How to Remove a Macro in Excel

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The complete guide to deleting macros from any Excel workbook

Written by Jack Lloyd

Last Updated: September 20, 2024 Tested

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On Windows

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On Mac

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FAQ

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Tips

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Warnings

This wikiHow guide teaches you how to remove a macro from a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. Removing a macro is as simple as opening the macros menu in the "View" tab and deleting the ones you don't want, though you'll have to enable macros in your document before you can do this.

Quick Guide: Removing Macros in Excel

Click the "View" tab, click the "Macros" icon, and then click "View Macros". Select the macro you want to remove and click "Delete".

For popular FAQs on deleting macros in Excel, jump to more common questions.

Method 1

Method 1 of 2:

On Windows

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Double-click the Excel file which contains the macro you want to delete. This will open the file in Excel.
2
Click Enable Content. It's in the yellow bar at the top of the Excel window. This will enable the macro(s) that are embedded in the file.
- If you don't enable the macro(s), you won't be able to delete your macro.
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This tab is in the green ribbon at the top of the Excel window.
It's a drop-down icon
in the far-right side of the View tab. A drop-down menu will appear.
This option is in the drop-down menu. Doing so opens the Macros pop-up window.
You'll find this at the bottom of the window. Clicking it prompts a drop-down menu.
It's in the drop-down menu.
Click the name of the macro you want to delete.
It's on the right side of the window.
Doing so will remove the macro from your workbook.
Press Ctrl+S to do so. This will ensure that the macro remains deleted after you close Excel.

Method 2

Method 2 of 2:

On Mac

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Double-click the Excel file which contains the macro you want to delete. This will open the file in Excel.
2
Click Enable Content. It's in the yellow bar at the top of the Excel window. This will enable the macro(s) that are embedded in the file.
- If you don't enable the macro(s), you won't be able to delete your macro.
It's a menu item at the top of your Mac's screen. Clicking it prompts a drop-down menu.
This option is at the bottom of the Tools drop-down menu. Selecting it causes a pop-out menu to the right of the drop-down menu to appear.
It's in the pop-out menu. Doing so opens the "Macros" window.^{[1]
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This is near the bottom of the "Macros" window. A drop-down menu will appear.
It's in the drop-down menu.
Click the name of the macro you want to delete.
It's below the list of macros.
This will remove the macro.
Press ⌘ Command+S to do so. This will ensure that the macro remains deleted after you close Excel.

Common Questions: Excel Macros

Can I fully disable macros in Excel?

Go to the File tab and select Options > Trust Center > Trust Center Settings > Macro Settings. In this menu you can choose to disable all macros with notification or without notification. You can also decide to allow macros that are digitally signed, but disable all others.

How do I undo a macro in Excel?

If you run a macro that ends up doing something you want to undo, the only way to get your previous work back is to close the document without saving. If you've saved after you ran the macro, you won't be able to undo the changes due to the way that macros (and VBA code) work.

Why can't I delete an Excel macro?

While in Excel, press Alt + F11 to open the Visual Basic Editor. In the Project Explorer (top-left pane) look for "VBAProject," then look for modules containing macros. If you don't see any macros there, the macros you're using may be controlled by an add-in that can be edited in File > Options > Add-ins.

Tips

On a Mac, you can also open the "Macros" window from within the Developer tab by clicking Macros.

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Warnings

Macros can harm your computer. Unless you know where a macro came from (e.g., a trusted colleague created it), do not run macros from files you didn't personally create.

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