stevecasper

A variable, when dealing with Macro Express, is a virtual "hook" that holds whatever information you assign to it. When executing various commands within a macro, the command will utilize the information contained in the variable. For example: Variable Set String %T1% "My name is " This simple command hangs "My name is " on the "hook" titled %T1% (ie. Inserts "My name is " into Text Variable 1) Variable Set String %T2% from Prompt This command prompts the user for his/her name, after which it assigns the person's response to %T2% Variable Modify String: Append %T2% to %T1% This third command adds the information from %T2% to the end of %T1%. Now, because %T1% contains the original information "My name is " as well as the name of the user, we could use the Text Type command to type out the variable %T1%. For this example, we want to make sure there a notepad is open to receive the text as it gets typed out, so we use a command to open notepad. Activate or Launch: "untitled - notepad" OR "notepad.exe" Wait For Window Title: "untitled - notepad" Finally, the text type command gets utilized. Text Type: %T1% When you're done, the macro will look like this (in the Scripting Editor): Variable Set String %T1% "My name is " Variable Set String %T2% from Prompt Variable Modify String: Append %T2% to %T1% Activate or Launch: "untitled - notepad" OR "notepad.exe" Wait For Window Title: "untitled - notepad" Text Type: %T1% If you want to copy this macro directly into your Macro Express Editor, use this code: <TVAR2:01:01:My name is ><TVAR2:02:02:FWhat is your name?FFCenter:Center><TMVAR2:08:01:02:000:000:><LAUNCHYES3:0:0112untitled - notepad<LAUNCH:notepad.exe><WAITWIN2:000010:000000:untitled - notepad><TEXTTYPE:%T1%> I highly recommend taking a little time to familiarize yourself with the tutorial as well as the sample macros that come with Macro Express. Analyze them, pick them apart, figure them out. The best way to learn how to write a macro in Macro Express is to experiment with the program. Look at other people's macros, and make changes to them to see how those changes affect the way the macro behaves. Once you have a solid understanding of the basics, the world of possibilities that Macro Express offers will begin to open itself up to you. On the forums, you'll rarely find a shortage of people willing and happy to help, but none of us can give the time and focus you can get from a thorough reading of the tutorials, practicing with sample macros, and playing around with the basics.

Hi Terry, I had a similar experience with the same solution. Under Help I found this: Which is indeed confusing. Maybe the fact that those characters aren't being allowed in the shortkey is a bug?

Hey Terry, I've tried in the past, especially when building floating menus for people who aren't particularly computer-savvy, and I've found it a bit cumbersome. I finally gave up when building them for myself. As far as building macros for others, I was always disappointed in the icons that came with ME, and didn't even think to go exploring for icons in other programs. You've actually opened that door up to me, which might make icon customization more rewarding.

Assuming I understand your system correctly, and what it is you are trying to do, I believe I have a solution for you. Since the username never changes, you can establish that as part of your basic macro code, requiring no prompts. Assuming the date that the job was run is today's date, you simply create a Date/Time command in the same format that your file will use in the file name, from your description that format is yyyymmdd. (If the date the job was run is not "today" but is consistently "yesterday" you can establish the Date/ Time command to remove 1 day from today, or if it is not consistent, you can even have the Date/Time command prompt the user for the correct date.) Now you append all this information in the order that it is placed in the file name. Now you simply need to have your macro Program Launch and use the file path to the location where this file will be (the Program Launch command doesn't let you brows to a folder, you will need to either enter the path to the folder, or browse to a file within the folder, then remove the file name - leaving just the folder path). Your macro will then open the folder so it's now just a matter of doing a search for the particular file you're after. Once it has been found, the macro can use commands for File -> Send -> Mail Recipient, or whatever process you need. Clearly the example macro I am posting below will need some expansion to suit your specific needs, but it should help you get the ball rolling. Date/Time: Save "yyyymmdd" into %T1% Variable Set String %T2% "royb" Variable Set String %T3% "b-palm" Multiple Choice Menu: Job Variable Modify String: Append "_%T3%.%T1%" to %T2% Program Launch: "" Text Type: <CONTROL>f Delay 0.5 Seconds Text Type: %T2%<ENTER> Delay 0.5 Seconds Text Type: <CONTROL>f Text Type: <ARROW DOWN> Text Type: <ALT>f Text Type: n <DT:yyyymmddT:01:1:><TVAR2:02:01:royb><TVAR2:03:01:b-palm><MENU2:1:T:03:CenterCenter:JobWhich Job?b-palm job2 job3><TMVAR2:07:02:00:000:000:_%T3%.%T1%><LAUNCHDEL2:0:01C:\IDInfo\><TEXTTYPE:<CONTROL>f><DELAY:.5><TEXTTYPE:%T2%<ENTER>><DELAY:.5><TEXTTYPE:<CONTROL>f><TEXTTYPE:<ARROW DOWN>><TEXTTYPE:<ALT>f><TEXTTYPE:n>

