Adding macros to the MS Word Normal template

Macros can be used in many ways in Microsoft Office applications, and quite a few people have published macros that are useful in preparing texts for translation in various ways. However, with the changes in Microsoft Office versions and the confusion of templates, toolbars, button and clickable text to run macros, a great number of very smart people are simply afraid to use tools that could save them many hours of work.

One fairly easy way to install and run macros is to put them in a global template, such as the Normal template, which is used every time Microsoft Word runs. It is a convenient place to put macros you might want to use in many different documents.

Start Microsoft Word. In MS Word 2003 and earlier versions, the macro list is found under Tools > Macros > View Macros.  In MS Word 2007/2010 the same functionality is accessed on the View ribbon with the Macros icon or Alt+F8. Open the list of macros and select the Normal template from the dropdown list:

Type the name (1) of the new macro and click Create (2):

The editor for Visual Basic macros will open and the the beginning and end of your new macro will be created automatically. You can change the name if you like or paste over the generated text. Type or copy the code for your new macro, save it and close the editor.

To run the new macro, open the macro list, select the macro (1) and click Run (2):