With over 1000 macros currently available for editors to use, how can you find one for the task you have in mind?
The useful ‘Macro Menu’ is a pdf file (regularly updated) where all the macros are listed, grouped under 24 categories. On the left is the macro name, and on the right is a one-line descriptor of its function.
Here’s a section from the Macro Menu:
• ProperNounAlyse – Alerts you to possible proper noun misspellings, showing their frequency
• HyphenAlyse – Shows the frequency of word pairs in hyphenated, two-word and single-word form
• CitationAlyse – Checks citations against references
• ShortTitleAlyse – Analyses short titles to check references against citations
Use this list to find the macro you need. When you find one, click on its name and a new page will open containing the macro code ready for you to copy it and install it into Visual Basic. If this is starting to sound confusing, don’t panic. Stop and download Macros from Square One. It will teach you how to install macros into Visual Basic, and how to use the Macro Menu to find just the macro you need. Or start one step before that with the Macros – Free Trial, which requires less technical chutzpa. Both these are start-ups are linked on ‘How can I get started?’
If you would like more information about what each macro does, just click on the one-line descriptor; this will download a PDF of the chapter in Paul’s book where that macro is described in greater detail, telling you how you can use it. To find the macro details within the chapter, do a search for the macro name.
Hi there
I use a mac computer and am trying to run the CitationAlyse macro. It is returning an error – “Compile error: Ambiguous name detected: CitationAlyse”. Unless I delete the macro, I am unable to use any other macros. Does this particular code not run on macs? Thank you.
Looks like you’ve got two copies of the macro in VBA. Delete one of them and it’ll be OK.
Thank you for sharing these amazing resources! I have used macros before, but your list is so extensive and useful. I am very grateful.
I really want to use the CommentCollectTabulated macro, but I keep getting an error message: Compile error: for control variable already in use
And it highlights the row: For i = 1 To myDelay
Is there anything I can tweak to make it work?
Thank you again.
Hi Paul,
Hope you’re keeping well.
I just wanted to say how much I love your macros. They have saved me loads of time. So, thank you!
Also, I was just wondering whether you perhaps have one that can fish out abbreviations from a manuscript and create a list of them which I could then use to create a list of abbreviations.
The relevant abbreviations in this doc are “all caps” e.g. AFL, so maybe it could look for words with two or more letters in caps and make a list of those.
Would that be possible?
Thanks very much,
Mandy Chandler