Creating Macros to Use Within Microsoft Word

One of my favorite discoveries in Microsoft Word was how to use Macros.  These are little programs that you can create that can accomplish several tasks by pushing one button instead of many.

Using the biblical languages as described in the second post can become quite a hassle, especially if you end up having to switch back and forth through the biblical fonts quite often.  So, I created a macro for this that can do it at the touch of a button.

Opening Up the Macro Window


In order to create Macros you have to go to the View tab at the top of your Word screen (I'm using Word 2016).  Click on the "Macros" icon on the right-hand side of the menu, and another screen will pop up that lists all the Macros currently installed in Word.  If you have trouble finding this Macro icon, press Alt+F8 and it should open up.

With the Macro screen open, what we are going to do is create three different macros:

• A macro to switch to the Hebrew keyboard and font
• A macro to switch to the Greek keyboard and font
• A macro to switch to the English keyboard and font

This way, all you will have to do is press one button and you can switch back and forth to Hebrew, Greek, and English.

Creating Macros in Microsoft Word

In this section, we're going to create the three macros above.

Creating Your Hebrew Macro

With the Macro screen open, in the "Macro Name" box type in the name you want for your Hebrew macro.  I chose something simple, like "ToHebrew".  Once you have the name in the box, click on the Create button.  This will take you into the Microsoft Visual Basic developer window, where you can create your macro program.  Your cursor should be blinking with a Macro that starts with "Sub ToHebrew ()" and then has a few lines of green.  Type in the following script to make the Macro read like this:

Sub ToHebrew()
'
' ToHebrew Macro
'
'
    Selection.Font.Name = "SBL BibLit"
    Application.Keyboard (1037)
    Selection.Font.Size = 12
End Sub

Now that you have that typed in, click on the save icon, and close the entire Visual Basic window.  You just created a macro.  Let me explain what you did.  Your macro is set up to change the setting for the font to SBL BibLit.  The "Application.Keyboard" line switches to the keyboard for Hebrew.  If you are wondering where to find this code, it is listed here.  1037 corresponds to Hebrew, 1032 to Greek, and 1033 to English.  The third line specifies which font size you want.  Since I always work in size 12, I have it set to automatically change to size 12.  If you prefer a different font, simply delete "SBL BibLit" and change it to something else, like "SBL Hebrew" or "Ezra SIL". 

Now that you've created your Macro to change to Hebrew fonts and keyboards, you need to follow the same process to create the same ones for Greek and English.  To follow the same naming process, I've used "ToGreek" and "ToEnglish".  These two Macros should look like the following:

Sub ToEnglish()
'
' ToEnglish Macro
'
'
    Selection.Font.Name = "Times New Roman"
    Application.Keyboard (1033)
    Selection.Font.Size = 12
End Sub

Sub ToGreek()
'
' ToGreek Macro
'
'
    Selection.Font.Name = "SBL BibLit"
    Application.Keyboard (1032)
    Selection.Font.Size = 12
End Sub

Creating Your Keyboard Shortcuts

Now that you've created your three language macros ("ToHebrew", "ToGreek", and "ToEnglish"), the final step is creating keyboard shortcuts to run the macro.  Follow these steps to assign your keyboard shortcuts:

1. Click on the "File" tab in the top-left corner of Word, and then choose "Options" from the box that opens up
2. Look down the list and click on the "Customize Ribbon." 
3. At the bottom of the menu box, choose to "Customize" the Keyboard Shortcuts
4. Under "Categories", scroll down and click on "Macros"
5. Within the "Macros" box next to the Categories box, you should see your three macros
6. Click on "ToHebrew"
7. Put your cursor in the "Press new shortcut key:" box, and choose a shortcut that you will remember to use for this macro.  The tricky part is finding a shortcut that isn't already being used.  On my computer, Alt+H had not been assigned to anything, so I used that for my ToHebrew macro.  Once you find a shortcut that isn't being used by another function, click on the "Assign" box to assign that shortcut to the ToHebrew macro.
8. Do the same thing for "ToGreek."  Click on it, and then input a keyboard shortcut.  On my computer, Alt+G had not been used for anything, so I assigned that shortcut for ToGreek.
9. And finally, do the same thing for "ToEnglish."  I used Alt+E.
10. Once you've assigned shortcuts to your three macros, close the Word Options box and go back to your document.

Now, you should have all your macros created and assigned keyboard shortcuts.  Start typing in English, and the press the shortcut for Hebrew that you just created (Alt+H on my computer).  This should change your keyboard to Hebrew, and your font to whatever Hebrew font you used.  Now, start typing in Hebrew.  To change back to English and Times New Roman (or whatever English font you used), simply press Alt+Q (or whatever shortcut you decided on).  Now, you can continue typing in English.

Where Microsoft Word Can Be Fickle

Having used these Macros for some time now, I have noticed that they can be a bit fickle.  Here are some of the problems I've noticed, that are more annoyances than anything else.

• Sometimes, when I haven't used Hebrew yet, the first time I press the shortcut, it will change to the Hebrew keyboards, but not to the Hebrew font.  What I've noticed is that if you select your font from the font list during this first time using the Macro, it will work fine from that point on.  It's weird, I know, but hey, it's still quicker than doing it manually every time.
• Sometimes, when using Hebrew, the macro will automatically change it to 16 point font instead of 12 point font.  I have no idea why this is, but just like above, if I change it to 12 point during the first go around, it will work fine from that point forward.
• Sometimes when changing back to English from Greek, the macro will not work the first time I press the shortcut.  If I press the shortcut a second time, it will work perfectly.  Weird quirk, and still not sure why this happens.  So I just get used to pressing the English shortcut twice.

OK, so that's it.  I hope this little guide has been helpful.  Let me know if you have any other troubles, and I'll do my best to update my little guide here.