Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Excel 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Excel, click here: Removing a Macro from a Shortcut Key.

Removing a Macro from a Shortcut Key

by Allen Wyatt
(last updated August 12, 2021)

3

Excel allows you to assign macros to specific key combinations. These key combinations are referred to as shortcut keys, and when used they result in the macro being executed. You learn how to assign a shortcut key to a particular macro in other issues of ExcelTips.

At some point you may want to remove the association between a shortcut key and a macro. In order to do this, follow these steps:

  1. Press Alt+F8 to display the Macro dialog box.
  2. From the list of available macros, select the macro whose shortcut key you want to change.
  3. Click on Options. Excel displays the Macro Options dialog box. (See Figure 1.)

    4. Figure 1. The Macro Options dialog box.

  4. Remove any characters in the Shortcut Key area.
  5. Click on OK to close the Macro Options dialog box.
  6. Click on Cancel to close the Macro dialog box.

Note:

If you would like to know how to use the macros described on this page (or on any other page on the ExcelTips sites), I've prepared a special page that includes helpful information. Click here to open that special page in a new browser tab.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (3184) applies to Microsoft Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Excel (Excel 2007 and later) here: Removing a Macro from a Shortcut Key.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Making Revisions

You've turned on Highlight Changes, but how do you know what has been changed? This tip explains how Excel displays those ...

Discover More

Matching Formatting when Concatenating

Convert a numeric value to text and you may be surprised by how Excel displays the value. Here's a run-down on exactly ...

Discover More

AutoFilling Numbers with a Trailing Period

The AutoFill tool is very handy when it comes to quickly filling cells with a sequence of values. Sometimes, however, it ...

Discover More

Excel Smarts for Beginners! Featuring the friendly and trusted For Dummies style, this popular guide shows beginners how to get up and running with Excel while also helping more experienced users get comfortable with the newest features. Check out Excel 2013 For Dummies today!

More ExcelTips (menu)

Disabled Macros

Do your macros seem to be disabled on your new machine? It could be because of the security settings in Excel. Here's ...

Discover More

Understanding Phantom Macros

When you delete all the macros in a workbook, Excel may still think you have some there. Here's why that happens and what ...

Discover More

Inserting Worksheet Values with a Macro

Macros are often used to process information in a worksheet. You may need your macro to change the values stored in ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is 8 - 8?

2018-02-07 09:28:19

Alex

Macros are only assigned to the workbook in which they live. For example, if I created MACRO A and saved it to my personal macro workbook with shortcut ctrl+d I could also assign ctrl+d to a macro saved within a different workbook.

It's not a pure solution for being able to disassociate shortcuts, but it's a start.

2016-03-14 07:59:08

Tomasz

Unfortunately the shortcut key is not releasing permanently in EXCEL 2016 (MAC).

Once shortcut key connection to macro is deleted, the key-sequence remind occupied and can not be assigned to new macro.

2014-06-28 04:13:49

Prabhav

Thanks for helping in crisp manner

This Site

Got a version of Excel that uses the menu interface (Excel 97, Excel 2000, Excel 2002, or Excel 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.

Newest Tips
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.

Links and Sharing
OUR COMPANY
OUR PRODUCTS
OUR SITES
 

Copyright © 2021 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.