Creating a letterhead using macros in Microsoft Word

This guide covers how to create a letterhead macro in Microsoft Word for Office 2016/2019.

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).
   
   
4. Under Store macro in: make sure that All Documents (Normal.dot) or Global Template is selected.
5. Add a Description if 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.
   
   
   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.

When you record your macro make sure that the following is included in your letterhead.

1. Type the Letterhead information
   1. Ex:
      OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
      1101 Camden Avenue
      Salisbury, MD 21801-6860
      410-543-6011
      1-888-543-0148
      TTY  410-543-6083
      FAX  410-548-2587
      www.salisbury.edu
   2. Once you have completed the letterhead information, place your cursor at the end of the text and click the Page Layout tab in Office 2013 or Layout tab in Office 2016.
   3. Click Breaks.
   4. From the drop-down menu, select Continuous.
   5. Hold down the Shift key and press the Up Arrow ↑ on the keyboard multiple times until all of your text is highlighted.
   6. Click on Home tab.
   7. In the Font group, click on the Font Name drop-down box.
   8. Select Arial.
   9. Click on the Font Size drop-down box.
   10. Enter 7 and then press the Enter key on your keyboard.
   11. Make sure the text is still selected (highlighted)
   12. Click on the Page Layout tab in Office 2013 or the Layout tab in Office 2016.
   13. In the Paragraph group click on the bottom right corner. You should have a window pop up with the following areas in the Indents and Spacing tab.
       1. Under General, for Alignment: select Right from the drop-down menu.
       2. Under Indentation, make sure both Left: and Right: are set to 0.
       3. Under Spacing, for both Before: and After: enter 8pt.
       4. Click OK.
       5. In the Page Setup group in the Page Layout (2013) or Layout (2016) tab, click Margins.
       6. Select Custom Margins.
       7. In the Margins tab, make sure the Apply to: option in the lower left hand corner is set to Selected Section.
       8. Under Margins make sure that both Top: and Right: are set to .375. You may leave the Bottom: and Left: margins at the default.
       9. Click OK.
       10. Press the Down Arrow ↓ on the keyboard once to set the cursor at the start of the document, below the letterhead.

Once you have completed these steps, click the View tab. Click the Macro button and select Stop Recording as pictured below.

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.

For more information visit Microsoft Support for Macros

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