terrypin

I understand from Cory's post at the end of this thread that this serious bug (Variable Restore not working) was reported back in November. Has it been fixed yet please? When will a patch be available? I'm going to have to return to ME 3 to write any macros using common variables, which is a real nuisance. -- Terry, East Grinstead, UK

The messages about syntax errors in ME Pro are not explicit, a backward step from ME 3. For example, I have an 'orphan' End If command at the end of a long macro. In ME 3, when I save it from Script Editor I get this helpful message: You have an extra "EndIf" command that does not have a matching "If" command. The macro will ignore this command. However, its placement may not be what you intend and could cause the macro not to function as expected. Would you like to make the necessary changes now? But in ME Pro, I get this far less helpful message, leaving me to search for the error(s). The macro, "Test", contains syntax errors. Do you want to save the macro anyway? I've posted a Feature Request for the restoration of this. -- Terry, East Grinstead, UK

I'd start as follows: 1) Terminate ME 3. 2) Double check in Task Manager to make sure there are no ME 3 processes running (and close them if there are). 3) Reboot your PC 4) Restart ME 3 Is the problem still present? -- Terry, East Grinstead, UK

mfseeker: Re that last point, no, it can't be anything related to that, as I registered from the outset (act of faith!). -- Terry, East Grinstead, UK

As Cory said, it's usually better to post each topic separately unless they are clearly related. And it can help if you provide actual code (copied from Direct Editor) wherever possible, plus details of activation and scope. -- Terry, East Grinstead, UK

Thanks for the link, that freeware looks impressive. May well try it - although my r-click context menus are already worryingly lengthy -- Terry, East Grinstead, UK

Thanks Chris, but that doesn't solve the problem. If I uncheck that as you suggest then the macro runs (quickly) without changing focus at all. Which means it runs in the ME Script Editor, which obviously is not what's normally wanted. In ME 3 the option was 'Change Focus to Previous Window', which was what was usually required and worked well. The question I asked in my opening post 6 days ago was "how do I set ME Pro to always start in the last window, as I can in ME 3, to avoid this extra step?" And what about those continuous EnabeAutodial processes? While presumably unrelated to the F9 delay, are you saying they don't indicate some sort of bug? -- Terry, East Grinstead, UK

This type of behaviour can sometimes be due to a timing issue. For a start, check the settings under Options > Preferences > Playback. In particular I've found that first one, Delay after keystrokes in the Text Type command, rather critical. The default (not mentioned in Help but appears after clicking 'Reset page') seems to be zero. (I vaguely recall it was 300 µs in ME 3.) I currently have mine set to 2000 µs (i.e. 2 ms), with the others left at 250 ms. Try that and see if it helps. Also, sometimes adding a short delay (say 100 ms) at the start of a macro can cure this sort of thing. -- Terry, East Grinstead, UK

Given your other reported problems, it sounds like either ME is not properly installed or there is some obscure conflict with another application or process. Have you tried uninstalling and re-installing ME and then running it with the bare minimum of other processes? Is there anything odd about the way you're activating this macro? Does it give same problem when run with F9 from Script Editor? Trivial though it is, I'd suggest you post the code of the malfunctioning macro. -- Terry, East Grinstead, UK

What is the context? What is being deleted? -- Terry, East Grinstead, UK

That question was in this thread, in my opening post! -- Terry, East Grinstead, UK

Although I'd prefer a Help button in every dialog, I'd be happy enough with F1 as long as it provided exactly the same functionality. At present it plainly doesn't. As I've described, in some dialogs F1 does nothing. And in some it displays help that's not about the specific context. As well as Activation, further examples of the latter are the tabs for Variables, Miscellaneous, Scope, Security and Notes, all of which display general help for the Script Editor, leaving you to find the section you want. Neither of these shortcomings applied to ME 3. Which is why I believe it's fair to describe it as I have. -- Terry, East Grinstead, UK

OK Kevin, I've reported it via the Bug page. A couple of additional points I've observed since: 1) If I open any macro in the Script Editor, the very first time I use F9 the dialog window comes up immediately; thereafter it's about 2 s. 2) I closed ME Pro, opened ME 3 instead and ran Process Monitor while doing an F9 from Script Editor on an arbitrarily chosen macro. There were none of those strange 'Enable AutoDial' entries during the fraction of a second before the macro ran, nor while it ran, nor after it had finished. So that reinforces this as exclusively ME Pro behaviour. 3) In ME Pro I again ran ProcMon and it shows that the Enable AutoDial processes occur continuously at a rough rate of 2 per second as long as ME Pro is loaded. So that might or might not be related to the F9 delay, but in any case is an unwanted overhead that must be slowing down ME Pro to some degree. BTW, I didn't get any answer to my earlier question '...how do I set ME Pro to always start in the last window, as I can in ME 3, to avoid this extra step?' Is that in fact not possible in ME Pro? I'm speculating it might either avoid the delay or at least shorten it. I never want the macro to start running in the ME Script Editor window itself - does anyone? So I don't understand why that's the default? -- Terry, East Grinstead, UK