<sigh> I'm about to give up on this one. I think I found the problem. I don't know why it worked originally, but it seems my variable %Start% got re-assigned as a Text variable rather than a Date/Time variable, which caused the Restore command to stop recognizing the originally established value (from macro 1). I manually assigned %Start% to the Date/Time category within macro 2 and now the macro is working consistently. However, I have now duplicated Terry's situation: Variable Modify Date/Time: %Diff% = %Later% - %Start% This line should subtract the Starting time-stamp from the Later time-stamp and give the difference. The resulting time- stamp (%Diff%) displays: 12/30/1899 12:07:37 (the hh:mm:ss changes each time I run Macro 2, so something is working) Converting the D/T to Dec before calculating the difference and then converting back gives the same results. With a little work, I've come up with an inelegant work-around. It's not perfect, but it should be adequate, better with more work. It seems to me the Modify Date/Time command needs some work, though... pretty disappointing if this is how it's supposed to work. Here's my work-around (macro 2): Variable Restore: Restore All Variables Date/Time: Set %Later% to the current date/time Variable Modify Date/Time: Extract hour into %N[1]% Variable Modify Date/Time: Extract minute into %N[2]% Variable Modify Date/Time: Extract second into %N[3]% Variable Modify Date/Time: Extract hour into %N[4]% Variable Modify Date/Time: Extract minute into %N[5]% Variable Modify Date/Time: Extract second into %N[6]% Variable Modify Integer: %N[7]% = %N[1]% - %N[4]% Variable Modify Integer: %N[8]% = %N[2]% - %N[5]% Variable Modify Integer: %N[9]% = %N[3]% - %N[6]% Text Box Display: Time Difference <VARIABLE RESTORE Option="\x00"/> <DATE/TIME Flags="\xB0" Date="12/28/2008 2:16:07 PM" Day_Offset="0" Month_Offset="0" Year_Offset="0" Hour_Offset="0" Minute_Offset="0" Second_Offset="0" Left="Center" Top="Center" Monitor="0" Variable="%Later%" IsDateVar="TRUE"/> <VARIABLE MODIFY DATE/TIME DateVar="%Later%" Option="\x05" LeftVar="%N[1]%" UseInteger="FALSE" MathOpt="\x00"/> <VARIABLE MODIFY DATE/TIME DateVar="%Later%" Option="\x06" LeftVar="%N[2]%" UseInteger="FALSE" MathOpt="\x00"/> <VARIABLE MODIFY DATE/TIME DateVar="%Later%" Option="\x07" LeftVar="%N[3]%" UseInteger="FALSE" MathOpt="\x00"/> <VARIABLE MODIFY DATE/TIME DateVar="%Start%" Option="\x05" LeftVar="%N[4]%" UseInteger="FALSE" MathOpt="\x00"/> <VARIABLE MODIFY DATE/TIME DateVar="%Start%" Option="\x06" LeftVar="%N[5]%" UseInteger="FALSE" MathOpt="\x00"/> <VARIABLE MODIFY DATE/TIME DateVar="%Start%" Option="\x07" LeftVar="%N[6]%" UseInteger="FALSE" MathOpt="\x00"/> <VARIABLE MODIFY INTEGER Option="\x01" Destination="%N[7]%" Value1="%N[1]%" Value2="%N[4]%"/> <VARIABLE MODIFY INTEGER Option="\x01" Destination="%N[8]%" Value1="%N[2]%" Value2="%N[5]%"/> <VARIABLE MODIFY INTEGER Option="\x01" Destination="%N[9]%" Value1="%N[3]%" Value2="%N[6]%"/> <TEXT BOX DISPLAY Title="Time Difference" Content="{\\rtf1\\ansi\\ansicpg1252\\deff0\\deflang1033{\\fonttbl{\\f0\\fnil\\fcharset0 Tahoma;}}\r\n\\viewkind4\\uc1\\pard\\f0\\fs16 %Start%\r\n\\par %Later%\r\n\\par %N[7]%:%N[8]%:%N[9]%\r\n\\par }\r\n" Left="Center" Top="Center" Width="278" Height="200" Monitor="0" OnTop="FALSE" Keep_Focus="TRUE" Mode="\x00" Delay="0"/> I haven't figured out yet if this will work while macro 1 is still running... I don't plan on posting about it when I do modify Macro 1 again... but who knows.

