Using Visual Basic for Applications (VBA), you can write macros within other software which also support VBA to utilize STAAD.Pro functionality in that application. You write the necessary code using VBA tools within that application.

With OpenSTAAD, you can use VBA macros to perform such tasks as automating repetitive modeling or post-processing tasks or embedding customized design routines. Following an open architecture paradigm, OpenSTAAD was built using ATL, COM, and COM+ standards as specified by Microsoft. This allows OpenSTAAD to be used in a macro application such as MicroStation, Microsoft Office Excel, or Autodesk AutoCAD.

For example, you could write a spreadsheet capable of sending model geometry to a STAAD file. You could similarly write a macro in a CAD program that will retrieve design results like member sizes to display in a CAD file.

OpenSTAAD is compatible with any version of Microsoft® Office Excel® that supports VBA macros.