VBA - First Things First

Before you can call yourself an Excel programmer, you must go through the initiation rites. That means you need to make a small change so Excel will display a new tab at the top of the screen: Developer.

When you click the Developer tab, the Ribbon displays information that is of interest to programmers (that’s you!). Figure 2-1 shows how the Ribbon looks when the Developer tab is selected.

Figure 2-1: The Developer tab is normally hidden, but it’s easy to unhide.

The Developer tab is not visible when you first open Excel; you need to tell Excel to show it. Getting Excel to display the Developer tab is easy (and you only have to do it one time). The procedure varies, though, depending on which version of Excel you use.

Excel 2010 Users

Follow these steps:

1. Right-click any part of the Ribbon, and choose Customize The Ribbon.

2. In the Customize Ribbon tab of the Excel Options dialog box, locate Developer in the second column.

3. Put a check mark next to Developer.

4. Click OK, and you’re back to Excel with a brand-new tab: Developer.

Excel 2007 Users

Follow these steps:

1. Choose File➪Excel Options.

Remember, in Excel 2007 the File command means clicking the round button in the upper left.

2. In the Excel Options dialog box, select Popular.

3. Place a check mark next to Show Developer tab in the Ribbon.

4. Click OK to see the new Developer tab displayed in the Ribbon.