Lagging Macro-Launches

[stevecasper]

Hey everybody,

 

I need to know if I'm the only one experiencing this problem (I wouldn't be surprised, since my work computer is way awesome!)

 

Ever since the latest MEP upgrade, I've had an inconsistent issue with macros launching. I'll press my hotkeys to get the macro going, and I'll get the little green running man in the task bar indicating that the macro is running. And then I'll wait. I haven't timed it with a stop-watch, but the average wait before the macro actually does anything is approximately 15-20 seconds.

 

I can't duplicate it with any consistency, but it seems to be more laggy with some macros than with others. The two most-consistently problematical macros don't have anything in common within the first few lines. One of them reads registry values then pops up a multiple choice menu, the other performs a series of Text-Types.

 

Other macros don't seem to be affected at all.

 

Before I make an official bug report, can anybody else cite similar delays or lagging issues?

 

Thank you!

[jsams]

I'll press my hotkeys to get the macro going, and I'll get the little green running man in the task bar indicating that the macro is running. And then I'll wait. I haven't timed it with a stop-watch, but the average wait before the macro actually does anything is approximately 15-20 seconds.

 

How are you determining that a macro isn't doing anything while Mr. Green's running? Variables window? Task Manager? Other?

 

Defining how you're looking at the issue will allow it to be replicated on other machines--or determine that it's all in Steve's machine's head...

[stevecasper]

How are you determining that a macro isn't doing anything while Mr. Green's running? Variables window? Task Manager? Other?

 

Defining how you're looking at the issue will allow it to be replicated on other machines--or determine that it's all in Steve's machine's head...

The only thing I can really do to determine that the macro isn't doing anything is by observation.

 

One of the macros that is most often affected by this lag begins by performing a series of text types. When I run the macro and Mr. Green appears, but no text typing occurs, I make the observation that the macro is lagging. If I wait long enough, the Text Types do, eventually, occur. I'm convinced that it is a lag in the macro, not a lag in the machine's buffer, because if I wait a while and then try cancelling the macro (either by right clicking Mr. Green, or pressing the Pause key - which I have set to abort macros), Mr. Green stays up for a bit, and eventually dies without the text types happening. I would imagine if the delay were in the buffer, the typing would occur eventually even without the macro still running.

 

The other macro primarily affected by this lag begins by reading several registry values, then it sets a number of text variables, and finally pops up a Multiple Choice menu. I can't say for certain that the lag is happening before the registy values are read, but it is certainly happening before the Multiple Choice menu launches.

 

I've begun logging all commands on these two macros, so I can try to track down the point of the lag, but since the macro remains running, even if cancelled, and the commands don't seem to be logging until the macro stops running, I have not been able to verify the point of the lag. Just in case that wasn't clear, let me try an example:

 

I run the macro that eventually opens the Multi-Choice.

The lag begins.

I cancel the macro.

Checking the Log shows nothing.

Mr. Green disappears.

Checking the Log now shows commands up to the Multi-Choice menu.

 

So where did the lag occur?

 

If nobody else is experiencing it, it's almost certainly my machine, or a combination of my machine and MEP. It's not a huge problem, and doesn't happen terribly often, but it is rather annoying when it does occur.

[kevin]

Two quick suggestions:

 

1. Make sure your log files are not too large. This can slow things down quite a bit. You may be using a different folder but by default the log files are stored here:

 

[My Documents]\Insight Software\Macro Express\Macro Logs\

 

2. To see if the lag is with the activation or somewhere inside your macro, put a Sound File command at the top of your macro. When you hear the sound, you know the macro is activated.

 

Please let us know what you discover. If you continue to have trouble please contact the Support people at Insight Software Solutions.

 

(I guess that was really three suggestions.)

[Jeff Cleveland]

I ran into a similar problem which I found my problem:

 

I ran the test in the post indicated in the reply. I added a BEEP at the beginning of the macro. I get the BEEP immediately but the dialog box lags by a few seconds.

 

I found where the problem lies.

 

My original code was:

 

Variable Restore: Restore Text Variables

Variable Set String: Prompt for value

 

When I move Variable Set String above the Variable Restore, the problem disappears. Evidently the Variable Restore has some long delay.

 

Unfortunately I need the Variable Restore before the Variable Set String for the macro to perform correctly.

