kevin

Another Macro Express Pro update Macro Express Pro v 4.0.4.1 has been released. This update includes 13 changes including several bug fixes. The Release Notes contain a detailed list of changes. The latest version of Macro Express Pro may be downloaded from the Macro Express download page.

Sometimes applications are temperamental about Alt sequences. Try: Text Type: <ALTD>a<ALTU> If that still doesn't work you might need to try something like this: Text Type: <ALTD> Delay 0.1 Seconds Text Type: a Delay 0.1 Seconds Text Type: <ALTU> Delay 0.1 Seconds

I have not used Access for a number of years. Here are the ways (non-Access specific) to activate a macro: 1. Create a hotkey activated macro, set the scope properties to Access, type the hotkey within Access. 2. I'm sure there is a way for Access to run an external program. Have it run 'meproc.exe /A<macro name>'. Meproc is found in the folder where your Macro Express Program files are installed. You will probably need to include the path: 'c:\Program Files\Macro Express 3\meproc.exe /A<macro name>' 3. Convert your macro to a playable macro and 'run' it like you would any other executable program (the same way you would run a program for step 2 but without using meproc.exe). Something like this execute 'd:\macros\mymacro.mxe'. 4. You may be able to use a Windows API call. There are examples available for Delphi, C/C++/Visual C, and VBA. Details for all these options are found in the Macro Activation area of the help file. You should consider upgrading to the latest version of Macro Express 3. There have been 585 changes to Macro Express 3 since v 3.2 was released. Many of these changes make Macro Express more stable. See the Revision History for details. The update is free for licensed Macro Express 3 users. Download the latest version from the Macro Express Download page.

Any time Macro Express finds a value of 0 for the Text Type delay setting in the preferences, it changes it to 300. You can uncheck the 'Use Text Type delay' to remove the delay altogether. Or, you can change the value to 1. It is a known issue that Macro Express v 3.7 and later process Text Type commands slightly faster than previous versions. To fix this issue and improve reliability the Text Type delay setting is now 300 microseconds. Keep in mind that, as rberg pointed out, this is a delay of 0.0000003 seconds. I find it highly unlikely that you would be able to notice any difference between 0 and 300 microseconds. Versions of Macro Express prior to v 3.7 had similar delays, but they were contained within the Text Type part of the program itself.

If you downloaded Macro Express Pro prior to last Friday, you should download the latest version. Do your macros use the Macro Run command? There was a 'memory leak' with the Macro Run command that caused memory to be used up. If you are already using v 4.0.3.1 then you should, as Cory suggested, ask Insight Software Solutions' support for help.

I see now. You want the default button to be different than the default action if they do nothing. No, I don't see how to do that either.

A new version of Macro Express Pro is now available Macro Express Pro v 4.0.3.1 contains 57 changes including several enhancements and many bug fixes. See the Release Notes for a detailed list of changes. Download it from Macro Express download page.

If I understand correctly then you want something like this: Activate or Launch: "notepad" OR "notepad.exe" Wait For Window Title: "notepad" If Message: "Do you want to leave Notepad open?" Else Window Close: "notepad" End If Copy this code and paste it into a new macro: <LAUNCHYES3:0:0112notepad<LAUNCH:notepad.exe><WAITWIN2:000010:000000:notepad><REM2:><IFMESS3:00005:1:1:Do you want to leave Notepad open?Do you want to leave Notepad open?Center:Center><ELSE><WCLS:notepad><ENDIF>

Wait for Time to Elapse and Delay: 0 milliseconds, without ability to halt work the same way.

Each program and system are different. It is impossible for us to test every computer and program combination. We make no recommendations about when to use one or the other. It is up to you to try it.

Yes. Yes.