Ok, I think I'm going to submit a bug report soon, because my results are VERY inconsistent. Latest test: Macro 1: Date/Time: Set %Start% to the current date/time Variable Save: Save All Variables <DATE/TIME Flags="\xB0" Date="12/28/2008 2:15:13 PM" Day_Offset="0" Month_Offset="0" Year_Offset="0" Hour_Offset="0" Minute_Offset="0" Second_Offset="0" Left="Center" Top="Center" Monitor="0" Variable="%Start%" IsDateVar="TRUE"/> <VARIABLE SAVE Option="\x00"/> Macro 2 was initially (and it worked just fine): Variable Restore: Restore All Variables Text Box Display: Today? <VARIABLE RESTORE Option="\x00"/> <TEXT BOX DISPLAY Title="Today?" Content="{\\rtf1\\ansi\\ansicpg1252\\deff0\\deflang1033{\\fonttbl{\\f0\\fnil\\fcharset0 Tahoma;}{\\f1\\fnil Tahoma;}}\r\n\\viewkind4\\uc1\\pard\\f0\\fs16 %Start%\\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"/> I then added (and it still worked fine): Date/Time: Set %Later% to the current date/time Text Box Display: Today? <DATE/TIME Flags="\xB0" Date="12/28/2008 2:16:07 PM" Day_Offset="0" Month_Offset="0" Year_Offset="0" Hour_Offset="0" Minute_Offset="0" Second_Offset="0" Left="Center" Top="Center" Monitor="0" Variable="%Later%" IsDateVar="TRUE"/> <TEXT BOX DISPLAY Title="Today?" Content="{\\rtf1\\ansi\\ansicpg1252\\deff0\\deflang1033{\\fonttbl{\\f0\\fnil\\fcharset0 Tahoma;}{\\f1\\fnil Tahoma;}}\r\n\\viewkind4\\uc1\\pard\\f0\\fs16 %Start%\r\n\\par %Later%\\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"/> And finally I tried the following, at which point the Restore ceased to function at all: Variable Modify Date/Time: %Diff% = %Later% - %Start% Text Box Display: Today? <VARIABLE MODIFY DATE/TIME DateVar="%Diff%" Option="\x01" LeftVar="%Later%" RightVal="%Start%" UseInteger="TRUE" MathOpt="\x00"/> <TEXT BOX DISPLAY Title="Today?" Content="{\\rtf1\\ansi\\ansicpg1252\\deff0\\deflang1033{\\fonttbl{\\f0\\fnil\\fcharset0 Tahoma;}{\\f1\\fnil Tahoma;}}\r\n\\viewkind4\\uc1\\pard\\f0\\fs16 %Start%\r\n\\par %Later%\r\n\\par %Diff%\\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"/> Even when I remove the commands that are apparently breaking the macro, it continues to malfunction. My result in the "Today?" Text box (variable %start%) becomes 0.0

