Using Visual Basic (VBA) in Excel
By the end of this expert level three-day Excel course, you will be confident in using the essential features of Excel Visual Basic to create simple spreadsheet solutions.
This course is for anyone who has never used Excel VBA (or any other Visual Basic package). This course is especially useful if you need to build spreadsheets that go beyond what Excel alone is capable of.
This course is only available for private bookings, either for groups or as a one-to-one, held online via Zoom or in the classroom. Please get in touch for availability.
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Course overview
What you will learn
By the end of this expert level Excel course, you will be able to:
- Understand what Visual Basic is
- Create macros to automate tasks, as well as understand their limits
- Manipulate the values in your spreadsheet
- Declare variables, and manipulate them
- Write code which looks at a condition and carries out different actions accordingly
- Write functions, frequently used pieces of code
- Understand the Excel object model, and make use of its properties, methods and events
- Trap errors, to avoid users seeing problems and find problems in your code
- Write code which repeats an action a specified number of times
Course timetable
Day 1
Session 1 — Macros
- Creating macros
- Limits of macros
Session 2 — Editing Macros
- Editing Macros in the Visual Basic Editor
- Understand the Personal Workbook
- Find and Replace
- Deleting Macros
Session 3 — Introducing VBA
- What is VBA?
- Modules and procedures
Day 2
Session 1 — Collections
- How to refer to objects in a collection
- Using the Immediate Window to explore collections
- Making code more succinct.
Session 2 — Variables
- Defining and referring to variables
Session 3 — Error trapping and debugging
- Types of Error
- The Debug Toolbar
- Breakpoints and Break Mode
Day 3
Session 1 — Built-in functions
- MsgBox and InputBox Functions Revisited
- String Manipulation Functions
- Nesting Functions
- Date Functions
- Type Checking Functions
Session 2 — Control structures and Branching
- If Statements
- Data Validation
- Select Case
Session 3 — Control structures and Looping
- For… Next
- For Each…
- Do… loops.
This course can be delivered in the classroom or remotely via Zoom. Contact us for availability and pricing.
Information for Mac users
If you are a Mac user, please let us know when booking. If the course is held in the classroom at Happy, the training is held on PCs so we recommend that you bring your Macbook with you (we are not able to provide an additional monitor). For online training, please let us know when booking and you can use your Mac as normal. We provide a PDF with shortcuts for Mac users and your trainer will refer to this throughout the training.
Which Excel course is right for you?
Making sure you’ve booked the right course isn’t always easy.
Luckily we have a handy survey to help you decide.
And if you’re still unsure, call our friendly team on 020 7375 7300 and we’ll help you work out what you need.
Group Learning Events
If you have three or more learners, a private group course could be cheaper.
We can tailor the content to your team, and host the training remotely, at your workplace or here at Happy's HQ in Aldgate, Central London.
What is it like to learn with Happy?
Our facilitators make learning interactive and fun. In this video, Maureen delivers a session on Formulas and Functions in Excel at Happy's HQ in London.
The Small Print
This course will run from 10am to 4:45pm (lunch is served 1pm to 1:45pm — we offer a choice of 3 cold bowl dishes) on all three days. Please be careful to arrive by 9:45am for registration and refreshments. The course will start precisely on time and it may not be possible to go back over material missed by late arrivals. If you arrive over 30 minutes late you may be asked to leave and attend another day.
Please ensure you read our Terms and Conditions before booking for our payment terms and cancellation policy.
Mac Users
If you are a Mac user, please let us know when booking. If the course is held in the classroom at Happy, the training is held on PCs so we recommend that you bring your Macbook with you (we are not able to provide an additional monitor).
The happy Guarantee
We want everyone to go away from our courses feeling as though they have learnt useful, practical skills that they can use straight away when they go back to work.
If you don’t feel that your training has been useful or if you are unhappy in any way, please get in touch with our Customer Services team within 30 days of the course. We will be happy to offer you additional support and training free of charge to help you to gain the skills you need, or if you’d prefer, a full refund.
If you have any questions or concerns, or would like to arrange some online training, our friendly team are available Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm. You can leave a message on 020 7375 7300 or email us at hello@happy.co.uk.
Your post-course support package
- Included in the price of both online and classroom programmes
- 2 years of free access to our IT Helpline
- Unlimited access - call or email our team as often as you need
- Ask about any content covered on your course
happy learners
Did you know...
...looping is essentially getting VBA to perform a specific task, and then repeating it sequentially?
Did you know you can also build a custom toolbar of VBA macros? The ribbon is a term for the toolbar layout at the top of Excel, but not many people know that it can be customised.
We run a range of other Excel courses, from introductory to expert. See below for more information.
Introduction to Excel Macros and VBA for users who've never used Visual Basic for Applications and want to learn how to automate repetitive tasks. Find out more
Advanced Excel Core Level 3 to improve your ability to organise and analyse data as well as represent your data in a visual and readily understandable chart. Find out more