kevin

Quite honestly, I can see absolutely no point in the Get Array Length command. Since arrays have to be declared at design time together with the number of elements, what does Get Array Length do that is at all useful? I'd have hoped that the Split command could dynamically assign the number of elements it needs, but, sadly, not.

What am I missing?

I have written macros that use an array of a specific length (say 25) and later had to increase the length of the array (to 50 or 100 elements). Because I used the Get Array Length command all I needed to do was change the number of elements in the array variable under the 'Variables' tab.

... if there was a way that ME shows how many licenses you have.

No. The sales department at Insight Software Solutions can look up how many licenses you have. Visit our Contact Us page for email address and telephone numbers.

Does anyone know the exact name of the CP applet for opening the Sound Control? I'm stumped.

Try mmsys.cpl, I assume that the mm stands for Multimedia.

On the 64 bit version of Windows 7 this is in both c:\Windows\System32 and c:\Windows\SysWOW64.

When Macro Express is installed the macro file 'samples.mex' is installed in the same folder as the Macro Express program files (e.g. c:\Program Files\Macro Express3). This macro file contains a macro titled 'Counter_From_Run_To_Run' that demonstrates what you are asking about.

In order to run properly, Macro Express must have full access rights (Read/Write/Create/Modify) to the macro file and the folder it is in. If you are using Windows 7 or Windows Vista or if you are running a prior version of Windows with a 'limited' user account, you should copy samples.mex to a folder where you have full access. Your 'My Documents' or 'Documents' folder will work.

You may also download samples.mex from our Sample Macros web page.

For security reasons Macro Express and Macro Express Pro do not have a ‘master password’ or a feature to allow anyone to remove a forgotten password.

Having a set of macros available at all times is the very reason Macro Express Pro has the ability to have multiple macro files open at the same time. If you want a set of macros available all the time (including a popup menu macro) you can either 1) put them in a macro file and keep it open all the time or 2) put all of those macros in all of your macro files.

In addition to being able to load and close macro files from the user interface, you can use the Load New Macro File and Close Macro File macro commands to manage the macro files from within your macros.

Cory asked Paul to report the problem but Paul had already said he had reported it.

I found a new (to me) problem with Forrest which I have reported to Insight.

Set the default value just prior to the Variable Set from Prompt command.

Variable Set Integer %N1% to 198
Variable Set Integer %N1% from Prompt

There are two ways that immediately come to mind:

Use the Program Launch command and put the file name in the 'Program Path/Name' field. This works because the file extensions of .doc and/or .xls are registered for use by Word and Excel respectively.

The second option also uses the Program Launch command. Put the full path name of Excel or Word in the 'Program Path/Name' field and the name of the file you want to open in the 'Program Parameters' field. Using this option you can also open the file in 'read only' mode by putting /r in front of the file name.

Macro Express Pro v 3.8

Macro Express v 3.8 is now available for download. This version adds support for Windows 7, improves compatibility with 64 bit versions of Windows and contains a variety of other enhancements and bug fixes. The Macro Express v 3.8 Release Notes contain a complete list of changes. Macro Express 3 may be downloaded from the Macro Express download page.

For a description of changes, tips and sample macros read the online version of the February 1, 2010 issue of Macro Express News.

For more information about this release please see the February 1, 2010 issue of Macro Express News.

Another way of doing it will work for sure but requires that all macros that you want to run have some extra commands.

 

Have each running macro check the value of a text file every so often. If the text file (one word) says "run", keep going, if it says "stop" Macro Stop. You can set the "stop" by another macro. Starting again as scheduled macros, the first thing a macro does is to write "run" to the file on the first run (only) through the commands.

Yes, this is how I would approach the task.

One macro cannot directly stop another. However, a second macro can set an 'external something' that the first macro interprets that it is time to stop. This 'external something' can be a file or a registry entry. Some may even suggest using a variable but unless both macros were called by a 'top level' macro you would need to use the Save Variables and Restore Variables command. Some who have used these have had difficulties.

In B, try using the Macro Disable command to disable A. I think that will stop A in mid-stream if A is running.

Sorry, this is not correct. The Macro Disable command prevents a macro activation. It does not stop a macro once it is running.

It will also keep A from running again, until you issue a Macro Enable.

Yes, this is correct.

