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Really annoyed at "Get Control"


patgenn123

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One day "Get Control" works and the next day, it doesn't!

 

I am trying to capture the control and convert it to text. It works one day and then the next, it doesn't. Nothing else changed! The control class name is the same. Everything is the same.

 

This has got to be the most annoying thing I have ever seen and it's really making me upset.

 

Can anyone help me out with this?

 

pat

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Kevin,

 

Yes, I am aware of this macro option, but what's really sad is that Macro Express does not have a first class control detection system. I have seen other programs that can scan the entire screen(even those fields that are "hidden" behind tabs etc.) and capture that data and itemize in a notepad.

 

Are you saying that your only solution is to do this by hand for every single text field I want to capture? You can't use capture control if the field is hidden because it does not detect it. Now what? I wanted Macro Express to do this completely for me, but now I have to blend two programs to get this done which makes it harder than ever and a real pain.

 

No other solutions Kevin? Or anyone else for that matter?

 

Pat

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Kevin,

 

Yes, I am aware of this macro option, but what's really sad is that Macro Express does not have a first class control detection system. I have seen other programs that can scan the entire screen(even those fields that are "hidden" behind tabs etc.) and capture that data and itemize in a notepad.

 

Are you saying that your only solution is to do this by hand for every single text field I want to capture? You can't use capture control if the field is hidden because it does not detect it. Now what? I wanted Macro Express to do this completely for me, but now I have to blend two programs to get this done which makes it harder than ever and a real pain.

 

No other solutions Kevin? Or anyone else for that matter?

 

Pat

I'm far from a Windows Control expert, but I'm not entirely convinced the problem is with Macro Express. I think controls are used less and less frequently by programmers. I have very rarely had any success with controls, simply because nothing within the application/website/database is defined as one.

 

Again, I'm not an expert and only have the most fleeting understanding of controls as it is, so if everything I said made me look like a rank amateur, it's because I am one :)

 

However, I would love fore everything that looks like it should[ be a control to be treated as a control by ME. Life would be so much easier.

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Much as I understand that MEP was not originally intended for programmers, I believe MEP is now a different, and far more powerful, creature than its ME3 predecessor.

 

Although MEP does include the ability to handle controls, the features are sparse indeed. Indeed, one could be forgiven for being confused about the intended audience; after all, global vs. local variables, PostMessage and controls, etc. are not really intended for the audience I suspect ME3 was originally created for.

 

If you compare the abilities of Autoit with MEP, then it's easy to see that MEP falls very short of what is possible. You have only to look at the AutoIt Info tool (which goes far beyong the equivalent Mouse Locator tool) to see just how much MEP is missing, and just how much we developers are missing out on. That's a shame because MEP's interface is mostly streets ahead of anything comparable that I've encountered.

 

If you use the AutoIt Info tool to look at an MDI application, e.g. Microsoft Access, you'd be astonished just how many objects are being treated as controls. For example, AutoIt mostly uses control-based, instead of windows-based, commands to handle all of Access' MDI child windows. You could be forgiven for believing that almost everything out there is control-based, except, of course, for web-based objects and applications.

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Much as I understand that MEP was not originally intended for programmers, I believe MEP is now a different, and far more powerful, creature than its ME3 predecessor.

 

Although MEP does include the ability to handle controls, the features are sparse indeed. Indeed, one could be forgiven for being confused about the intended audience; after all, global vs. local variables, PostMessage and controls, etc. are not really intended for the audience I suspect ME3 was originally created for.

 

If you compare the abilities of Autoit with MEP, then it's easy to see that MEP falls very short of what is possible. You have only to look at the AutoIt Info tool (which goes far beyong the equivalent Mouse Locator tool) to see just how much MEP is missing, and just how much we developers are missing out on. That's a shame because MEP's interface is mostly streets ahead of anything comparable that I've encountered.

 

If you use the AutoIt Info tool to look at an MDI application, e.g. Microsoft Access, you'd be astonished just how many objects are being treated as controls. For example, AutoIt mostly uses control-based, instead of windows-based, commands to handle all of Access' MDI child windows. You could be forgiven for believing that almost everything out there is control-based, except, of course, for web-based objects and applications.

 

Part of me (the part struggling to keep my To Do List from expanding uncontrollably) wishes I hadn't seen this. I'll now inevitably have to spend days installing and learning the rudiments of Autoit!

;)

 

--

Terry, East Grinstead, UK

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Macro Express is "THE Program" if you want ease of use and a good way to figure out things. I am a really really a novice when it comes to any programming including Macro Express. However, I have learned enough Macro Express that I feel I could be pretty good at being self-employed with this program alone.

 

Yes I was mentioning AutoIT and Autohotkey(indirectly without mentioning) because they are almost the same programs , but it is hard for me to understand anything other than the simple things with both of those programs.

 

Macro Express is light years ahead on it's simplicity and understanding. No doubt! I just wish they could help with this control issue and some other things that these two programs have that ME does not.

 

ME would be impossible to beat if they did.

 

Pat

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  • 2 weeks later...
Part of me (the part struggling to keep my To Do List from expanding uncontrollably) wishes I hadn't seen this. I'll now inevitably have to spend days installing and learning the rudiments of Autoit!

;)

Well, I'm just learning about AutoHotkey

AutoHotkey

which for keyboard and mouse automation, appears to be streets ahead of anything else I've seen. Just consider the MEP "Text Type" command, equivalent to Sendkeys in VBA and Send in AutoIt. It turns out AutoHotkey has no less than 5 different Send commands!

Send

SendInput

SendRaw

SendPlay

SendEvent

Here's an excerpt from the documentation which I thought you might be interested in:

SendInput and SendPlay use the same syntax as Send but are generally faster and more reliable. In addition, they buffer any physical keyboard or mouse activity during the send, which prevents the user's keystrokes from being interspersed with those being sent.

SendInput is generally the preferred method to send keystrokes and mouse clicks because of its superior speed and reliability. Under most conditions, SendInput is nearly instantaneous, even when sending long strings.

SendPlay's biggest advantage is its ability to "play back" keystrokes and mouse clicks in a broader variety of games than the other modes.

We can only dream...

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Well, I'm just learning about AutoHotkey

AutoHotkey

which for keyboard and mouse automation, appears to be streets ahead of anything else I've seen. Just consider the MEP "Text Type" command, equivalent to Sendkeys in VBA and Send in AutoIt. It turns out AutoHotkey has no less than 5 different Send commands!

Send

SendInput

SendRaw

SendPlay

SendEvent

Here's an excerpt from the documentation which I thought you might be interested in:

 

We can only dream...

 

Thanks, sounds interesting. But hope it runs faster than the download's 3 - 8 KB/sec! I'll come back after breakfast and see if the 2 MB has arrived yet...

 

--

Terry, East Grinstead, UK

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