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Use VBA add-ins and macros that you developed for Office for Windows with Office for Mac.

Applies to: Excel for Mac | PowerPoint for Mac | Word for Mac | Office 2016 for Mac

If you are authoring Macros for Office for Mac, you can use most of the same objects that are available in VBA for Office. For information about VBA for Excel, PowerPoint, and Word, see the following:

Note

Outlook for Mac and OneNote for Mac don't support VBA.

Office 2016 for Mac is sandboxed

Unlike other versions of Office apps that support VBA, Office 2016 for Mac apps are sandboxed.

Sandboxing restricts the apps from accessing resources outside the app container. This affects any add-ins or macros that involve file access or communication across processes. You can minimize the effects of sandboxing by using the new commands described in the following section.

Creating an installer or putting user content

For instructions on creating an installer for your add-in, please refer to the article here: Installing User Content in Office 2016 for Mac

New VBA commands for Office 2016 for Mac

The following VBA commands are new and unique to Office 2016 for Mac.

Command Use to
GrantAccessToMultipleFiles Request a user's permission to access multiple files at once.
AppleScriptTask Call external AppleScript scripts from VB.
MAC_OFFICE_VERSION IFDEF between different Mac Office versions at compile time.

Ribbon customization in Office for Mac

Office 2016 for Mac supports ribbon customization using Ribbon XML. Note that there are some differences in ribbon support in Office 2016 for Mac and Office for Windows.

Ribbon customization feature Office for Windows Office for Mac
Ability to customize the ribbon using Ribbon XML Available Available
Support for document based add-ins Available Available
Ability to invoke Macros using custom ribbon controls Available Available
Customization of custom menus Available Available
Ability to include and invoke Office Fluent Controls within a custom ribbon tab Available Most familiar Office Fluent Control Identifiers are compatible with Office for Mac. Some might not be available. For commands that are compatible with Office 2016 for Mac, see idMSOs compatible with Office 2016 for Mac.
Support for COM add-ins that use custom ribbon controls Available Office 2016 for Mac doesn't support third-party COM add-ins.

idMSOs compatible with Office 2016 for Mac

For information about the idMSOs that are compatible with Office 2016 for Mac, see the following:

See also

Support and feedback

Have questions or feedback about Office VBA or this documentation? Please see Office VBA support and feedback for guidance about the ways you can receive support and provide feedback.