Word: Macro recording does not work - what to do?

In this practical tip, we will show you what you can do if Word Macros do not work.

Recorded macro is not saved

• A possible problem is that the recorded macro is simply not saved.
• This can happen if you only create a macro for a specific document, but do not save the document as a .docm file.
• As a solution to the problem, you can either set the storage location to "All documents" in the "Record macro" window, or save the document as a .docm file under "File" -> "Save as". Then record the macro again - it should now work.

Macro with mouse movement does not work

• In MS Office Word, you cannot record a mouse movement using a macro.
• As soon as you start the recording, your cursor becomes slightly transparent and you can no longer click in the text.
• This is not a bug, it is intended by Microsoft. In contrast to MS Office Excel, Word only records keystrokes.
• There is no real solution to this problem, except that you program your macros manually in VBA. However, this requires prior knowledge and is far more complicated or time-consuming.

In our next practical tip, you will also learn how to insert comments into your Word documents.