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This guide covers how to create a letterhead macro in Microsoft Word for Office 2013 and Office 2016.

About Macros

Macros automate common tasks. A macro can be created for virtually any task that you perform in Word. The amount of steps is irrelevant. You can even create a macro that automatically places certain text in a document with as many attributes as you’d like!

Macros are created with a recording device similar to a common tape recorder. Once you start recording your macro, a toolbar pops up with standard stop and pause buttons. The following is an example of how to create a macro for your customized letterhead paper.

Creating The Letterhead Macro

  1. Open a blank document. You want to assign your macro to all documents.
  2. From the View Tab, choose Macros and Record Macro. The Record Macro dialog box is displayed as shown below.
  3. Type a name for your macro, such as Letterhead. (Spaces are not allowed; use an underscore to indicate spacing).
    record macro
  4. Under Store macro in: make sure that All Documents (Normal.dot) or Global Template is selected.
  5. Add a Descriptionif you would like, this is helpful if you are creating a lot of macros and need to keep everything organized.
  6. To assign the macro to a keyboard shortcut click on Keyboard. This provides quick access to your macro.
    customize keyboard
    1. The Customize Keyboard dialog box appears as shown above.
    2. Assign a key combination. For this macro, since we’re creating a letterhead, we’ll use Alt-L. On your keyboard, press the ALT key and the letter L at the same time. The combination is automatically placed in the Press new shortcut key field.
    3. Click Assign
    4. Click Close.

Recording the Macro

After you choose Close, the recording of the macro immediately begins. To Stop Recording, you will need to click on macro again and click Stop Recording.
record macro

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Click File>Close to close the document you just created. If asked to save the document you may do so.

Testing the Macro

  1. Click File.
  2. Click New.
  3. Select Blank Document.
  4. If you set a keyboard shortcut above, then click it now. For this example, press the ALT key and the letter L at the same time. Your letterhead should appear at the top right hand corner of the document.
    1. If you did not choose to set a keyboard shortcut for your macro, click the View tab.
    2. Click Macro in the Macro group.
    3. In the Macro window, select your macro and click Run.
    4. Once your letterhead appears, you may need to change your document font back to the default font, size and/or justification under the Font and Paragraph groups found in the Home tab.

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