You can use a Form control button or a command button (an ActiveX control) to run a macro that performs an action when a user clicks it. Both these buttons are also known as a push button, which can be set up to automate the printing of a worksheet, filtering data, or calculating numbers. In general, a Form control button and an ActiveX control command button are similar in appearance and function. However, they do have a few differences, which are explained in the following sections.
Tip: The information in this article is intended for advanced Excel users. For more information regarding macros, please go to Add or edit a macro for a control on a worksheet.
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Button (Form control)
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Command button (ActiveX control)
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In the sections below, learn how to add a macro to a button in Excel—for Windows or the Mac.
Note: ActiveX controls are not supported on the Mac.
Macros and VBA tools can be found on the Developer tab, which is hidden by default.
The first step is to enable it. For more information, see the article: Show the Developer tab.
Add a button (Form control)
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On the Developer tab, in the Controls group, click Insert, and then under Form Controls, click Button
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Click the worksheet location where you want the upper-left corner of the button to appear. The Assign Macro popup window appears.
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Assign a macro to the button, and then click OK.
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To specify the control properties of the button, right-click the button, and then click Format Control.
Add a command button (ActiveX control)
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On the Developer tab, in the Controls group, click Insert, and then under ActiveX Controls, click Command Button
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Click the worksheet location at which you want the upper-left corner of the command button to appear.
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In the Controls group, click View Code. This launches the Visual Basic Editor. Ensure that Click is chose in the drop-down list on the right. The sub procedure CommandButton1_Click (see the figure below) runs these two macros when the button is clicked: SelectC15 and HelloMessage.
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In the subprocedure for the command button, do either of the following:
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Enter the name of an existing macro in the workbook. You can find macros by clicking Macros in the Code group. You can run multiple macros from a button by entering the macro names on separate lines inside the subprocedure.
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As necessary, add your own VBA code.
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Close the Visual Basic Editor, and click Design Mode
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To run the VBA code that is now part of the button, click the ActiveX command button that you just created.
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To edit the ActiveX control, make sure that you are in design mode. On the Developer tab, in the Controls group, turn on Design Mode.
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To specify the control properties of the command button, on the Developer tab, in the Controls group, click Properties
Note: Before you click Properties, make sure that the object for which you want to examine or change properties is already selected.
The Properties box appears. For detailed information about each property, select the property, and then press F1 to display a Visual Basic Help topic. You can also type the property name in the Visual Basic Help Search box. The following table summarizes the properties that are available.
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If you want to specify |
Use this property |
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General: |
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Whether the control is loaded when the workbook is opened. (Ignored for ActiveX controls.) |
AutoLoad (Excel) |
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Whether the control can receive focus and respond to user-generated events. |
Enabled (Form) |
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Whether the control can be edited. |
Locked (Form) |
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The name of the control. |
Name (Form) |
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The way the control is attached to the cells below it (free floating, move but do not size, or move and size). |
Placement (Excel) |
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Whether the control can be printed. |
PrintObject (Excel) |
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Whether the control is visible or hidden. |
Visible (Form) |
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Text: |
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Font attributes (bold, italic, size, strikethrough, underline, and weight). |
Bold, Italic, Size, StrikeThrough, Underline, Weight (Form) |
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Descriptive text on the control that identifies or describes it. |
Caption (Form) |
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Whether the contents of the control automatically wrap at the end of a line. |
WordWrap (Form) |
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Size and Position: |
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Whether the size of the control automatically adjusts to display all the contents. |
AutoSize (Form) |
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The height or width in points. |
Height, Width (Form) |
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The distance between the control and the left or top edge of the worksheet. |
Left, Top (Form) |
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Formatting: |
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The background color. |
BackColor (Form) |
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The background style (transparent or opaque). |
BackStyle (Form) |
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The foreground color. |
ForeColor (Form) |
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Whether the control has a shadow. |
Shadow (Excel) |
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Image: |
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The bitmap to display in the control. |
Picture (Form) |
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The location of the picture relative to its caption (left, top, right, and so on). |
PicturePosition (Form) |
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Keyboard and Mouse: |
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The shortcut key for the control. |
Accelerator (Form) |
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A custom mouse icon. |
MouseIcon (Form) |
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The type of pointer that is displayed when the user positions the mouse over a particular object (standard, arrow, I-beam, and so on). |
MousePointer (Form) |
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Whether the control takes the focus when clicked. |
TakeFocusOnClick (Form) |
Macros and VBA tools can be found on the Developer tab, which is hidden by default, so the first step is to enable it
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Go to Excel > Preferences… > Ribbon & Toolbar.
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In the Customize the Ribbon category, in the Main Tabs list, select the Developer check box, and then click Save.
Add a button (Form control)
Follow these steps:
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On the Developer tab, click Button
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Click the worksheet location where you want the upper-left corner of the button to appear. The Assign Macro popup window appears.
Note: If you have already inserted a button, you can right-click on it, and select Assign Macro.
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Assign a macro to the button and click OK.
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To specify the control properties of the button, right-click it, and then select Format Control....
Add a command button (Visual Basic control)
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On the Developer tab, click Button
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Click the worksheet location where you want the upper-left corner of the command button to appear.
Note: If you have already inserted a button, you can right-click on it, and select Assign Macro.
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In the Assign Macro dialog box, select New, which will open the Visual Basic Editor (VBE) to a pane with the following code:
Sub ButtonX_Click() End Sub
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In the subprocedure for the command button, between the Sub and End Sub lines, do either of the following:
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Enter the name of an existing macro in the workbook. You can run multiple macros from a button by typing the macro names on separate lines inside the sub procedure
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Add your own VBA code.
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Click Design Mode
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To edit the button, right-click it and choose Visual Basic.
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To specify the control properties of the button, right-click it, and then select Format Control....
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