In Excel: Press Alt + F11 (Option + F11 on Mac) to open the Visual Basic Editor, then use Insert ▸ Module to create a place to write code.
VBA macro: Open the VBA Editor
Sub HelloFromTheEditor()
MsgBox "The VBA editor is working — this macro ran from the module you just created.", _
vbInformation, "VBA Editor"
End SubPaste this into the blank Module window and press F5. A dialog means the editor, the module and macro security are all set up correctly, so any later code you paste will run too.
How to run this macro
- Press Alt + F11 to open the VBA editor.
- Insert > Module.
- Paste the code above.
- Press
F5, or close the editor and run it from Developer > Macros. - Save the file as .xlsm so the macro is kept.
Press Alt + F11 from any worksheet (Option + F11 on Mac; on some laptops you also need the Fn key).
If the Project Explorer pane is missing on the left, press Ctrl + R to bring it back.
Expand the tree entry for your workbook, then expand Modules to read code that already exists.
To write new code, right-click the workbook name and choose Insert ▸ Module — the code window stays blank until a module is open.
Press Alt + F11 again to switch back to the sheet; the editor stays open in the background.
What this does
The Visual Basic Editor is a separate application window that ships inside Excel — it is where every macro in a workbook actually lives. Alt + F11 opens it from any sheet, with no setup and no Developer tab required. The editor is split into three panes. On the left, the Project Explorer lists every open workbook and add-in as a tree: sheet objects, ThisWorkbook, and any Modules the file contains. Below it, the Properties window shows the attributes of whatever is selected. The large area on the right is the code window, which stays blank until you open a module — a common reason people think the editor is broken on first launch. Existing macros are inside those Modules, so to read code someone else wrote, expand Modules in the tree and double-click one. Press Ctrl + G to add the Immediate window, where Debug.Print output lands. Keep the inputs visible and clearly labelled and the whole thing stays auditable — anyone who opens the file later, including you, can see at a glance exactly what feeds the result and change one assumption without hunting through the formula. Treat “open vba from excel” as a small repeatable workflow rather than a one-off click you hope to remember next time. Use a small test block before the live file, so any surprise in the affected cells shows up while it is still harmless. When this is a ribbon command, the selection matters more than the button: confirm the range, apply the command, then spot-check the output before saving. That turns a workflow that saves repeating the same clicks every week into a method you can reuse, explain, and defend when the workbook leaves your screen.
A worked example
You inherit a workbook and want to see what it does before trusting it. Press Alt + F11. In the Project Explorer on the left, find the entry matching the file name, click the plus beside it, and expand the Modules folder. Double-click Module1 and its code appears on the right. If there is no Modules folder, the automation lives in a sheet object or in ThisWorkbook instead — double-click those to check. To write something of your own rather than read, right-click the workbook name, choose Insert ▸ Module, paste Sub HelloFromTheEditor() into the empty window, and press F5. Alt + F11 toggles back to the spreadsheet, and both windows stay open side by side. Every other macro task starts here, so knowing the editor layout turns a wall of unfamiliar panes into two clicks. It is also the fastest way to audit an unfamiliar workbook before you enable its macros: read the code first, decide second. One habit worth forming early: name the cells that hold your inputs, so the formula reads in plain language instead of a string of cell addresses. A reviewer — or you in three months — can then follow the logic without decoding what B7 and D2 were supposed to mean, which is most of what makes a sheet maintainable.
In Google Sheets
Google Sheets handles this almost identically to Excel. The formula syntax above is the same, and the menu lives under a slightly different label rather than a ribbon tab. Use the platform toggle at the top of the page to switch every keyboard shortcut between Windows and Mac, and expect at most cosmetic differences in naming. Keep this page bookmarked for the next time the same question comes up. Better still, rebuild the example once in your own sheet — doing it yourself, with the tool above to check against, is what turns a copied formula into a technique you own. Here is the takeaway for “open vba from excel”: copy the answer if you are busy, but if you have a spare few minutes, rebuild the example in Excel yourself with the tool above open beside it. That single pass — type it, run it, watch the result move when you change an input — is what turns a formula you found into a technique you trust. Keep your inputs labelled and referenced, never hard-coded, and the same sheet stays correct and auditable as it grows. Done that way, you will not need to look this up again, and you will be the person others ask.
Common mistakes
- Expecting the Developer tab to be there first. It is not needed — Alt + F11 works whether or not the tab is visible. If you do want it, turn it on under File ▸ Options ▸ Customize Ribbon by ticking Developer.
- Typing into the grey background of the editor. That area is not a code surface; nothing accepts input until a Module (or a sheet object) is open in a code window.
- Writing a macro inside a sheet object such as Sheet1 when a standard module was meant. Code in a sheet object is scoped to that sheet and will not appear in the Developer ▸ Macros list, which makes it look like the macro vanished.
- Assuming a workbook has no code because Modules is empty. Event handlers live in ThisWorkbook and in the individual sheet objects, so check those before concluding the file is macro-free.
Frequently asked questions
Does Alt + F11 work on a Mac?
Option + F11 opens the editor on Mac, and on keyboards where the function keys default to media controls you need Fn + Option + F11. Tools ▸ Macro ▸ Visual Basic Editor from the menu bar always works as a fallback.
The editor opened but the window is completely blank — is it broken?
No. The code pane is empty until a module is open. Press Ctrl + R for the Project Explorer, then either double-click an existing module or use Insert ▸ Module to create one.
How do I see the VBA code someone else wrote in a workbook?
Alt + F11, expand the workbook in the Project Explorer, then expand Modules and double-click each one. Also check ThisWorkbook and the sheet entries — event code lives there rather than in a module.
Why is the project locked and asking for a password?
The author protected it under Tools ▸ VBAProject Properties ▸ Protection. Without that password the code cannot be viewed, and there is no supported way around it — ask whoever built the file.