stevecasper

Duplicated... Odd, kind of fun, but definitely odd.

I was thinking that maybe you just needed to have the DE script placed into separate variables for each command line, but upon testing it, I was unable to get the Text Box to go away taking that route, either. I'm as confused as you are. Possibly more so.

Which is exactly what I am looking for

Awesome... I'd never even heard of Merge to Email till this post... I'm so severely limited in what I do on a day-to-day basis that I fail to play around with other features that I didn't know might actually benefit me. I just went through MS's online training for this feature, and I think it's amazing... When I have more time, I'll no doubt play around with it and see what I can't do to implement this tool as you suggested above. Thanks again, Cory!

Don't think it hasn't crossed my mind

Thanks Cory, 1- Generally I just need to send one email at a time to 1-3 parties. 2- I'll go ahead and send in a feature request to add my vote

I've avoided the Email Send command in ME for years. Mostly because I was happy just writing my emails manually. For a while now, though, I've been using macros to open Outlook, Create New Message, and then fill in the email with a template plugging in variables where necessary. Outlook is inconsistent in its coming to the front - even with repeat loops attempting to pull Outlook into focus. For the most part it works, and when it doesn't, an Alt+Tab works fine. But I've decided to start exploring the possibilities with the Email Send command. From what I've seen so far, even when using MAPI settings, the email itself is Text-Only. Is that correct, or am I missing something. I understand if it is text only, but if so, it won't actually help me (most emails I have to send require information placed within cells or tables). Any advice?

Activate or Launch: Window "notepad", Program "notepad.exe", Parameters "" Wait for Window Title: notepad Repeat Start (Repeat 500 times) Text Type (Simulate Keystrokes): : End Repeat <ACTIVATE OR LAUNCH Title="notepad" Exact_Match="FALSE" Wildcards="FALSE" Path="notepad.exe" Mode="\x00" Default_Path="TRUE" Wait="1" Wait_For_Program="12"/> <WAIT FOR WINDOW TITLE Title="notepad" Partial="TRUE" Wildcards="FALSE" Indefinite="TRUE" Hours="0" Minutes="0" Seconds="0"/> <REPEAT START Start="1" Step="1" Count="500" Save="FALSE"/> <TEXT TYPE Action="0" Text=":"/> <END REPEAT/> Results: 5 out of 5 times, no semi-colon appearances. Note: the carriage retuns within the quote box are 100% generated by the forum, not the macro. Also: Speed settings are default, I haven't touched them since downloading the ME4 software.

Honestly, I agree with you completely. Unfortunately they aren't located on site, and there are only 11 of them assigned cover a geographic area stretching from Boise, ID to Cedar City, UT; I believe only 2 of them are assigned to cover Layton, UT to SLC (where I am). They are generally swamped... and are primarily hard-ware boys. Frankly, I think they are dangerously understaffed. The phone support IT department specializes in keeping the horde of internal applications running smoothly. As an update, I did switch back to the PS2 port and haven't had a problem since. I think it's a USB issue. The port may have been USB 1... I don't know. But I don't mind using the PS2, as long as the mouse is working right.

I get lost all the time in some of my more complex If/Else statements. I was actually going to start a thread here soon asking for an explanation of how Case/Switch statements work (I tried playing with them in ME3, but could never get them to work). I admittedly have extremely limited programming experience, the majority of it in recent years has been dedicated solely to Macro Express. If Switch Case statements are clearer and easier to read than If/Else statements when the logic gets complex, I would love to have a better understanding of how to utilize them.

Thanks guys. Since I started this thread, new procedures descended from the powers that be, checking the date is no longer sufficient... now we have to check the date and the contents of the previous note (which can't be automated, obviously). This will still result in over 99% of accounts being passed on till the 14 days have elapsed, but sadly I know have to actually use my eyes before passing. I'm going to still play with the suggestions you both made and see what the best way for me to accomplish the date-difference task will be and I wanted to thank you for the responses.

