Macros are small pieces of code that run within MS Office Suite programs like Excel or Word and execute a predetermined set of instructions. For example, macros can pull information from an intranet database (like oracle) and import it into a spreadsheet where any number of functions can be applied. Macros can import information from a number of sources; files stored on a local or intranet hard drive, information from a website or web app, or from blocks of csv or xml code.