Thanks. Just took a look at http://downloads.zdnet.co.uk/0,1000000375,...925s,00.htm?r=2 where I see this 'Publisher's Description of ClipPath': "As a Programmer, we are often required to set the path or classpath Environment variables. But Windows Operating does not allow us to copy the full path of a file or a folder,say, c:\temp\try.java to clipboard so that we can paste the same anywhere we require. Clip Path utility tries to solve these problems. It is a windows Shell Extension Program. Once installed, you can copy full path of a file or folder to clipboard." That sounds like it does what I've been doing for years with Powertoys Send To. I r-click a filename and choose 'Send to > Clipboard as Name' The full path-filename can then be pasted anywhere. -- Terry, East Grinstead, UK

? -- Terry, East Grinstead, UK

Yes. That's what I've asked for via the Request route. Can you think of any alternative way of getting the full path-filename of that topmost folder, apart from changing the XP folder option that displays it? -- Terry, East Grinstead, UK

Any feedback from ISS on this please? Is it a bug I should report? -- Terry, East Grinstead, UK

Hopefully this will help diagnose the cause. I ran Process Monitor for a couple of seconds while using F9 from ME Pro, and filtered the hundreds of entries to show only those with 'mac' in the Process column. As you see, about half of the entries appear to be trying to 'Enable Autodial', which looks very odd! --------- A few minutes later: those 'Enable Autodial' processes are still continuing at a high rate even with no macro running! That may account for some other general sluggishness I've noticed when using the ME Pro Editor and Explorer - operations not quite so brisk as with ME 3. -- Terry, East Grinstead, UK

If you post the code (of the simplest version that exhibits the problem) I'll try it. -- Terry, East Grinstead, UK

Thanks Cory. I've figured out the reason. The folder name I captured was the displayed folder name, not the full name with path. Repeat with Folder needs the full path. I have long since had this XP setting unchecked Tools > Folder Options > View > Display the full path in the title bar because showing the full path of deeply located sub-folders makes it difficult to distinguish them (unless you make the windows very wide). As soon as I enabled that setting, the macro works OK. So I have a dilemma now. It would be good to have an ME command, like 'Variable set String > From topmost folder path & name'. I'd opened the folder so that I could capture its name, making the macro more versatile. But on your other point, no, I hadn't realised the Repeat would ignore any selection already made; I see now it processes the entire folder contents, from start to finish. -- Terry, East Grinstead, UK

When I use the Repeat with Folder command and explicitly enter the folder name, it works. But when I use a variable name (ExplorerFolder), as shown below, it fails - apparently ignoring the Repeat . // Assumes a My Computer folder is open. Doesn't matter if any file is already selected. Variable Set String ExplorerFolder to topmost window title Text Type (Simulate Keystrokes): <HOME> Repeat with Folder %ExplorerFolder% Text Box Display: Message 1 End Repeat Macro Return <COMMENT Value="Assumes a My Computer folder is open. Doesn't matter if any file is already selected."/> <VARIABLE SET STRING Option="\x05" Destination="ExplorerFolder"/> <TEXT TYPE Action="0" Text="<HOME>" _COMMENT="Selects first filename"/> <REPEAT WITH FOLDER Path="%ExplorerFolder%" OnlyFiles="TRUE" Destination="%JPG_Filename%" FullPath="FALSE" ProcSubfolders="FALSE"/> <TEXT BOX DISPLAY Title="Message 1" Content="{\\rtf1\\ansi\\ansicpg1252\\deff0\\deflang2057{\\fonttbl{\\f0\\fnil\\fcharset0 Tahoma;}{\\f1\\fnil Tahoma;}}\r\n\\viewkind4\\uc1\\pard\\f0\\fs16 Filename = %JPG_Filename%\\f1 \r\n\\par }\r\n" Left="Center" Top="Center" Width="278" Height="200" Monitor="0" OnTop="FALSE" Keep_Focus="TRUE" Mode="\x00" Delay="0"/> <END REPEAT/> <MACRO RETURN/> Note that the variable is correctly captured, as it is shown in the Variable Debugger. -- Terry, East Grinstead, UK

Seems about 2 s here. But F9 was/is 'immediate' in ME3, under identical conditions, so it's an ME Pro issue. 504 Usually 1 or 2 Typically 0-2 Wide variations. Typically 2-5 applications apart from ME Pro, but scores of processes in XP Pro task Mgr. -- Terry, East Grinstead, UK

Thanks Kevin - but could you instead ask for the restoration of the universal context help button please! -- Terry, East Grinstead, UK

Thanks Cory - pretty intuitive once you know! But something in Help would be nice. -- Terry, East Grinstead, UK

It took me ages before I eventually found how to access this Variable Values Debugger IMO, another example of unsatisfactory updating of ME Pro's Help. If there is a window called Variable Values Debugger, or Variable Values (Debugger), then that string should give a hit when used in Help > Search. It doesn't. Nor (as per my previous post) does Debugger find it. Nor does it appear in the Index. Nor is there anything about this topic in the Variables entry of the Index. Nor under Debug a Macro, or Debug Functions, etc. Is it in Help at all, somewhere I've not found? One of the impressive strengths of ME has been its Help. I'm disappointed that in ME Pro this quality seems to have dropped. The loss of the context help button in every dialog is a major downside and this failure to thoroughly re-index all the features of ME Pro is another. -- Terry, East Grinstead, UK