what is visual basic for applications vba 
visual basic for applications vba is used to write programs for the windows operating system it runs as an internal programming language in microsoft office ms office office applications including access excel powerpoint publisher word and visio vba is part of microsoft corporation s msft legacy software visual basic it allows users to customize beyond what s normally available with ms office host applications 1understanding visual basic for applications vba vba is an event driven tool you can use it to tell the computer to initiate an action or string of actions by typing commands into an editing module to build custom macroinstructions macros a macro is essentially a sequence of characters that inputs results in another sequence of characters its output this accomplishes specific computing tasks you don t have to purchase the vba software because vba is the version of visual basic that ships with microsoft office vba isn t a stand alone program it allows users to manipulate graphical user interface gui features such as toolbars menus dialogue boxes and forms you can use vba to create user defined functions udfs access windows application programming interfaces apis and automate specific computer processes and calculations 2microsoft hosts various learning opportunities for entry level developers to gain modest experience working with vba 3vba in excelall office suite programs share common programming languages and each is capable of integrating vba code to enhance the program vba has been a natural fit with excel more so than with other office suite programs because of the repetitive nature of spreadsheets data analytics and organizing data the root of the relationship between vba and excel is often tied to the use of macros you can use vba to run a macro in excel but you can use it for non macro activities as well simply press alt f11 to access vba in excel 4 your existing excel workbook will remain running but a new window will appear for microsoft visual basic for applications the top left of the vba window will show the current projects the investopediaproject file is ready to receive vba code in this example the window displays the properties of the selected project at the bottom left properties are listed as projects or workbooks are selected these properties are listed alphabetically by default although they can be sorted by category a new window appears when you double click on a project on the top left there s no information in this area but you ll see two dropdowns that say general and declarations vba code is directly entered into this coding window here s an example of a vba code that s been entered many important buttons and tools appear on the toolbar the items highlighted in yellow are the run break and reset toggles for the vba code the run button executes the code the break button pauses the activity of the code the reset stops the execution of the code and brings the process back to the starting position of the code 