Microsoft's Developer tab article also covers deleting a macro, so read it before you remove anything from a file you rely on.

Test the macro without breaking your file

Save a copy with File > Save As before you run a new macro on live data. Run it on the copy, then check the cells that changed. If something looks wrong, record again from the starting cell rather than editing in a hurry.

Keep the original file until the macro has worked on several copies. Macros repeat mistakes as fast as they repeat good steps, so a short check after each run pays off.

Mistakes people make when recording a macro

• Extra clicks. Every click you make is part of the recording, so plan the steps before you start.
• No Stop Recording. Keep working after you finish and the macro keeps every action. Click Stop Recording as soon as you are done.
• Clashing shortcuts. While the workbook is open, a macro shortcut overrides the matching Excel shortcut. Uppercase letters are safer, because they use Control+Shift.
• Wrong starting cell. Check the active cell before you click Record Macro, especially when relative references are on.
• Name rules. Spaces and cell-like names get rejected. Pick a name with letters, numbers and _ only.
• Wrong file format. Save as a macro-enabled workbook, .xlsm, so the code stays in the file.

Does this still work in 2026?

The latest Excel for Mac build in Microsoft's release notes is 16.114.3 (Build 26102720), dated October 27, 2026. The 2026 entries cover Office Scripts changes and quality fixes. They do not mention VBA, the Developer tab, the ribbon or Preferences, so the steps in this guide still apply. Later builds may exist, so check the release notes if a step looks different on your screen.

Where to go next with macros

Once your first macro works, you can build on it. Many macros read input from a named area, so name your input range before you record. Microsoft's Run a macro guide notes that a macro workbook can run a macro on open, through a Workbook_Open procedure. That needs code editing, so start with a short recorded macro first.

Formulas and named ranges make macros easier to maintain. Read how to create a named range in Excel on Mac before you reuse a macro on a bigger file. If your work leans on lookups, how to use XLOOKUP in Excel on Mac covers that side of the job.