Bring back Relative References in Macro Recording
In Mac XL 2011 You had ability to create Macros that made use of Relative References in a addition to absolute references. In the Excel Mac 2016 Answers forum this is vitally important.
Any possibility of returning this to Excel Mac 2016
[10/22/2015 - Dan [MS]: Added image to show where this feature used to exist in older versions of Mac XL]

If you have version 16.24 or greater, you can now record macros using relative references.
Thanks for all your support for this feature.
Steve [MS Excel]
160 comments
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David James commented
I have version 16.16.10 (as the latest update available) and I still don't have relative references. I assume this is because it has only been applied to version 2019 not 2016. When are you going to update 2016. I paid for this feature and haven't received it after two years! Perhaps the easy route would be to honour your customers by updating us to the latest version FREE.
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Unhappy commented
Hey Microsoft, Thanks for screwing up a very useful and needed thing that worked just fine in Excel 2011 AND MAKING MY SPREADSHEETS, WHICH RELY ON RELATIVE ADDRESSING, USELESS, and forcing me to go back to using 2011 to get the job done.
You say I can now record relative references BUT when the existing 2011 sheet no longer works I really do not want to have to rewrite the approximately 40 macros that will no longer work to get back to having a useful spreadsheet. How about making your "new" product fully backward compatible with 2011 Excel!
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Anonymous commented
Thank you! It's been a long time coming
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Mike Ratcliffe commented
Bring back Relative References in Macro Recording - the fact the MS has asked me for a thumbs up or down having brought this back with 16.24 amazes me. I and others have been asking for this for OVER TWO YEARS. .... NO! MS you don't get a thumbs up.
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Anonymous commented
Hi Steve,
Many thanks for update - what date was version of Mac Excel 16:24 released? (I assume that this must be a recent update?)
Many thanks,
Mark -
Anonymous commented
message when starting my new Excel v16.24 today:
"Calling All Macro Users
Record a macro using relative references. When you play it back, it works in relation the active cell, not the cells used for recording."
an simple test seems to confirm that we're back to the future ....
wow! after only three and a half years!
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Anonymous commented
Well, it's a 'start' at least!!
However, I just tried this on my Excel 16.16.4 it didn't work. I tried both 'fast' and 'slow' and I didn't buy from the Mac App store.
Not sure of what the issue is.... but I 'really' hope this is going to happen finally. Excel has been all but 'useless' on my Mac so far.
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Anonymous commented
To show you how little Microsoft cares about this issue, read the following from Microsoft. It encourages you to vote on this issue. The link takes you to this thread that Microsoft has ignored for almost 3 ½ years. This reply, “we have received many votes to request to bring back the feature.”, was made on 9/30/2018, after this thread had been up for almost 3 years.
Microsoft, if you don’t plan on fixing this, just say so.
Just tell us you don’t care about the Mac Excel community.
Just say, “We don’t care. We are not going to give you the same capability as the Windows users.”
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Sten SmedCreated on September 30, 2018
Excel Macro, no button "Use Relative References"
I have Excel for Mac ver 16.16.2 ;
When I make a Macro, no button "Use Relative References" appear. The code looks like relative but acts like absolute.
How can I get relative references in the macro?===========================================================================
This thread is locked. You can follow the question or vote as helpful, but you cannot reply to this thread. (underline added)
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ANSWER
Tina Zhou MSFTReplied on September 30, 2018
• Microsoft Agent
|
• Moderator
Hi Sten,
Thanks for the query.
We would like you to understand that the feature is removed from Office 2016 for Mac. In our Excel for Mac User Voice, we have received many votes to request to bring back the feature. We welcome and encourage you to also vote for it.It is the best way to let the related team learn your user experience to make Excel better for you and others.
Regards,
Tina -
Anonymous commented
I am teaching advanced Excel. In order to create some macros students have to use relative references. The removal of this in the MAC version renders the macros null and void. I seriously cannot see why this is longer available. Please bring it back.
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Anonymous commented
I don't think it will 'ever' come back. It seems clear they have no 'easy' way to fix this? I'm struggling with 'reasons' why this isn't fixed... too expensive? What is the reason it has been left out or taken away? Is this spite? The Windows/Mac war?
Excel is 'completely useless' in the Mac version because of this omission. -
Anonymous commented
Please bring it back. I'm paying for Office 365 and it is just crazy this function was simply removed!
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Anonymous commented
Please bring back Relative References in Macro Recording in Excel 365 for Mac! I cannot imagine why Microsoft would omit it-- very frustrating and annoying. I'm paying $70 a year for the software, and features that USED to be in my Excel 2011 are missing!
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steven commented
how the **** is this not a feature anymore....
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Charles commented
Without ability to toggle between relative and absolute record, the macro function is quite useless. Still having a hard time digesting how this functionality could be lost....
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Susan commented
Please bring back Relative References in Macro Recording in Excel 365 for Mac! I cannot imagine why Microsoft would omit it-- very frustrating and annoying. I'm paying $70 a year for the software, and features that USED to be in my Excel 2011 are missing!
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Jack commented
And Micros - - t have absolutely no incentive to fix it. They want you to have to buy a Windoze machine. Do I hear "anti-trust" from any lawyers in the audience?
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Anonymous commented
3 years and 4 months of comments and no response by Microsoft.
They are not listening and they don't care.
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James Hohenthaner commented
WHY THE F! would Microsoft (king of spreadsheets) decide to remove relative cell references as an option in the Macro recording feature for Mac Office 365?! It's a seriously DUMB move and honestly, when you look at this extraction of a KEY FEATURE of macro recording (literally for decades!) makes me shake my head.
TXT to Table is a very important feature, and having relative-macro commands to manipulate is an important necessity to get my job done.
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Mark Harradine commented
Relative references are so much more flexible, would be great (i.e. pretty much essential), to have this feature available again for Mac.
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David James commented
There are several lines of discussion on the problems faced by people using Office 2016 & 2019 for Mac relating to VBA macro programming which have been ignored for a considerable time (at least 4 years). Microsoft need to do something about this. No relative ref control, userforms and dataforms are all missing and make the software unusable for serious work.
Other software companies will fill this gap if you don’t!