Ok, I've gone completely basic. Saved Variables are not being restored. Here are the two most basic macros for example: Macro 1: Variable Set String %TStart% to "Today" Variable Set Integer %NStart% to 2008 Variable Set Decimal %DStart% to 0.535 Date/Time: Set %DTStart% to the current date/time Text Box Display: Variable Save: Save All Variables <VARIABLE SET STRING Option="\x00" Destination="%TStart%" Value="Today"/> <VARIABLE SET INTEGER Option="\x00" Destination="%NStart%" Value="2008"/> <VARIABLE SET DECIMAL Option="\x00" Destination="%DStart%" Value="0.535"/> <DATE/TIME Flags="\xB0" Date="12/28/2008 2:00:06 PM" Day_Offset="0" Month_Offset="0" Year_Offset="0" Hour_Offset="0" Minute_Offset="0" Second_Offset="0" Left="Center" Top="Center" Monitor="0" Variable="%DTStart%" IsDateVar="TRUE"/> <TEXT BOX DISPLAY Content="{\\rtf1\\ansi\\ansicpg1252\\deff0\\deflang1033{\\fonttbl{\\f0\\fnil\\fcharset0 Tahoma;}{\\f1\\fnil Tahoma;}}\r\n\\viewkind4\\uc1\\pard\\f0\\fs16 Text = %TStart%\r\n\\par Intg. = %NStart%\r\n\\par Dec = %DStart%\r\n\\par D/T = %DTStart%\\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"/> <VARIABLE SAVE Option="\x00"/> Macro 2: Variable Restore: Restore All Variables Text Box Display: <VARIABLE RESTORE Option="\x00"/> <TEXT BOX DISPLAY Content="{\\rtf1\\ansi\\ansicpg1252\\deff0\\deflang1033{\\fonttbl{\\f0\\fnil\\fcharset0 Tahoma;}{\\f1\\fnil Tahoma;}}\r\n\\viewkind4\\uc1\\pard\\f0\\fs16 Text = %TStart%\r\n\\par Intg. = %NStart%\r\n\\par Dec = %DStart%\r\n\\par D/T = %DTStart%\\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"/> -Edit Well, something is amiss. After I posted this, I ran the macros again and this time the Restore command worked. Further tests and changes to the initial macro also worked. I don't know what the problem is exactly, but I have some doubts about whether or not th Restore command is fully operational 100% of the time.

Ok, I'm still playing with this, and still not having any luck. I get similar results when I copy your code into my Editor, but when I just build it from scratch following your commands, my results are not even close. Something I noticed about your code is that your ME Pro is assigning 30/12/1899 as today's date (this is actually captured inside your Direct Editor script), which may mean there is a communication error between ME Pro and your computer. This is not duplicated in my ME Pro which is capturing today's date. That might be part of the problem, and certainly explains why that year is popping up in your Text Box Display.

