kevin

Only if the networking options are enabled. See Options, Preferences, Network.

I think you need to use the Variable Set Integer %N1% from Position of Text in Variable %T1% command.

Are you thinking of the Process Partial Records option in the Text File Begin Process command?

Jowensii, I think Joe is right. Particularly for the command line: Another thing to consider would be to change to the N:\Info Resources\Desktop Setup\Macro Express folder. It may also simplify things if the installation .exe, the setup .txt file, and the .mcf file were all in the same folder. Then if you changed to that folder your command line would look like this: "Macro Express v3_5c.exe" /S /M=CoPath_ME_Setup.txt You might also want to remove the space in the .mcf filename so your setup.txt file would look like this: STARTUP=Y LAUNCHNOW=Y QUICKSTARTNOW=NP REBOOT=N LICENSENAME="REMOVED for POST" LICENSECODE="REMOVED for POST" CONFIGFILEPATH=Copath_Label.mcf NOEDITOR=N HOHELP=N NOICONS=N

If you are using the NTFS file system then this is true. If you are using the FAT32 file system then files are processed in a seemingly random order. In fact they are processed in the order that they appear in the directory on the hard drive. NTFS is only available for Windows 2003, XP, 2000 and NT. Windows 98, Me, and 95 always use FAT32.

Another word of warning: Not all users can write to the HKLM area of the registry. So, even if you do create a registry initialization or setup macro, it will not work for non-administrator users.

If you already understand how Windows handles environment variables then you do not need to read this post. All of the environment variables that exist when a process starts are copied to that process. However, when a process ends, the environment variables, and their values, that were changed in the process are not passes back to the parent process. You are probably saying: What? Huh? I'm confused. Okay, when Windows starts it creates a global set of environment variables. These include things like PATH, APPDATA, COMPUTERNAME, WINDIR, SYSTEMROOT, etc. Each process (application, program, .dll, etc.) that Windows loads receives a copy of these environment variables. If Macro Express is used to change the environment variables then any program that is launched from Macro Express will receive those environment variables. Then, suppose the program launched from Macro Express changes the environment variables. The new environment variables will be available to that program but not to Macro Express or to Windows. When that program closes, all of its environment variables are lost. And, when Macro Express closes, all of its environment variables are lost. This is not as easy to describe as I thought it would be. I hope you understand.

The environment variables are cleared when the environment in which they are created disappears. In other words, when you set an environment variable from within Macro Express, it stays until Macro Express is terminated and reloaded. To 'clear' an environment variable without reloading Macro Express you will need to set it to an empty value. This discussion has just raised a warning flag for me. It is not recommended that you run Macro Express 24x7. It needs to be reloaded on occaision. The reason for this is that when certain macro commands finish, Macro Express tells Windows to unload the memory used by the macro command. However, Windows does not always unload the memory or, if it unloads it, there may be a few bytes that Windows still considers 'used'. Under normal operations no one notices these stray bytes. We're talking about something like 16 bytes every time a certain macro command runs. However, over time, these stray bytes have a tendency to add up. For example, one customer has a macro that runs every second. If this is left running 24 hours a day 7 days a week then eventually the 16 bytes used each time the macro runs add up to a significant amount of memory. Reloading Macro Express corrects this. There is a macro command to do this for you. If you leave your computer on all the time, we recommend that you periodically run the Restart Macro Express command. Now, you are probably wondering why I brought this up in a discussion about the environment variables. Well, if you expect the environment variables to exist all the time, they will ... until Macro Express is restarted. Unless you use Corey's suggestion. If you do then the environment variables will exist even after Macro Express is restarted. To understand why this is so requires another long explanation. I'll do that in a separate post. Keep this in mind as you use environment variables.

Insight Software Solutions (the makers of Macro Express) also sells a product named Zip Express. It has some rudimentary macro commands that will handle what you are trying to do. However, if you combine it with the macro commands in Macro Express you have the ultimate in control. For more information about Zip Express visit www.getzips.com. The Zip Code information is updated quarterly.

I would also expect this to work (I have not tried it though): Repeat Start (Repeat 60 times) Wait Time Delay 1 Seconds Repeat End

From the Macro Express Knowledge Base: Macro Express only works with Windows programs. Macro Express works in the Command Prompt of Windows XP, 2000 and NT because the Command Prompt is a Windows program. It does not work in the MS-DOS prompt of Windows Me, 98 and 95.

Nevada, The macexp.dat file should not be increasing in size. I received the copy of the macexp.dat file that you sent me. We are analyzing that file and the program to determine what is going wrong. We hope to have it resolved for the upcoming release of Macro Express v 3.5d. In the meantime, you can delete the file. It is recommended that you stop terminate Macro Express before doing so, however.

Slightly Off Topic: To make your macros more portable, it is generally a good idea to use the Variable Set from Misc command to get paths rather than reading them from the registry itself. There are instances where, for some users, the Install Path is not in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE or if it does exist, it is inaccurate.