A normal delay uses a loop. Each iteration through the loop uses CPU cycles. The Wait for delay uses Windows to put the process to sleep for a specific amount of time. While asleep Macro Express uses no CPU cycles. You can terminate a macro in the middle of a normal Delay but you cannot terminate a macro in the middle of a Wait for delay. On a shared system such as Windows Terminal Services, Citrix, XenApp or virtual sessions such as Virtual PC or VMware these extra CPU cycles can affect other users of the same hardware. When that is the case we recommend using the Wait for delay instead of the normal Delay.

To clarify: screenshots, demo macros and supporting files that are submitted with a bug report are never 'lost' to Insight Software Solutions. All supporting information is available to us in our tracking database. We prefer these supporting files to be attached to the bug report so we do not have to search for them in other locations. Issues in the tracking database are not publicly viewable. Each issue is assigned a tracking number. It helps us when you include the tracking number in followup correspondence. You can request the status of a specific issue by sending us an email request that includes the tracking number. Cory keeps information about issues he reports on his server so he has ready access to it and so he can share that information with others. You can visit www.macros.com/bugreport.htm to report a bug or www.macros.com/requestfeature.htm to request a feature but it may be easiest to visit our support web page at www.macros.com/support.htm. The link to our support page is available whenever Macro Express is running by right clicking on the Macro Express icon in the system tray and clicking 'On the Web' and 'Support'.

Yes, a global variable is available to the macro it is defined in and all macros called (via Macro Run) below it. The only exception to this is if in a called macro a local variable is defined with the same name as the global variable then that macro will use the local variable instead of the global variable.

Our goal was to have a new release by the end of April but problems were found in our Q/A testing. The problems have been fixed and we have restarted Q/A testing. Depending on how the testing goes, we could have a new version within a few days.

Macro Express does not have a command to write to the screen. I am not aware of a way to use Post Message to write to the screen. It may be possible but it would require an intimate knowledge of the message commands in Windows.

You're right. A specific Window Control generally changes from one version of a program to another. Some people use this to determine which version of a program is running (e.g. Word 2003 vs Word 2007). You will need to recapture the control in the Get Control command.

The Wait for Web Page relies on a 'Busy' flag inside Internet Explorer. Depending on the website the flag goes busy and not busy multiple times. For example, on a page with multiple ads the busy flag can go busy/not busy for the main page and for each of the ads. In the case of a Java application, the flag goes not busy as soon as the page is loaded but the java program can still be running. IE says something like "I loaded everything" but it doesn't say "everything I loaded has finished running." As Scasper suggests, if you can identify something that changes color on the screen you could use the Get Pixel to determine when the process is complete. However, sometimes the Get Pixel can be tedious. You have to check for an exact color and the color of one pixel can differ slightly from the pixel next to it. And theme changes change the colors. If it was me, for a process that only runs three times a year, I wouldn't bother with optimizing the timing.

Check out the Repeat and the ASCII File Begin/End Process commands. There are examples in the help file.

This thread reminds me of a similar discussion on another thread. You may want to read it here. Pay particular attention to the conclusion posted by Cory. Our recommendation is that you define all global variables in the top-level macro, not the called macros. It may work to define them in the called macros but you may also have some extra prompts.

The term 'Global Variable' does not mean that the variable is available to all macros. Macro Express Pro's Global Variables are available to the macro they are defined in and all macros called by that macro. This is the same behavior as Macro Express 3. Think of Global Variables as global to each macro thread, where a macro thread is the macro that runs with a single macro activation. The non-global variables are limited in scope to a single macro, even if that macro is called by another macro.

To save the content of a variable into a text file use the Variable Modify String: Save %TextVar% to "c:\test.txt" command. If the file already exists, this will overwrite the contents of the file. If it does not already exist, the file will be created.

You can use a delay command to keep the floating Text Box on the screen for as long as you need.

Did you try to Text Type to the Window Control? This note is from the Macro Express help: Send Text to Control If you have previously defined a Control Variable, the text entered in this command will be typed into the Window Control that you have selected. The control that you select must be able to accept text input. Otherwise this command will appear to do nothing.

We have made some changes that may fix this. We're working on the next version. We do not have a date yet.