Hello all, I just started playing around with running two macros at the same time and I've run into a wall. Maybe what I'm trying to do is not possible right now, but if it is, I'd love to know how to do it. These are just a couple of test macros, so they don't currently have any practical value for me, but here's what I'm trying to accomplish: Run macro with extended delay (25 minutes). Run second macro while first is still processing. Second macro will calculate how long the delay has been running. Unfortunately, the second macro isn't accessing the variable data from the first macro, despite having Save All Variables in the first macro and Restore All Variables in the second one. Here is the actual code, so if somebody wants to let me know what I've done wrong, or what I could do better, that would be great! (Also, I think I could probably eliminate the conversion of D/T variables to Dec variables and back, if I could get the 2nd macro to access the variable info from the first one... the conversions were actually a product of me trying to figure out what I was doing wrong.) Macro 1: <DATE/TIME Flags="\xB0" Date="12/28/2008 9:45:11 AM" Day_Offset="0" Month_Offset="0" Year_Offset="0" Hour_Offset="0" Minute_Offset="0" Second_Offset="0" Left="Center" Top="Center" Monitor="0" Variable="%DTyt%" IsDateVar="TRUE"/> <CONVERT DATE/TIME TO DECIMAL Source="%DTyt%" Dest="%decyt%"/> <VARIABLE SAVE Option="\x00"/> <TEXT BOX DISPLAY Title="Delay Start" Content="{\\rtf1\\ansi\\ansicpg1252\\deff0{\\fonttbl{\\f0\\fnil Tahoma;}{\\f1\\fnil\\fcharset0 Tahoma;}}\r\n\\viewkind4\\uc1\\pard\\lang1033\\f0\\fs16 The delay started at:\r\n\\par %\\f1 DTyt\\f0 %\r\n\\par }\r\n" Left="820" Top="295" Width="278" Height="200" Monitor="0" OnTop="FALSE" Keep_Focus="TRUE" Mode="\x02" Delay="0"/> <DELAY Flags="\x01" Time="1500"/> <TEXT BOX CLOSE Header="Delay Start"/> Macro 2 <VARIABLE RESTORE Option="\x00"/> <DATE/TIME Flags="\xB0" Date="12/28/2008 9:46:35 AM" Day_Offset="0" Month_Offset="0" Year_Offset="0" Hour_Offset="0" Minute_Offset="0" Second_Offset="0" Left="Center" Top="Center" Monitor="0" Variable="%DTytc%" IsDateVar="TRUE"/> <CONVERT DATE/TIME TO DECIMAL Source="%DTytc%" Dest="%Decytc%"/> <VARIABLE MODIFY DECIMAL Option="\x01" Destination="%D[1]%" Value1="%Decytc%" Value2="%decyt%"/> <CONVERT DECIMAL TO DATE/TIME Source="%D[1]%" Dest="%TimeRun%"/> <TEXT BOX DISPLAY Title="How long?" Content="{\\rtf1\\ansi\\ansicpg1252\\deff0\\deflang1033{\\fonttbl{\\f0\\fnil\\fcharset0 Tahoma;}{\\f1\\fnil Tahoma;}}\r\n\\viewkind4\\uc1\\pard\\f0\\fs16 %TimeRun%\r\n\\par %Decyt%\r\n\\par %DTytc%\\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"/> Thanks!

You could do something like this: Date/Time: Save "h:mm:ss AMPM" into %T1% Text Box Display: Delay Start Delay 1500 Seconds Text Box Close: Delay Start <DT:h:mm:ss AMPMT:01:1:><TBOX4:T:3:CenterCenter000278000200:000:Delay StartThe delay started at: %T1%><DELAY:1500><TBCLOSE:Delay Start> This code sets the current time to %T1% and then opens a text box which tells you what time the delay starts. The text box remains open until the delay ends. So as long as you know what time it is, you can easily figure out how long the delay has been running based on what time it started. Macro Express Pro allows multiple macros to run at the same time, though I haven't yet played with that functionality, you could probably have a separate macro that you could run while the delay is still active that would tell you exactly how long the delay had been running. --- Edit Ok I've been playing with the two macros at the same time feature, and I'm having some difficulty understanding what is wrong. I'll post this on the Pro board as well, with code. I start one macro with the delay, then I run the second macro during the delay, and I can't seem to get the second macro to recognize the saved variables from the first macro. If I figure it out, or if somebody else does, I'll make sure a post gets made here, too.