Randall, Would it help to use the Set Variable %T1% to "Installation Path" command? This returns the folder where Macro Express is installed.

To request a feature visit www.macros.com/requestfeature.htm. To find this page in the future go to the support page of the Macro Express website.

To explain a little further: Macro Express cannot delete a line in a file. But, you can write lines from the existing file to a new file and skip the ones you do not want.

Use the Text File Begin/End Process commands. Text File Begin Process: "test.txt" If Variable %T1% does not contain "127.0.0.1" Variable Modify String: Append %T1% to Text File End If Text File End Process <BTFBEG:001:000001:000000:c:\test.txt><IFVAR2:1:01:8:127.0.0.1><TMVAR2:20:01:00:000:000:c:\output.txtT><ENDIF><BTFEND>

No, the hta stuff comes from Professional Grade Macros - Joe Weinpert or Floyd.

The email client inside Macro Express does not have an HTML format, only plain text. I have wondered if it is possible to send an HTML format by putting the correct header information in the body of the message. But I have never tried it. I would like to hear if you try it and get it to work.

My idea is that you would enter a 'master password' the first time you need a password. Then, for a period of time, it would be unnecessary to enter any passwords. But, if you leave the computer idle for a while, you would have to reenter the 'master password'.

The following comments have little to do with Joe's function and more to do with automating logins in general. I have been thinking about the issue of stolen passwords for quite a while now. The issue goes beyond stolen equipment. We should also be concerned about someone sitting in front of our computer when we're away and gaining access to sensitive sites. This concern has kept me from automating logins to certain sites. I have thought of two techniques but I have not implemented either of them. Yet. The first approach is to require the user to 'log on' to the macro. The login names and passwords for your sites are encrypted and, until you enter a master password, they remain encrypted. This can be accomplished using macros but I think it will be cumbersome. It may be simpler to use an external program. Some computers now are offering biometric input ... a fingerprint reader, for example. This would be an ideal source for the 'master password'. Scan your fingerprint and then your password macros are enabled. For a time. The second, and perhaps easiest for us to implement right now, is to separate the macro from the passwords. USB Flash drives (aka thumb or jump drives) are inexpensive these days. The macro that we use to send our passwords could get the login information from a macro or file on the flash drive. If the flash drive is not present, the macro cannot log in. This, of course, has the disadvantage that you have to keep a flash drive plugged in all the time. But it has the advantage that if someone sits in front of your computer or if they steal your notebook computer, they do not have access to your login sites. Of course you have to remember to remove the flash drive whenever you leave your computer. There is a risk that you will loose the flashdrive and not the computer. But, without both, someone cannot access your protected sites.

Once you enter an invalid license code, uninstalling and reinstalling Macro Express will not clear the *PIL* message. As Joe said, to remove the PIL message you must purchase a valid license.

Here are a few things to check: Do your macros have the Scope property set? It is possible that w2k has changed the window titles slightly and that may affect any Window Specific scope settings. Are you using Window Controls as activations or within your macros? The Window Controls are usually diffferent between versions of Windows and will need to be recaptured. Do your macros test for the version of Windows that is running? Some macros are written to only work on a specific version of Windows. Has the Macro Express license been entered properly? You should log on as an administrator to enter the Macro Express license. Have you switched to a Windows Terminal Services / Citrix environment? Some special considerations need to be made when writing macros for WTS/Citrix. What is and is not working? Is the macro being activated? When I have a macro that does not work, the first thing I do is put either a Sound Wave File or Text Box Display at the top of the macro. Then I can tell if the macro is being activated or not. If it is, then I can adjust the macro. If not, then I can check the scope, etc.

When a macro is disabled, it does not allow it to be activated. However, in this case, the macro will finish running. On reflection, it does not really matter whether the macro disables itself at the beginning or the end. But, in a future version of Macro Express it might. I was thinking ahead a little by stating that the Macro Disable command should be placed near the top of the macro. To run a macro 30 minutes after Macro Express starts, set the scheduled time in the first macro to 30 minutes. To run a macro 18 hours and 5 minutes after Macro Express starts, create another 'first' macro and set it's schedule to 18 hours and 5 minutes. I would expect that 18 hours and 5 minutes might be a little long. The technique I suggest may not work because it would reset the timer every time Macro Express launches. But, for a 30 minute time interval, this technique would most likely be simpler to implement than checking the time every minute or so. My suggest was not intended to be more complex. Rather, I thought it was a simpler solution.

There is one other technique besides putting a shortcut in the Startup folder to the .mex file that you want to load: Change the shortcut used to load Macro Express to include the /F<macrofilepath> command line option. For example, if your macro file is stored in c:\Macros\MacEx.mex then you would put /Fc:\Macros\MacEx.mex in the shortcut. As Randall mentioned, if you use either of these techniques you will want to rename the Macro Express 3 shortcut in your startup folder and disable the Run on Window's Startup option in the preferences. If you do not do this then Macro Express will overwrite the changes you make.