In my experience, Right-clicking the running man has always been an effective way to terminate any running macro(s). Where in the documentation did you read that this would display what macros are running?

Ok, so I've finally started playing with Date/Time calculations in a practical way, and I've run into a road-block. Situation: * Accounts may need to be reviewed every day, but new notes regarding the review only need to be made once every 14 days. * When the account loads, I can see, at a glance, whether or not it is going to need new notes by looking at the date. This is very simple. However, the application the account is loading into (an Access database) often runs PAINFULLY slowly. If new notes are not needed, I can fill in a few boxes and then move on to the next account. * I want to be able to have Macro Express "read" the date of the last note and compare that date to the current date. If the difference is less than 14 days, I want the macro to be able to fill in the necessary boxes without any intervention from me. The Problem: Though I can make the macro highlight the "previous" date, copy it, and save it to a Text Variable, I can't seem to find any way to convert it to a Date/Time variable. I'm probably going about it the wrong way, but it doesn't look like I can save the clipboard as a D/T variable. Any pointers on how to do this? Is it even possible with the current build of MEP? Thanks!

Hey Everybody, I recently got an upgraded computer here at work (finally, I might add). And it is fantastic. I've gone from 512 to 2G of RAM, and now have dual monitor support and I just absolutely love my set-up. Unfortunately, there has been one major drawback. My mouse doesn't behave. Specifically: if I don't use the mouse for, say 2-3 minutes (as I prefer keyboard shortcuts and run a lot of macros), but then need the mouse, it can take as long as 5 seconds or so before the mouse pointer actually starts to move on my screen. Some of the movement is buffered (I guess), and the pointer eventually gets to wherever I moved it (though it is difficult to be exact when I can't see it moving), but mouse-clicks don't catch up. So if the pointer is where I want it, but non-responsive, I'll click several times before the clicks start getting noticed by the PC. (The 2-3 minutes is a rough average, I've left the mouse for much longer than that without the pointer getting stuck... it's very inconsistent.) Specs and attempted fixes: * I'm using the same mouse (Wireless Intellimouse Explorer 2.0). * Before the upgrade I was using the PS2 port to connect the wireless hub, as the old tower didn't have any free USB slots. On the new machine I am using the USB connection (default for the hub). * The old computer didn't have the Intellimouse 6.x drivers and it worked fine, so I figured that wasn't the problem... still I installed them on the new machine to see if that fixed the problem. It did not. * Intellimouse 6.x driver allows me to see the battery level of my mouse - level displays as "Good." Nevertheless, I switched to brand-new batteries, just in case: No improvement. * Mouse commands within macros do not appear to be affected (thankfully!) My next move will be to switch back to the PS2 port. A co-worker suggested my mouse may be "going to sleep to preserve battery life." I've never had a mouse hibernate on me before. I have the same mouse set-up at home, without any similar problems (also using USB). If that is the problem, how do I turn that off, or extend the delay before hibernation occurs? And why has it never happened before (at work or at home)? I did a google search for "mouse pointer sticks" and "mouse sticks" and got a whole lot of irrelevant hits. Can anybody here point me in a new direction? I hate to bug our IT guys here at work (they're not actually on site unless they are setting up a new work-station). If, after I switch back to the PS2 port, the problem is resolved, I'll post a retraction and apology for wasting PGM space with unrelated problems... Heck, I apologize for it anyway, but any help would be truly appreciated.

I personally haven't seen this problem. You may want to file a bug report: www.macros.com/bugreport.htm This was not an option in ME3 either (at least I never found it there), though I think it would be nice for all pop-up windows to have this option. http://www.macros.com/requestfeature.htm What did you expect? When you close the last tab, there are no other macros open for editing. The Macro Explorer remains open, so you can still select new macros to edit. http://www.macros.com/requestfeature.htm The Help buttons have disappeared from many areas, but the Help function itself is still available through the F1 key. This has been discussed in previous threads, and I believe a feature request to add the buttons is already "on the books" at ISS. At the risk of sounding redundant: http://www.macros.com/requestfeature.htm Yep. I have had similar experiences.