The following will put the entire HTML code for a webpage* into variable T1: If Window Title "Internet Explorer" is on top Variable Set String %T2% "IE" End If If Window Title "Google Chrome" is on top Variable Set String %T2% "GC" End If If Variable %T2% <> "GC" If Variable %T2% <> "IE" Text Type: <ALT>v Delay 0.25 Seconds Text Type: o Wait For Window Title: "Source" Else Text Type: <ALT>vc Wait For Window Title: "Notepad" End If Else Text Type: <CONTROL>u Delay 0.25 Seconds Wait For Window Title: "Google Chrome" End If Text Type: <CONTROL>a Clipboard Copy Variable Set String %T1% from Clipboard <IFOTH:03:2:Internet Explorer><TVAR2:02:01:IE><ENDIF><IFOTH:03:2:Google Chrome><TVAR2:02:01:GC><ENDIF><IFVAR2:1:02:2:GC><IFVAR2:1:02:2:IE><TEXTTYPE:<ALT>v><DELAY:.25><TEXTTYPE:o><WAITWIN2:000010:000000:Source><ELSE><TEXTTYPE:<ALT>vc><WAITWIN2:000010:000000:Notepad><ENDIF><ELSE><TEXTTYPE:<CONTROL>u><DELAY:.25><WAITWIN2:000010:000000:Google Chrome><ENDIF><TEXTTYPE:<CONTROL>a><CLIPC><TVAR2:01:03:> If you don't need it in a variable, and just want to save it as a .txt file on your hard drive, you would adjust the code like this: If Window Title "Internet Explorer" is on top Variable Set String %T2% "IE" End If If Window Title "Google Chrome" is on top Variable Set String %T2% "GC" End If If Variable %T2% <> "GC" If Variable %T2% <> "IE" Text Type: <ALT>v Delay 0.25 Seconds Text Type: o Wait For Window Title: "Source" Else Text Type: <ALT>vc Wait For Window Title: "Notepad" End If Else Text Type: <CONTROL>u Delay 0.25 Seconds Wait For Window Title: "Google Chrome" End If Text Type: <CONTROL>a Clipboard Copy Clipboard Save Text: "HTML Save Test" <IFOTH:03:2:Internet Explorer><TVAR2:02:01:IE><ENDIF><IFOTH:03:2:Google Chrome><TVAR2:02:01:GC><ENDIF><IFVAR2:1:02:2:GC><IFVAR2:1:02:2:IE><TEXTTYPE:<ALT>v><DELAY:.25><TEXTTYPE:o><WAITWIN2:000010:000000:Source><ELSE><TEXTTYPE:<ALT>vc><WAITWIN2:000010:000000:Notepad><ENDIF><ELSE><TEXTTYPE:<CONTROL>u><DELAY:.25><WAITWIN2:000010:000000:Google Chrome><ENDIF><TEXTTYPE:<CONTROL>a><CLIPC><CLIPST2:0:C:\Users\Steven\Documents\Macros\Macro Test Files\HTML Save Test> *Note that this code was tested and works on IE 7.x, Firefox 3.0.5, Opera 9.61, and Google Chrome 1.0.154.36 Depending on your computer's speed, delays may need to be adjusted/added. Because I tested this for 4 different browsers, the code is kind of long. If you know you will only be using one specific browser, you could shorten this code dramatically.

rberq hit it right on the nose. Here's my version of the macro. I have opened a Notepad and entered the text: "I love my >MEX< very much!" and use the following commands to isolate the text in between the > and the <. Activate Window: "Untitled - Notepad" Text Type: <CONTROL>a Clipboard Copy Variable Set String %T1% from Clipboard Variable Set Integer %N1% from Position of Text in Variable %T1% Variable Set Integer %N2% from Position of Text in Variable %T1% Variable Modify Integer: Inc (%N1%) Variable Modify Integer: %N3% = %N2% - %N1% Variable Modify String: Copy Part of %T1% to %T1% Text Box Display: T1 <ACTIVATE2:Untitled - Notepad><TEXTTYPE:<CONTROL>a><CLIPC><TVAR2:01:03:><IVAR2:01:13:1:>><IVAR2:02:13:1:<><NMVAR:08:01:0:0000001:0:0000000><NMVAR:02:03:1:0000002:1:0000001><TMVAR2:10:01:01:N01:N03:><TBOX4:T:1:CenterCenter000278000200:000:T1 = %T1%> Could you give a slightly more "real world" example of what you're trying to do? It's possible to have the macro collect the various information and assign it to different variables, but there are different ways to do it, some better than others, depending on exactly what the situation is.

In ME 3.x when positioning a text box display or prompt manually, you could just click the "OK" button on the decoy prompt once it was in position. In Pro you have to click on the Save button of the "Dialog Positioner" window. This may be related to bug [iSS6278], as the OK button is grayed out of the Prompt decoy. However, the Text Box display OK button is present, not grayed out, and also does not work to save the position. Not sure if this is an intentional feature or not. It's not life-or-death important, and if related to the previously mentioned bug, then it will be fixed along with that one, probably, but thought it worth mentioning.

Though ESC does work for making ME Pro active again, Alt+Tab doesn't cycle to any dialog on the two systems I've installed ME Pro. Is this a separate bug from the one listed above? Or is it just a variation of it? I will be happy to submit a new bug report if it is a different bug altogether.

