This Excel tutorial explains how to display the developer tab in the toolbar in Excel 2010 (with screenshots and step-by-step instructions).

See solution in other versions of Excel:

Activate MS Office 2019/2016 for macOS - MicrosoftOffice2019VLSerializer Office 2019 above. Note that Office2019 DO NOT support activate via simple copy/paste plist license file which is the simplest way to activate Office 2016. Fortunately, you can also use the VL Serializer tool, just install Office 2019 and Serializer, then run Serializer to activate. You can access the VBA environment in Excel 2011 for Mac by opening the Visual Basic editor. First, be sure that the Developer tab is visible in the toolbar in Excel. The Developer tab is the toolbar that has the buttons to open the VBA editor and create Form Controls like buttons, checkboxes, etc. Developer Tab in Excel. Developer tab in excel is used for generating macros, creating VBA applications, designing form and Importing or Exporting XML. By default, the developer tab is disabled in excel, so it needs to be enabled from the Options Menu in excel. Let’s deep dive and go through the various option the Developer tab offers. Two Ways to Show/Enable Developer Tab in Excel for Mac 2019 or Microsoft 365. To be able to view the Developer Tab in Microsoft Excel for Mac 2016, take the following steps: Click on Excel at the top, left-hand corner of the Excel window and the select Preferences. On the Excel Preferences window, click on View in the Authoring section.

Question: In Microsoft Excel 2010, how do I get the Developer tab to display in the toolbar at the top of the screen?

The Developer tab is the toolbar that has the buttons to open the VBA editor and create Form/ActiveX Controls like buttons, checkboxes, etc.

Answer: To display the Developer tab, click on the File menu and then select Options from the drop down menu.

When the Excel Options window appears, click on the Customize Ribbon option on the left. Click on the Developer checkbox under the list of Main Tabs on the right. Then click on the OK button.

Now you should see the Developer tab in the toolbar at the top of the screen. All of the Developer tab option groups should be available - Code, Add-Ins, Controls, XML, and Modify (see below).

The tutorial shows how to create and use the Personal.xlsb file to make Excel macro available in all workbooks.

Normally, when you write a macro in Excel, it can only be accessed from that specific workbook. But what if you want to use it in other files too? Recreating the same macro for each and every workbook does not sound like a good idea. Instead, store your popular VBA codes in the Personal Macro Workbook. This will make the macros accessible every time you open Excel, in any workbook!

What is Excel Personal Macro Workbook?

Personal Macro Workbook is a special file named Personal.xlsb in Excel 2007 – 2019 or Personal.xls in earlier versions. Any macros stored in this file are available to you whenever you start Excel. A great thing about the personal workbook is that it's hidden by default, so you won't ever notice it opening in the backend. No actions on your side are required. Microsoft Excel just knows the location where this file lives in your system and looks for it automatically on every launch.

Aside from macros, the Personal Macro Workbook can store your custom functions (user-defined functions) written in VBA.

A fly in the ointment is that the Excel Personal Macro Workbook does not exist by default. To create it, you will need to record at least one macro. Once the Personal.xlsb file is created, you can add any other macros to it by using the VB Editor.

Where is Personal Macro Workbook?

The Personal.xlsb file is stored in the XLSTART folder in the following locations.

On Windows 10, Windows 7, and Windows Vista:

C:UsersUser NameAppDataRoamingMicrosoftExcelXLSTART

On Windows XP:

C:Documents and SettingsUser NameApplication DataMicrosoftExcelXLSTART

Please note that the AppData folder is hidden by default. So, to get to the XLSTART folder in Windows Explorer, check the Hidden items box on the View tab.

Note. If the XLSTART folder does not exist on your computer, that means your personal macro workbook is not created yet. Please follow the below steps to make one.

Developer Tab For Excel For Mac

How to create Personal Macro Workbook in Excel

To make your personal macro workbook, you need to record any macro, which is done via the Developer tab. So, before we get started, please make sure the Developer tab is activated in your Excel.

To create the Excel Personal Macro Workbook, carry out these steps:

In any workbook, go to the Developer tab > Code group, and click Record Macro.
The Record Macro dialog box will show up. In the Store Macro in drop-down list, select Personal Macro Workbook and click OK. Optionally, you can change the default name such as Macro1 to a more meaningful one.
If you want to record a specific macro, perform the desired actions. If your goal is just to create a personal workbook, continue with the next step.
On the Developer tab or the Status bar, click Stop Recording.
Save and close all open workbooks. Doing this display a message prompting you to save the changes you've made to the Personal Macro Workbook, and you click Save:
This message will appear every time you create a new macro or update an existing macro in your personal workbook.

Done! The Personal.xlsb file is created and will be automatically opened in the background every time you start Excel.

Now that you have a personal macro workbook, how do you place macros into it? There are four different ways to do this:

Record a macro and save it to Personal Macro Workbook as shown above.
Write a macro in the VB Editor.
Copy VBA code from another workbook.
Import macros from a .bas file.

How to view, create, copy and edit macros in Personal Macro Workbook

Once the Personal.xlsb file is saved on your computer, you can view, create and edit the macros the Visual Basic Editor. Also, you can copy the code you wish to reuse from another workbook.

To create or edit a macro in your personal workbook, this is what you need to do:

Open the VB Editor. For this, press ALT + F11 or click the Visual Basic button on the Developer tab, in the Code group.
In the Project Explorer window, find the PERSONAL.XLSB object, expand it, and double-click on Module1 to open its Code window.
In the Code window, write, copy/paste or edit the VBA code.
Close the VB Editor.
Close Excel and save the changes you've made to the Personal Macro Workbook when prompted.

How to use macros stored in Personal Workbook

Macros stored in your personal workbook can be used in any Excel file. For this, just open the worksheet in which you want to run the macro, and do the following:

On the Developer tab, in the Code group, click the Macros button or press the Alt + 8 shortcut.
In the Macro dialog box, you will see the list of macros available for use in all open workbooks, including the ones stored in the Personal.xlsb file. Select the target macro and click Run.

You can also assign a custom shortcut to a macro or run it by clicking a special macro button.

How to export Personal Macro Workbook

Like any other VBA code, the macros stored in Personal.xlsb can be exported to a .bas file.

To export your personal macro workbook, here's what you need to do:

Open the Visual Basic Editor.
In the Project Explorer, right-click Module1 under PERSONAL.XLSB and select Export File.
Navigate to the folder where you want to save your personal macro workbook, give the file any name you want, and click Save.

To import a .bas file that someone shared with you, right-click the module under PERSONAL.XLSB into which you want to place the macros, and select Import File.

How to share Personal Macro Workbook in Excel

In case you'd like to share your personal workbook with other people, proceed in one of the following ways.

Developer Excel For Mac