You're correct. ME 3 macros are portable to ME Pro, but ME Pro macros are not reverse-compatible with ME 3.

I'm with you there. I use my mouse as little as possible whenever I can. But sometimes mouse-moves and clicks are the only way to affect anything in certain applications... so I have learned to use these macro commands whenever I absolutely have to.

Wow, what in interesting problem. I've built a similar macro for my mother-in-law (who uses ME3), and hadn't thought about upgrading her to Pro, so I didn't even look into this particular situation till now. My "Create New Macro" window appears to be of a fixed size, so utilizing a "Mouse Move" command to put the mouse over the ShortKey function shouldn't be an overwhelming task. I just built this short bit of code which does just that, and even moves the mouse back to it's original position (because I hate when my mouse pointer suddenly isn't where I left it). Get Mouse Position into (%N[1]%, %N[2]%) Relative to Screen Window Activate: Create New Macro Mouse Move: 15, 79 Relative to Current Window Mouse Left Click: 15, 79 Relative to Current Window Mouse Move: %N[1]%, %N[2]% Relative to Screen <GET MOUSE POSITION Option="\x00" X="%N[1]%" Y="%N[2]%"/> <WINDOW ACTIVATE Title="Create New Macro" Exact_Match="FALSE" Wildcards="FALSE" _IGNORE="0x0006"/> <MOUSE MOVE Option="\x02" X="15" Y="79" _PROMPT="0x000A"/> <MOUSE LEFT CLICK/> <MOUSE MOVE Option="\x01" X="%N[1]%" Y="%N[2]%" _PROMPT="0x000A"/> As a side-note, the Ctrl+Space function for getting the Mouse Location when using the Mouse Move command doesn't seem to work while the Create New Macro window is open, so you'll probably have to use the "Launch Mouse Locater" button to figure out exactly where the ShortKey radial button is.

I'm pretty sure that is correct (except that you can also save all variables of all types with a single command, of course). I've looked for ways to save just one specific variable in the past and I'm confident that there isn't any way. Not that it should necessarily matter though. If you save all Text variables, and T1 is the only one you actually care to keep, it shouldn't matter. When you run the "Restore" command later, there is no obligation to use any of the other variables previously saved. However if you have something like this: Macro A Set T1 = Hello! Set T2 = See ya! [Various Macro Code] Save All Variables Followed by: Macro B Set T1 = Jumpin' Geewillikers! Set T2 = Danger Will Robinson, Danger! [Various Macro Code] Text Type T1 Text Type T2 Restore All Variables Text Type T1 Text Type T2 You may run into some problems... assuming you want T2 to say "See Ya" at the very end, but you want T1 to still say "Jumpin' Geewillikers!" In this case you would want to put a Save All Variables after setting T1 to "Jumpin' Geewillikers" (but before changing T2 to "Danger Will Robinson"). The best thing to do, in my personal experience, is to avoid this kind of complication by using a new variable as often as possible. It can get a bit confusing, so if you utilize a lot of macros you may want to also build a spreadsheet helping you to keep track of which variable is used for which information or which kind of information. For example, T99 is solely used to hold Account Numbers in my macros, whereas T1-T10 are my "throw-away" variables - the variables I will use in just about every macro specifically for that macro (or series of macros, if I generally run the same 2 or 3 in a row in the same sequence). Any information being saved to a variable that I may need to call back sporadically, or otherwise not immediately gets saved to various other variables. For example, I have 10 different clipboard-copy commands (and 10 corresponding clipboard-paste commands) that I picked up off the Macro Express website. The default variable locations are T10-T19 (I think), but I changed them to T81-T90 since I use the lower numbers on various occasions and don't want to mess up my clipboards. And even better option is to upgrade to ME Pro where you can define your variable names. You are no longer limited to 99 text variables, 99 Integer Variables, and 99 Decimal Variables. You still have access to use T1 - T99, but you can create unlimited additional variables that you name yourself, such as %accountnumber% and %clipboard%. And you can even build arrays of these variables (such as %clipboard[1]% - %clipboard[99]% etc. Good luck!

