floyd

Macro Express is used to create macros that emulate what you do. If, for example, you typed Alt+F to access a file menu and then O to access a list of files, you would create a macro to do the same thing using the Text Type command:

Text Type: <ALT>F
Text Type: O

The four choices found in the "Options | Preferences | Playback" dialog are the only choices for an emergency abort key.

Although you can remap 47 keys on the keyboard with Macro Express, the 12 function keys are not part of that group.

You can also abort a macro by right-clicking on the "running man" icon in the System Tray, or by placing a Macro Stop command in the macro script.

No, the Get Pixel Color only returns the coordinate for a single pixel. You can, however, test different points in a Repeat loop to determine the shape of an object. This would involve an outer and an inner Repeat loop to increment both the X and Y coordinates as you scan back and forth. And it means that you need to know ahead of time what shape you were looking for.

How about once the coordinate of the pixel is known, you use the Mouse Move command to position the mouse to it, then the Mouse Left Button command to click?

If you attach a partial file, or even the whole file to a reply, then someone can take a look at it in the forum. Maybe there is something in the file that is preventing you from doing what you want.

Renee,

Sorry that you are in a pinch. You can download a previous version. There are instructions in the section named "Previous versions of Macro Express" on their download page at http://www.macros.com/download.htm.

I believe that it would be best to have someone that has administration privileges uninstall, and then install whichever version you want.

Renee,

Is it possible that the choices on the drop-down menus do not use accelerator keys? That the designer did not implement them?

Linda,

Only the Direct Editor has the "Find and Replace" feature.

I wonder if the problem might be in the Hyper Threading (HT) feature. Have you reported this to Insight? Also, what was the last version that ran correctly?

Richard,

This is great. I am very anxious to try it out!

Bob,

If the targeted application does not accept input from the wheel on the mouse, then there is nothing that Macro Express can do ... at least nothing that I can think of. It can only control what the application will accept. For example, if an application only accepts input from a keyboard, then any mouse commands would be ignored whether they came from your mouse or Macro Express.

Simon,

Using an IP address seems to work okay. If I enter a known IP address it will run the code within the If Ping Successful structure. Otherwise, the structure is ignored and processing continues beyond the End If command.

You may also want to look at the Ping Site command within the Internet category.

Renee,

I am assuming that when you refer to the "hidden access key" you are talking about the underlined letter on a menu (accelerator key).

I have seen instances where menu choices use both upper and lower case letters as accelerator keys. This is simply a bad design decision ... in my opinion.

Maybe it will help to understand how Macro Express sends keys using the Text Type command. From the Macro Express Explained book:

There may be instances where an uppercase character confuses the target application. When you Text Type an uppercase "F" the following is sent by Macro Express:

 

<SHIFTD>f<SHIFTU>

 

Think about this for a moment. For you to type an uppercase "F", you must hold the Shift key down, hit the "f" key, and then let go of the Shift key. Macro Express must do this also. So, when you Text Type "<ALT>F" this is what is sent internally:

 

<ALTD><SHIFTD>f<SHIFTU><ALTU>

 

The need to add shift keys may confuse an application's menu, so sending a literal lowercase "f" will avoid the need for them. When you Text Type "<ALT>f" only the following is sent:

 

<ALTD>f<ALTU>

 

Let's go back to the difference between sending a single "<ALT>f" (which you just saw) or double "<ALT><ALT>f" to activate a menu bar and choose, in our example, the File menu. Most of today's applications will work just fine with the former. There may be exceptions. When you find them, try the latter combination. It will send:

 

<ALTD><ALTU>f

 

That is correct. Sending two "<ALT><ALT>" keys in a row sends "<ALTD><ALTU>". Again, most applications think this is just fine, and will activate the chosen menu. Try both of these menu-activating keystrokes manually to discover which works best for your application.

 

It bears repeating that Macro Express needs to do exactly what you do to send keys to an application. Remembering this will make working with Macro Express less harrowing.

Also, when looking at the menus can you see what the accelerator keys are? If not, try hitting the Alt key by itself. This usually turns on the accelerator feature in a menu.

Beacher -

It looks good. I like the menu that allows a person to replace all names without further prompting. Nice touch.

Here is a suggestion assuming that Alt+D at the beginning is meant for the Address field in Windows Explorer: wrap the macro in an If/End If structure which will return TRUE if the active window is Windows Explorer (even though it is scoped to a ":\" window).

This would make it more universal. It is possible to have a window title other than Windows Explorer with the ":\" sequence. Maybe even another one that would accept an Alt+D. Another option would be to scope it to the explorer.exe program rather than a window title. But even so, I would still wrap the code.

J Cook -

1) Create a macro with the following code:

If Not Program Name "save.exe" running
 Program Launch: "save.exe"
End If

2) Scope it to the radLight3.exe program. Do this from the Scope tab and make sure that the Run If On Top box is checked.

3) Set the automatic activation to be from a Window Control gaining focus. This is done from the Properties tab and is similar to using the Get Control command. Capture the radLight.exe window. The example shows notepad.exe, but you get the idea. And I would choose the Control Focused option.

Now, whenever the radLight3.exe program gains focus, and if the save.exe program is not launched, then it will be launched. Otherwise, the macro is ignored.

J Cook -

I am not sure I understand. Are you saying that you want the save.exe program to launch automatically when the radLight3.exe program is launched? Or do you want to manually run a macro that will launch the save.exe only if the radLight3.exe program is already running?

Gerry -

Is this the line that is being generated when you press Ctrl+D? If so, then this is correct.

Text Type: <CTRL>d

From the Macro Express Explained book: Macro Express knows the Control, Alt, and Shift keys are always used with one or more other keys. This is also true of the Win (Windows) key, with one exception, used by itself, it will engage the Start button on your Taskbar. When Macro Express sees something like <CONTROL><HOME>, it automatically holds the <CONTROL> key down while hitting the <HOME> key, then releases it. This is true of any combination that use these keys. <CTRLD><SHIFTD>P<SHIFTU><CTRLU> could be recorded as simply <CONTROL><SHIFT>P.

Hope this helps.