kevin

can global macros run with other global macros with the same activation?

Warnings in the program discourage having more than one global macro with the same activation. I am not sure what happens if you bypass the warnings. Have you tried it?

If you have the same hotkey assigned to a Global macro and a Window or Program Specific macro, the Window or Program Specific one will run when you are in the specific program. If you are not in that program, the global macro will run. This works as intended.

Suppose you have a global macro activated by the F5 hotkey that looks to see which window is on top and enters a password (see Easy Login). Now suppose that you have another program that does not accept passwords and within that program you want the F5 key to open a dialog box and enter information into it. You can do this with Macro Express Pro because Window Specific and Program Specific macros take precedence over Global macros with the same hotkey activation.

Are you sure that Macro Express Pro is doing something with the Win+L keystroke or is the change in behavior due to Windows 7? Try terminating Macro Express Pro and repeating your test.

Spam posts seem to be getting quite commonplace in this forum, with 4 this morning. Can the moderators take no protective measures?

These occasionally slip through the protections in place. Today there was one poster today who posted 5 messages. I would hardly say that is commonplace. Spam messages are removed as soon as the moderators read them but the moderators are not in your time zone.

Macro Express Pro will only perform a backup if the macro file has changed since the last backup. Make sure Macro Express Pro is running at 2:20 am. Make sure that your login has complete read/write access to the folder where your backup files are located.

This sample macro determines if a file is 10 days old or older. This was copied from within a larger macro and is not intended to run as is. (You will need to change the variables that contain file names and paths.)

Variable Set Integer %DaysOld% to 10 // Number of days the files need to exist before we delete them

// Only move this file if it is %DaysOld% old or older
If File Exists: "%dateFolder%\%jpgFile%"
 And
If File Ready: "%dateFolder%\%jpgFile%"
 Variable Set From File date
 Date/Time: Set %DaysAgo% to an adjusted date/time
 If Variable %FileModifiedDate% Is Greater Than or Equal To "%DaysAgo%"

 // Here, the file is less than 10 (%DaysOld%) days old

 Else

 // Here, the file is more than 10 (%DaysOld%) days old

 End If
Else

// Here, the file does not exist or is not ready (open by another process)

End If

Download the sample macro here:

Sample; File 10 days old or older.mex

Edit: You must have posted your reply while I was composing mine. Here is what I said:

The Insert Before and Insert After icons are grayed out until you select a macro command in the Commands pane. Have you highlighted a command? If you continue to have trouble send an email to Insight Software Solutions' Support.

You could use the Get Control command to get the upper-left location like this:

Get Control: (IEXPLORE.EXE) Using z-order -> %IE%
Mouse Move: 1, 1 Relative to Control: %IE%
Variable Set Integer %X%: Set to the Mouse X Coordinate
Variable Set Integer %Y%: Set to the Mouse Y Coordinate

To try this, copy the following and paste it into your macro. You may need to recapture the control, however. The control information is not always portable between versions of Windows.

<GET CONTROL Flags="1" Program_Name="IEXPLORE.EXE" Class="IEFrame" Title="Insight Software Solutions - All Products - Windows Internet Explorer" Control="\"Frame Tab\",\"28\",\"TabWindowClass\",\"5\",\"Shell DocObject View\",\"5\",\"Internet Explorer_Server\",\"1\"" Variable="%IE%" Caption="Insight Software Solutions - All Products - Windows Internet Explorer" Partial="FALSE" Wildcards="FALSE"/>
<MOUSE MOVE Option="\x04" X="1" Y="1" Control="%IE%" _PROMPT="0x000A"/>
<VARIABLE SET INTEGER Option="\x02" Destination="%X%"/>
<VARIABLE SET INTEGER Option="\x03" Destination="%Y%"/>

There are a bunch of free pdf printer drivers out there. With them you can use any program to create your document.

WordPad may have enough formatting features for you. Create a document in WordPad, print it to the PDF printer driver.

Another option would be OpenOffice but many OpenOffice developers have left since Sun was acquired by Oracle. There is fear that Oracle will stop development of OpenOffice or try to change the licensing to monetize it. Keep that in mind for long term future.

What is your goal? To reduce the cost of the add on software? Or to simplify things by eliminating big programs?

@Koon: You are correct in your observation that seconds cannot be set for a scheduled macro. There needs to be a balance between how much of your CPU is used by Macro Express and how frequently things get checked. If Macro Express were to was continually check to see if a scheduled macro should run, it would use much more of the CPU and possibly slow down your other tasks. The technique described by arekowczarek is a good way around it. But be aware that checking that frequently will will use more CPU cycles and, depending on your system, may affect other programs.

