Microsoft Visual Basic macros cannot be run or edited in Office 2008. But if you want to retain the functionality of existing macros, you can convert them to a native Mac OS X scripting language such as AppleScript or Automator.

To see the specific actions that are available in AppleScript or Automator for a specific Office application, in the Finder, in the folder in which Office 2008 has been installed (usually the Applications folder or /Users/username/Applications), drag the icon for the Office application from the Microsoft Office 2008 folder to either the Script Editor application icon in Applications/AppleScript or the Automator application icon in the Applications folder.

Although users cannot edit or run Visual Basic macros in Office 2008, documents that contain Visual Basic macros can be opened, edited, and saved correctly in Office 2008. Documents that contain macros can be passed back and forth between Office 2008 and other versions of Office without loss of the macro coding; macros will continue to run in the versions of Office that permit it.

For more information about Automator, see Working with Automator on the Apple Developer Web site (developer.apple.com).