I've finally had a chance to check this, but there is no dialog hiding behind any windows. I used Win+M to minimize all (since I couldn't minimize the Explorer window any other way), and found no dialog left up. I have also Alt+Tab cycled through every window running. Since I've had this problem on two separate computers, while other people are not having the same trouble, I wonder if there is something I am doing wrong (which is why I'm still posting in the forum rather than submitting a bug report... yet). Steps I've taken to Import: In ME 3d I do File -> Export -> Export Macros... -> Select All -> Save File as C://Desktop etc. In ME Pro I do File -> Import -> Import Macros... -> C://Desktop etc. At this point ME Pro freezes. I can't click anywhere or change anything within ME Pro. I can right-click the taskbar icon and Terminate, however. I've tried terminating ME 3 before importing on the off-chance it was interfering in some way. No luck. As stated before, Alt+Tabbing through my windows reveals no hidden dialog box. Is it a limitation of the 30 day trial version? Does anybody have any helpful tips that I could use to make this work the way I understand it is supposed to? If it matters: One computer specs are: Vista Ultimate 32, sp1, 4G RAM, Quad Core 2.6 GHz The other computer specs: XP Professional, sp2, 512M RAM, Intel Celeron 2GHz The first computer only had maybe 20 macros I was trying to import, the second has over 250. Both freeze, so I don't imagine it's due to the size of the import file. Any advice would be spectacular. Thanks!

I don't have Pro at work, but I can make this work in ME 3. If this code works in ME 3, it should also work in Pro. Ultimately, it may not do exactly what you want for the rest of your macro, but it definitely extracts the ddd I'm looking for. Basically, since every week is made up of two week-end days, you tell the macro how many week-days into the future you want to count, then the macro calculates the number of week-end days (simple math) and adds that number to the week-days you want. Then it tells you what day of the week that day will be. Here you go: Variable Set Decimal %D1% from Prompt Variable Modify Decimal: %D2% = %D1% / 5 Variable Modify Decimal: %D3% = %D2% * 2 Variable Modify Decimal: %D4% = %D3% + %D1% Variable Modify Decimal: Convert %D4% to text string %T3% Variable Modify String: Convert %T3% to integer %N1% Date/Time: Save "ddd" into %T2% Text Box Display: T2 <DVAR2:01:02:FFFCenter:Center><DMVAR:04:02:1:000000000000001.0000:2:5><DMVAR:03:03:1:000000000000002.0000:2:2><DMVAR:01:04:1:000000000000003.0000:1:000000000000001.0000><DMVAR:05:04:1:000000000000003.0000:1:000000000000010.0000><TMVAR2:05:03:01:000:000:><DT:dddT:02:3:{F0%N1%}{P00000}{P00000}{P00000}><TBOX4:T:1:CenterCenter000278000200:000:T2%T2%> My tests originally included 35 days, 34 days, and 36 days with the (accurate) results: Tue, Mon, and Wed respectively. I just got the thought to check 33 days, which came out Sun, so this macro is still flawed. But at the very least it was fun to try. I don't have time to mess with it more right now, so hopefully somebody else will be able to give you a more informed answer.

I don't have ME Pro at work, so I can't look for a Help button for you. However, I do know that F1 still works just as it did in ME 3.x to bring up the specific help file (I know for certain because I used it... possibly because I didn't see the help button, either).

Just keep in mind that if you have the same activation set in both applications, then both macros will run. Example, I have a shortkey to open a new Notepad that I duplicated in Pro. Without thinking, I had both MEs running and ran that macro. Ended up with two Notepads. Not a problem in and of itself, so I just closed one and went on about my business. As I was doing some text editing, I ran another macro which ran, again, in both MEs which resulted in some textual problems. At this point I disabled ME 3. Something I did notice, however, that was strange. My notepad launch macro places the notepad in the bottom-right corner and resizes it to 550 x 550. Both macros are supposed to to this, but ME Pro's 550 x 550 wasn't the same as ME 3's. I meant to do more tests to verify this problem before asking if anybody else could duplicate my results, but I was busy and forgot... and now I'm at work without access to Pro. Anybody?