@arekowczarek: By default, Macro Express checks every 10 seconds to see if a scheduled macro should run. If the scheduler just checked and one second later the scheduled macro could have run, it will run when the scheduler next checks, 9 seconds later. This may result in the perception that the scheduled macros have a random delay.

You can adjust scheduled macro Timer Interval by clicking Options, Preferences, Activations, Scheduler. Change 'Check the scheduled macros every [ ] seconds' box to 1 second. However, this will use more CPU cycles and, on some systems, may slow down other processes.

< Winkey + ~ > will abort running macros

The key sequence used depends on the 'Abort Macro HotKey' setting found by clicking Options, Preferences, Playback. There are four choices of key combinations to abort a macro. By default this is set to Scroll Lock+Pause.

Another way to stop a macro is by clicking on the running man icon in the notification area (system tray) of your task bar.

This is a User to User forum. To report bugs visit the Report a Bug webpage or send an email to Insight Software Support.

You should be able to use the capture feature to create a macro to log into the system. Most captured macros work better if they are later optimized. It is not possible to use the capture feature to create a loop within a macro. Use the Script Editor to do that.

It often is a good idea to divide distinct tasks into separate macros such as logging on and/or performing multiple copy and paste actions. Use the Macro Run command to call one macro from another.

You can change the activation of a macro to Scheduled to have it run automatically twice a day.

I sent the MEX to Insight 9 days ago but haven't heard from them.

As stated multiple times, including the Report a Bug webpage:

You will not receive a personal email response unless we need more information.

See the pinned topic above Reporting Bugs and Requesting Features:

If you need a personal response to a question or request contact us directly via email or telephone.

and Reporting Bugs and Requesting Features:

If you want a personal reply send an email to Insight Software Services Support.

and

if you enter the report or request our tracking system will send you an email message when that issue is resolved.

Make sure that Windows is set up to use , as the decimal sign. Macro Express Pro uses the Windows setting. If you still have trouble please contact Insight Software Solutions Support.

Also this comand is a problem: Delay: %N99% seconds

as I can't see a delay that will let me set an N value, they all want a number only.

Anywhere you can enter a value into a command you can enter a variable. Just type %N99% in the 'Delay Time' field of the Delay command.

The sample macro Paul provided was written for Macro Express Pro, not Macro Express 3. There are differences. A macro written in Macro Express 3 will be converted when read into Macro Express Pro. However, you have to manually convert a Macro Express Pro macro to run in Macro Express 3.

I could not find continue anywhere.

Continue is available in Macro Express Pro, not Macro Express 3.

I do not have read registry value, I have decimal, integer, string. Which of these three should I use?

Since Paul's example shows the Read/Write Registry commands reading and writing to an integer value (%N99%), it stands to reason that you need to use Read Registry Integer.

Where do I find the continue command?

In Macro Express 3 the command is Break. In Macro Express Pro either Break or Continue will work.

To search for a command, with the Scripting Editor open, either click in the 'Search for Command' box or press Alt-Down Arrow. Type all or part of the command, for example 'Break'.

Not all previous versions are added to the previous version page. Please direct support questions to Insight Software Solutions Support.

Check out the Logoff, Shutdown and Hibernate macro commands.

Is it possible to schedule a macro to run at a particular time of day? If so, what are the steps to scheduling a macro to run?

1. Click Macro, Add Macro or click the Add Macro button.
   
2. Choose Schedule
   
3. Choose Daily
   
4. Select the time and which days to run
   

You can have the new scheduled macro run an existing macro using the 'Macro Run' command. Or you can add a schedule to an existing macro by clicking the properties tab for that macro.

The Macro Express Help contains a tutorial for running a scheduled macro along with information about all other macro commands. Click Help, Macro Express Help to start.

You are on the right track. Use the 'Text File Begin Process' command to create a loop. The technique is also mentioned in the November 2010 edition of the Macro Express News email newsletter.

That all depends on your computer, the application and other unmeasurable things such as how busy your computer or network is. When optimizing a macro I generally speed things up until it is no longer reliable and then slow it down a bit. Over time I have decided that it is more important to me that the macro run reliably than with the utmost speed.

Macro Express Pro v 4.2.1.1

Macro Express Pro v 4.2.1.1 is now available. This version adds Text Type Rich Text, more variable optimization, window control screen coordinate option and many other enhancements and bug fixes.

For a complete list of changes, see the Macro Express Pro v 4.2.1.1 Release Notes. Download Macro Express Pro from the Macro Express download page.

Wait a few minutes and install the new version.