2 bugs - clipboard and meproc

[ejs]

I just installed macro express Pro (v 4.0.0.1 build 1) and encountered the following problems. Please let me know if others have encountered these and if it is a configuration issue I can fix myself.

 

I just wanted to see if the folks on this forum had any advice before I submit the bug reports to Insight Software.

 

Just for the record, I did not yet create any macros in Pro, nor did I import any of my 3.x macros. All I did is install Pro and I have it running in the background when I encountered these problems.

 

1) In my text editor (metapad), if I try to copy selected text with control-c, about half the time I get a warning dialog box from the metapad application (that is, the dialog box with a yellow triangle and an exclamation point) saying that the application cannot open the clipboard.

 

This problem happens when macro express Pro is running, regardless of whether macro express 3.x is running or not running at the same time. If I exit Pro, this problem goes away.

 

I've been using macro express 3.x with the metapad application for several years and never had this problem with that version of ME.

 

So far, I've only seen this dialog box error from metapad. I don't know whether the other applications are not encountering this interaction problem with Macro Express Pro or if my other applications just don't give me an explicit dialog box error when they have the problem.

 

2) I have several programs (exe files) that I created myself, where the last step in the program is to run a macro express macro, via the meproc command line. Specifically, the program runs the following command line:

 

D:\stamp\macros\meproc.exe /Amacroname

 

where the macro name is a macro that is defined in macro express 3.x.

 

If I have macro express 3.x running, and macro express Pro not running, my executable program is able to invoke the macro from 3.x.

 

But if 3.x and Pro are both running, my executable program cannot invoke the macro (no macro runs and no error messages generated from macro express). It is as if D:\stamp\macros\meproc.exe is trying to invoke the macro from Pro (where that macro name does not exist) instead of 3.x.

 

Just for the record, macro express 3.7a is installed in

"C:\Program Files\Macro Express3"

and macro express Pro is installed in

"C:\Program Files\Macro Express Pro"

 

D:\stamp\macros\meproc.exe is a copy of MeProc.exe from C:\Program Files\Macro Express3

I also tried making D:\stamp\macros\meproc.exe a windows shortcut (.lnk) to rather than a copy of the file in C:\Program Files\Macro Express3, but the same problem continues to happen.

[kevin]

1) In my text editor (metapad), if I try to copy selected text with control-c, about half the time I get a warning dialog box from the metapad application (that is, the dialog box with a yellow triangle and an exclamation point) saying that the application cannot open the clipboard.

We just released Macro Express Pro v 4.0.1.1. This version fixes a number of bugs including at least one having to do with the clipboard. Please try the latest version and if you still have trouble send a report via the Report a Bug page.

 

D:\stamp\macros\meproc.exe /Amacroname ...

But if 3.x and Pro are both running, my executable program cannot invoke the macro (no macro runs and no error messages generated from macro express).

For the most part you can use both Macro Express 3 and Macro Express Pro at the same time. However, anything that relies on the .mxe and .mex files being associated with a particular application may not work correctly. To activate macros in your Macro Express 3 macro file via meproc make sure the file associations are pointing to Macro Express 3. They are automatically assigned to Macro Express Pro when Macro Express Pro is installed.

[ejs]

Thanks Kevin. But the upgrade to the latest version did not solve the clipboard problem, and fixing the .mex file association to point back to the 3.x meproc.exe only partially resolved the command line problem... each launch of macro express Pro disrupts the ability for a command line to call the 3.x macro via meproc.exe (even though the file association stays intact as 3.x) until I manually run a certain 3.x macro... then the command line works properly again.

 

I put in trouble reports with Insight software for these.

 

The bottom line is that I will not be able to run Pro on my system. I'm disappointed since the new features and increased speed looked like a big improvement, but the above bugs as well as some other functionality issues I found prevent me from running Pro and 3.x simultaneously and also prevent me from replacing 3.x with Pro. I also find some of the changes to the user interface to the Editor a step in the wrong direction.

[kevin]

Macro Express and Macro Express Pro were not designed to run simultaneously. Whatever ability there is to have both run at the same time is coincidental. This is not considered a bug.

 

It should be easy to migrate all your macros, including those called via meproc, to Macro Express Pro.

 

We will look at the clipboard issue.

 

For future reference: it is best to ask one question per topic. It gets confusing when the thread takes different conversational tracks.

[ejs]

Thank you Kevin for your comments.

 

It's a shame that the two versions were not designed to run simultaneously, because I can provide you with two realistic scenarios where that configuration is justified:

 

- there are some limitations in the conversion process that occurs when loading in a 3.x mex file into Pro. Whether these are considered bugs or design decisions is academic... the bottom line is that some types of macros require modification after being loaded into Pro. In addition, the faster performance of Pro means that macros that were properly timed in 3.x might be too fast in Pro and could require modifications to insert delays. The amount of time it would take for me to modify all the macros that require modification prohibits me from converting to Pro. So my options are either not use Pro at all, or run them simultaneously so that I can create the new macros in Pro. But it looks like running them simultaneously is not a real option for me either, based on my findings.

 

- Since macros written in pro are not backward compatible to 3.x, if I need to create and use macros that are also used by other users who did not upgrade to pro, then I need to write those macros in 3.x.