Navigation in "Create New Macro" window

[michaelkenward]

I had a small macro in version 3.0 that took an abbreviation and then went into macro edit mode to create a new macro with a hotkey expansion using the abbreviation.

 

In ME Pro I have worked out most of the substantial changes needed, but one stumps me.

 

In the "Create New Macro" it demands that I assign a hotkey. I don't want to do this. I want to assign a "Shortkey".

 

The only way to move the keyboard to the "Initial Activation" slot seems to be a load of Tab keys, seven in all. And yet the options available have the underline implying that I can keyboard the move.

 

Of course, any keyboard stuff I try just shows up in the HotKey slot.

 

Am I missing something? Maybe I should create the macro in this way. But it worked fine before.

[stevecasper]

I had a small macro in version 3.0 that took an abbreviation and then went into macro edit mode to create a new macro with a hotkey expansion using the abbreviation.

 

In ME Pro I have worked out most of the substantial changes needed, but one stumps me.

 

In the "Create New Macro" it demands that I assign a hotkey. I don't want to do this. I want to assign a "Shortkey".

 

The only way to move the keyboard to the "Initial Activation" slot seems to be a load of Tab keys, seven in all. And yet the options available have the underline implying that I can keyboard the move.

 

Of course, any keyboard stuff I try just shows up in the HotKey slot.

 

Am I missing something? Maybe I should create the macro in this way. But it worked fine before.

Wow, what in interesting problem. I've built a similar macro for my mother-in-law (who uses ME3), and hadn't thought about

upgrading her to Pro, so I didn't even look into this particular situation till now.

 

My "Create New Macro" window appears to be of a fixed size, so utilizing a "Mouse Move" command to put the mouse over the ShortKey

function shouldn't be an overwhelming task.

 

I just built this short bit of code which does just that, and even moves the mouse back to it's original position (because I hate when my

mouse pointer suddenly isn't where I left it).

 

Get Mouse Position into (%N[1]%, %N[2]%) Relative to Screen
Window Activate: Create New Macro
Mouse Move: 15, 79 Relative to Current Window
Mouse Left Click: 15, 79 Relative to Current Window
Mouse Move: %N[1]%, %N[2]% Relative to Screen

<GET MOUSE POSITION Option="\x00" X="%N[1]%" Y="%N[2]%"/>
<WINDOW ACTIVATE Title="Create New Macro" Exact_Match="FALSE" Wildcards="FALSE" _IGNORE="0x0006"/>
<MOUSE MOVE Option="\x02" X="15" Y="79" _PROMPT="0x000A"/>
<MOUSE LEFT CLICK/>
<MOUSE MOVE Option="\x01" X="%N[1]%" Y="%N[2]%" _PROMPT="0x000A"/>

 

As a side-note, the Ctrl+Space function for getting the Mouse Location when using the Mouse Move command doesn't seem to work

while the Create New Macro window is open, so you'll probably have to use the "Launch Mouse Locater" button to figure out exactly

where the ShortKey radial button is.

[michaelkenward]

Thanks for that. Will give it a try.

 

I generally avoid mouse movements for macros. I'm a keyboard freak. So had not really investigated that route.

[acantor]

I think it's a bug. Navigation by keyboard and acting on objects should be separate. In other words, navigating using the tab key, arrow keys, etc. should only move focus from one object to another, not activate anything.

 

In Macro Express 3, it was possible to use the arrow keys to navigate through the activation methods. In Macro Express Pro, navigating through the list using the down arrow key causes focus to switch to the edit field where you enter a hotkey. And it assumes you want "down arrow" as the hotkey.

 

There is a workaround, although it is clunky: press the Tab key twice, which moves focus to the checkbox, and then use Alt + accelerator key to choose an activation method:

 

Alt + W = Window Event

Alt + M = Mouse Event

[stevecasper]

I'm a keyboard freak. So had not really investigated that route.

I'm with you there. I use my mouse as little as possible whenever I can. But sometimes mouse-moves and clicks are the only way to affect anything in certain applications... so I have learned to use these macro commands whenever I absolutely have to.

[michaelkenward]

I'm with you there. I use my mouse as little as possible whenever I can. But sometimes mouse-moves and clicks are the only way to affect anything in certain applications... so I have learned to use these macro commands whenever I absolutely have to.

OK. Thanks for the confirmation.

 

Unless someone can explain how to use the keyboard, it will be down to the "trackball". (I prefer that to a mouse, takes less desk space.)

 

But it does seem to be a broken bits of the Macro Express interface- tagging that allows you to add one or more customizable "tags" to an item that can then be searched or action taken upon. once an item has been "tagged", the tag or tags will be kept in the x1 index. It looks like the keyboard will work. But somehow it won't.

[paul]

When you're in v4's Macro Explorer view, and assuming you have more macros than can fit on one screen, does your scroll wheel work? Mine works in Category view, where it does a horizontal scroll, but I get nothing at all in the macros view.

 

Like you, I also much prefer my trackball. But I fear we're a dying breed, since Logitech has reduced its product range to only 1 or 2 trackball devices.

[michaelkenward]

When you're in v4's Macro Explorer view, and assuming you have more macros than can fit on one screen, does your scroll wheel work? Mine works in Category view, where it does a horizontal scroll, but I get nothing at all in the macros view.

It seems to depend on whether you have clicked in the appropriate area.

 

A lot of software fails to sense the position of the cursor before deciding what to do with the scroll wheel.

 

I do, though, have one complicating wrinkle in that I have a dual-monitor set up. This is now pretty common, but a lot of software struggles to handle that too.

 

It looks as if MacroExpress is multi-monitor enabled. I just have to work out how to use it.

[paul]

I can click "in the appropriate area" all I want, but the wheel continues not to work.

 

BTW I use a free mouse utility that (usually) allows me to scroll the window the mouse is currently over instead of the currently active window.

[michaelkenward]

I can click "in the appropriate area" all I want, but the wheel continues not to work.

 

BTW I use a free mouse utility that (usually) allows me to scroll the window the mouse is currently over instead of the currently active window.

Strange.

 

I also used a mouse utility for a while, but somehow never got round to installing it in Vista.

 

Could that be messing around with Macro Express?

 

Can you turn it off and see what happens?

[paul]

I'd already tried that, basically running ME4 in as vanilla an environment as I could reasonably achieve. It made no difference.