The best place to start is with the Help pages: Macro Express Editor -> Help -> Tutorial We're certainly happy to help, but most of the help we could give you in this forum depends on you having at least a very very basic understanding of how Macro Express operates. If you have a very specific question we can help you with it, but as far as explaining how to write macro code in ME... the Help pages will be more clear than we could be. Essentially, though, what you'll want to do is build a macro that activates Excel (or which processes the information from an Excel file - much more advanced, though simpler process) and copies the information from the cells in question, saving them each to different variables. You'll then want to convert the variables from Text variables to either Integer variables or Decimal variables, and then use the modify variable function to add the information together. Then simply save them as a Word document. If you aren't familiar with even the Help pages, that probably sounded like a lot of trouble, but if you have been through the Tutorials, then you probably understood at least some of it, and it really isn't too bad at all. Here's a very basic example of what you probably want to do (keep in mind, this is extraordinarily basic, and there are shorter, possibly better ways to do this, but they require a bit more experience to fully grasp them): Activate Window: "Excel" Delay 0.25 Seconds Text Box Display: Click Wait Left Mouse Click Delay 0.25 Seconds Clipboard Copy Variable Set String %T1% from Clipboard Text Box Display: Click Wait Left Mouse Click Delay 0.25 Seconds Clipboard Copy Variable Set String %T2% from Clipboard Variable Modify String: Convert %T1% to decimal %D1% Variable Modify String: Convert %T2% to decimal %D2% Variable Modify Decimal: %D3% = %D1% + %D2% Variable Modify Decimal: Convert %D3% to text string %T3% Variable Modify String: Save %T3% to Text File Give the Tutorial a shot, play around with Macro Express a little and get familiar with how it works and you'll be a wiz in no time. If you run into a stumbling block, we'll be happy to help you through it.

It is not possible to do exactly what you describe. Macro Express 3 can activate macros only when keys are released, not when they are pressed. It is not possible to have a single-key activate a macro in Macro Express 3 (with the exception of F1-F12). There are no "if key press" commands in Macro Express 3. Though you can have a macro that runs and runs and runs waiting for a specific key press, as you mentioned, something like this: Repeat Until %T1% <> %T1% Wait for Key Press: ALT Mouse Middle Button Click Repeat End This will do what you want, more or less, but it will cripple your Macro Express. You won't be able to run any other macros while this one is running. It will also only perform the click after the Alt key is released. Additionally, you will have to assign an activation just to get this macro started. Honestly, for practical reasons, it would be better to simply assign Alt+Mouse Click as an activation for the Middle Click. Macro Express Pro (Macro Express 4) does have the ability to activate macros when the key is pressed, but ME is not exactly a keyboard remapping tool allowing you to assign mouse functions to keyboard keys. Pressing and holding Alt can't be assigned as pressing and holding down a mouse-button. At best, you could have the Alt key activate a Mouse Down function, and then have a different macro activated by a different key-press that activates the Mouse Up function. It seems like a lot of extra work.

Ugh!! I knew it would be obvious. Thanks

Yes, it is possible, sort of. You can assign the Middle Click function to a hotkey. You can choose what hotkey you want, but it will most likely be a combination of keys. With the exception of the Function keys (F1 - F12), all hotkeys require a combination. Personally, if getting a different mouse wasn't an option, I would probably assign the combination Shift+Left Click as the activation for the Middle Click function. Good luck!

This is just a bit off-topic (read: WAY off topic), but I've seen this d-click distinction a lot in the forums lately, and I have to ask: "What is d-click?" I'm familiar with right-click and left-click, even middle-click... am I missing something obvious with this d-click? Thanks for humoring me

Thanks, Actually I have to give credit to Cory. He taught me this trick a long time ago. Thanks Cory! (I know he doesn't monitor the ME3 boards anymore, but still...)