Using Old Lotus Macros

One thing that many people miss when switching to Excel from Lotus 1-2-3 is data-entry macros. Many different books have stated that you can't use 1-2-3 macros in Excel, but there is a way you can try out, and it should work with simple macros. Here is an example.

1. Open a new Lotus spreadsheet, and set up a simple keystroke macro like this one: {d}{?}{R}{?}{R}{?}{L 2}{Branch \e}
2. Name the macro '\e. (Go into Lotus Help if you don't know how to name your macro.)
3. Save the spreadsheet.
4. Close Lotus 1-2-3 and open Excel.
5. Choose Open from the File menu. Excel displays the Open dialog box.
6. Using the Files of Type drop-down list, choose Lotus 1-2-3 Files (*.wk?).
7. Use the controls in the dialog box to locate and select the file you created in steps 1 through 3.
8. Click on Open.

As part of opening the Lotus 1-2-3 file, Excel converts the macro so it can be run in Excel. In this example you would press Ctrl+E to start the macro. You can also modify the macro right in Excel. You can also click and drag the macro to another location in the spreadsheet. What you can't do is rename it and copy it to a different worksheet or workbook. But you can use many of the older keystroke commands to really make your imported macros powerful.