📎 This article includes 2 downloadable practice files ↓

VBA does not run in Excel for the web. Microsoft’s answer is Office Scripts: automation written in TypeScript (JavaScript with types), stored in OneDrive, and runnable from the browser or from Power Automate. You find it under the Automate tab (it needs a Microsoft 365 business or school account).

Record first, then read

1. Automate → Record Actions, do a few steps (type a header, make it bold, fill yellow), then stop.
2. Click Edit to see the code. Every script has the same shape:

function main(workbook: ExcelScript.Workbook) {
  let sheet = workbook.getActiveWorksheet();
  sheet.getRange("A1").setValue("Sales Report");
  sheet.getRange("A1").getFormat().getFont().setBold(true);
}

A useful script: format any report

function main(workbook: ExcelScript.Workbook) {
  const sheet = workbook.getActiveWorksheet();
  const used = sheet.getUsedRange();
  if (!used) return;

  // header row
  const header = used.getRow(0);
  header.getFormat().getFont().setBold(true);
  header.getFormat().getFill().setColor("#217346");
  header.getFormat().getFont().setColor("white");

  // number format for every column after the first
  const body = used.getOffsetRange(1, 1).getResizedRange(-1, -1);
  body.setNumberFormatLocal("#,##0");

  sheet.getFreezePanes().freezeRows(1);
  used.getFormat().autofitColumns();
}

VBA vs Office Scripts

New to the syntax? Read JavaScript for Excel users first.

Try it yourself: step by step

1. Upload report-to-format.xlsx to OneDrive and open it in Excel for the web.
2. Automate → New Script, delete the sample code and paste format-report.ts.
3. Click Run: the header turns green, numbers get separators, the top row freezes and columns resize.
4. Save the script with a name like “Format report”. It now appears in the Automate gallery for any workbook.
5. Optional: in Power Automate create a scheduled cloud flow with the Excel Online action Run script to format the file every morning.