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Google Docs Competitor Zoho Adds Support For Macros In Spreadsheet Software

I am not a big user of spreadsheets, nor do I use a lot of macros. But I am sure this is good news for someone out there. Zoho Sheet can now record and play back Visual Basic macros. It's the only cloud-based spreadsheet that can do that. In fact, the only other spreadsheet that can do that is Microsoft Excel. Google, are you going to ante up?

When I first started using cloud-based tools, their functionality was less than robust. That has been changing rapidly, however, especially during the last 12 months or so. I happen to use Google Docs, but Zoho has a good, competitive offering if you're Google-phobic.

Power users of spreadsheets will likely welcome the latest improvement in its functionality.

"Compared to consumer-oriented spreadsheets, Zoho Sheet is designed for the business users," said Raju Vegesna, Zoho evangelist, in a prepared statement. "And our business users deserve the most advanced spreadsheet possible. The new macro record and playback functionality in Zoho Sheet pushes the envelope, letting anybody easily create and apply macros. It brings macros to the masses. It also confirms our commitment to expanding the feature sets of all our applications."

To create a new macro in Zoho Sheet, users follow the steps below:

1. From the "Macros" menu, select "Record Macro."
2. In the "Create Macro" dialog box, name the new macro, and then click "Start Recording."
3. On the spreadsheet, perform all the actions to be recorded in the new macro. "Macro Recording in progress" will appear in the menu bar.
4. After performing the final task, click "Stop Recording" from the menu bar.

Once the macro is created, users have the option to view the Visual Basic code that was automatically written by Zoho Sheet. The new macro can now be applied anywhere in the same Zoho Sheet workbook. To apply a recorded macro, users perform the following steps:

1. Go to the sheet where the new macro will be applied.
2. From the "Macros" menu, select "Run Macro."

Selecting the "relative reference" option found in the "Create Macro" dialog box ensures that recorded macros will be applied accurately to spreadsheet content, regardless of location.

For all you Zoho users out there, enjoy!

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