FYI, this works much faster with long strings in ME3 than in ME4 Pro!

Is this still true after the variable commands were optimized in Macro Express Pro? Have you tried it with Macro Express Pro v 4.1.3.1 or later?

The only slowdown I have personally experienced with v 4.1.5.1 is when I had Macro Express Pro load a macro file in the Program Files folder (c:\Program Files\Macro Express Pro\samples.mex). Windows protects files under the Program Files folder. Macro Express Pro needs to have full access rights (Read/Write/Create/Modify) to the macro file. The 'protection' by Windows causes dramatic slowdowns.

Make sure your macro files are in a folder that you have full access rights to and make sure that they are not marked Read Only.

Yes, you are correct. Case statements do not have a 'wildcard' or 'contains' option.

Because of their simplicity, Case statements may result in more concise macros than If statements. However, everything Case statements can do can also be accomplished using If statements. And If statements have a 'contains' option.

Are you sure that you are sending the name of the macro followed by a NUL (ASCII 0)? The NUL is supposed to clear the buffer containing the name of the macro. The example from the help looks like this:

	 .
 .
 hwnd = FindWindow("TMainWin", "Macro Express Player")
 For I = 1 To Len(Macroname)
Result = PostMessage(hwnd, Command, Asc(Mid(Macroname, I, 1)), 0)
 Next I
 Result = PostMessage(hwnd, Command, 0, 0)
End Sub

Note that the final PostMessage sends the NUL.

Not without examining your file. If you wish, you may contact the support people at Insight Software Solutions and send them your macro file. See our Contact Us page for the email address.

In ME3 you have to use Export to Import. In MEPro they got it right and you use Import to Import.

What do you mean? To Import macros in either Macro Express and Macro Express Pro you click File, Import, Import Macros.

When MEP crashes there is an error reporting application which my McAfee is blocking because it fears it’s a worm. There is a list of exceptions but what is the process name of the error reporter so I can add it?

The ISS Bug Reporter is triggered whenever one of our programs, including Macro Express and Macro Express Pro, crashes. The name of the program is issbugrp.exe and it is found here: <Program Files>\Common Files\Insight Software Solutions\ISSBugRp.exe. The actual location of <Program Files> varies depending on which version of Windows you are using and your language settings. For English and Windows XP it is c:\Program Files. For 64 bit Windows 7 it is c:\Program Files (x86).

It is interesting that McAfee is flagging this program on your computer because I have McAfee installed on my 64 bit Windows 7 machine and it doesn't have any problem. You may need to make sure that the folder specified for the Crash Report Directory found in Options, Preferences, File System points to a folder that your user login can write to. You may want to set this to your My Documents or Temp folder.

Please email me the path in the Crash Report Directory so I can compare with what I have and what the default setting should be.

Testing so far shows choppy typing into Citrix windows.

Citrix often does interesting things to the flow of information between the client and server machine. And network latency can affect things as well. One thing that sometimes causes trouble is that Citrix makes an effort to reduce the information sent between the client and server. This compression of the data can cause trouble.

The reason you are seeing a difference between Macro Express 3 and Macro Express Pro could be caused by a difference in timing. Macro Express Pro runs faster than Macro Express 3. I suggest you try adjusting the Text Type Delay found under Options, Preferences, Playback. It may sound counter-intuitive but I suggest that you try increasing the delay. Adjusting this value will affect all macros. You could also try adding a Keystroke Speed command to your macro. This will adjust the playback speed of the individual macro or even specific portions within the individual macro.

If these suggestions do not help or if you have further questions please contact our support people at Insight Software Solutions directly via email. See our contact page.

Shortkey activated macros should work fine on Windows 7. Please email Insight Software Solutions support directly for help. See our Contact Us page for the email address.

I called Insight and the person I spoke to said he had never heard of this, he took my number and was going to have a more experienced programmer get back to me but no one did and I suspect probably won't. I also emailed them and heard nothing yet either.

I'm not sure what might be happening but have you looked at the converted macro to see what the macro commands look like? Is it possible that there is something being typed after the <TAB>? Maybe there is something that is not displayed in the field like a space or an arrow up/down/left/right. Once determine what is causing the inconsistent behavior we can figure out why it did not occur in Macro Express 3. (It could be a conversion problem, a difference in timing, or something else.)