Unfortunately, there is no way to tell your macro to stop the repeat by using a key-press. You can abort the macro with the Abort Macro hot-keys (you can see what they are under Preferences > Playback, I believe). Sometimes ESC does work to abort a macro, but only when there is a dialog or prompt on the screen. And that would cancel the whole macro, not just the repeat. That's not to say what you want to do isn't possible. I have dozens of macros that have repeats that need to keep repeating until specific conditions are met. One option you have is to set a prompt each time the repeat is supposed to start. That way you can tell it how many times to repeat each time you run the macro. Like this: Repeat Prompt Start (Prompt for repeat count at macro play time) Text Box Display: Bulk of Macro Here Repeat End If you don't know before-hand how many times it's going to need to go, you may need to figure out a different way for the macro to "see" that it's time to end the repeat. Have the macro "look" for something in the process... probably the same thing you yourself would look for to know it is time to end the repeat. This could be anything from specific text, Window title, color of a particular area of the window, etc. In which case the repeat section of the macro would look more like this: Repeat Until %T1% <> %T1% If Message: "Requirements Met" Break Else Text Box Display: Bulk of Macro Here End If Repeat End <REP3:08:000002:000001:0001:1:01:T1><IFMESS3:00000:1:1:Requirements MetIf requirements met, end repeat, otherwise keep going.Center:Center><BREAK><ELSE><TBOX4:T:1:CenterCenter000278000200:000:Bulk of Macro Here><ENDIF><ENDREP>

Hey there design-team and fellow Pro users, I've been looking forward to a particular feature, but am not sure if it has been built into ME Pro at this point (or even if it's in the works): Multiple Variable Promts. Example: I would love to be able to build a macro where a single prompt pops up with six fields each of which asks for one of the following: Name, Street No., Street Name, City, State, and ZIP; where each piece of information would be assigned to a different variable (such as T1 - T6), rather than having to build 6 different prompts into the macro. I saw a way to do this through a pretty cool non-ME script, but I'm not programming savvy at all outside of Macro Express, and never felt comfortable enough to attempt to build such scripts. I had been really hoping that the next version of ME would have the option, but I can't find it, and don't know that it is part of this build. If it is part of Pro, can somebody enlighten me on how to do it? Otherwise, I'll just saunter over to the Features Request form and add my voice to the others who I'm sure would love to see this option in future ME builds.

Thanks Kevin and Joe! So far I am loving ME Pro. You guys at Insight are awesome!

Awesome! I do see the advantage of a triple-click command in Macro Express. Maybe a submission to the suggestions email would be advantageous.

I have checked my triple-click macros on my painfully worthless work computer and posted in response on the other board. Here I'll quote it:

Just ran these macros on my work computer with fantastic results. I also tried just a basic "Left click" macro that used the command three times (without using the Repeat command). I am firmly convinced that Macro Express, though it doesn't have a triple-click command, is able to simulate a triple click using the methods outlined in my earlier posts. If your machine is not duplicating these results, I have my doubts about whether or not it would be successful at running a triple-click command, if even if ME had one. You may have more success if you open your Control Panel -> Mouse and then slow the double-click mouse speed (this doesn't slow down how fast the double-click happens, rather it increases the maximum time between clicks to successfully execute a double-click).

Ok, I just pulled up a local news website in Firefox and tried it again (both versions). I discovered a minor problem. If I clicked manually on the text immediately before running the triple-click macro, then I had some problems. I introduced a 0.4 second delay before the triple-click series to prevent the problems. Ideally there is no need to click first, though. You just put the cursor where you want it, then run the macro. 0.4 seconds isn't very long, though, so the delay could be advantageous to prevent yourself from inadvertently positioning the mouse, and clicking the button before running the macro. Other than that, I had no problem with the triple-click macro as I built it up above, even in Firefox. I don't know how individual mouse-speed settings within your Control Panel might be affecting the functionality of the macro, or if maybe your computer itself just isn't processing the clicks fast enough. I'm running a pretty fast computer at home, so I will try it again on my considerably less exciting work computer tomorrow to see if I can duplicate the problem (I don't have access to a Firefox browser at work, however).