 

Jeff Cleveland

[stevecasper]

I ran into a similar problem which I found my problem:

 

I ran the test in the post indicated in the reply. I added a BEEP at the beginning of the macro. I get the BEEP immediately but the dialog box lags by a few seconds.

 

I found where the problem lies.

 

My original code was:

 

Variable Restore: Restore Text Variables

Variable Set String: Prompt for value

 

When I move Variable Set String above the Variable Restore, the problem disappears. Evidently the Variable Restore has some long delay.

 

Unfortunately I need the Variable Restore before the Variable Set String for the macro to perform correctly.

 

Jeff Cleveland

 

Hmmm... I haven't had a chance to play with the "BEEP" test yet (I'll give it a whack on Monday). But the Variable Restore won't be the issue on my machine. I've eliminated all my Variable Save/Restore commands.

[paul]

I found where the problem lies.

 

My original code was:

 

Variable Restore: Restore Text Variables

Variable Set String: Prompt for value

 

When I move Variable Set String above the Variable Restore, the problem disappears. Evidently the Variable Restore has some long delay.

 

Unfortunately I need the Variable Restore before the Variable Set String for the macro to perform correctly.

Yes,the Variable Restore command is indeed a disaster in the current version of MEP. I described this in a message last week and put forward an alternative method of saving and restoring variables.

[stevecasper]

Two quick suggestions:

 

1. Make sure your log files are not too large. This can slow things down quite a bit. You may be using a different folder but by default the log files are stored here:

 

[My Documents]\Insight Software\Macro Express\Macro Logs\

 

2. To see if the lag is with the activation or somewhere inside your macro, put a Sound File command at the top of your macro. When you hear the sound, you know the macro is activated.

 

Please let us know what you discover. If you continue to have trouble please contact the Support people at Insight Software Solutions.

 

(I guess that was really three suggestions.)

Thanks for the suggestions, Kevin.

 

1. I usually clean out my log files every day (sometimes several times each day), so I don't think that is causing the problem.

 

2. I hesitated to insert any sound files in my macros, as I can't use headphones and didn't want to annoy my co-workers with incessant beeping, but today it's just me (for some irritating reason), so I inserted a Beep command at the beginning of the two previously mentioned macros.

 

The lag appears to have stopped. It's possible that it's just the "luck of the draw" so-to-speak, as it is an inconsistent bug. But I'm going to go ahead and leave the beeps in place for now (until other people decide to come to work, at least).

 

If this works as a bandaid for the lag, that's swell, and yet so very odd.

[stevecasper]

2. I hesitated to insert any sound files in my macros, as I can't use headphones and didn't want to annoy my co-workers with incessant beeping, but today it's just me (for some irritating reason), so I inserted a Beep command at the beginning of the two previously mentioned macros.

 

The lag appears to have stopped. It's possible that it's just the "luck of the draw" so-to-speak, as it is an inconsistent bug. But I'm going to go ahead and leave the beeps in place for now

 

Ok, scratch all that.

 

The macro just lagged, the beep followed the lag. So I'm going to conclude that the lag is within the activation itself.

 

I guess now I need to follow Kevin's third suggestion and contact Support.

[lglasser]

Ok, scratch all that.

 

The macro just lagged, the beep followed the lag. So I'm going to conclude that the lag is within the activation itself.

 

I guess now I need to follow Kevin's third suggestion and contact Support.

 

I've noticed that my Window Title activations are also lagging, since updating to 4.1.0.1.

[Cory]

I have been noticing something similar. I have not done any testing but I have some very simple macros and the activations are instant most of the time but every once in awhile they lag a lot. EG I have one macro that just types out a date stamp for notes, logs and such like "2009/09/02 1033". This morning for instance I entered it and nothing happened. So I hit it again. By the time I looked to my system tray to see if MEP was still with me it executed twice. It doesn't happen very often and there is a distinct possibility it could be something else going on in my system but it sounds very much like what Steve was describing so I thought I would put it out there.

[Rustywinger]

I am having the exact same issue in the 4.1.0.1 version. There is a 5 second delay in one specific macro that loads a bunch of stored variables. Others macros aren't having the issues though I have just installed it and testing has been limited.

[jrgreenman]

I am having a similar issue with the use of Set Variable from Prompt command. While the prompt dialog posts right away, and the title bar of the dialog indicates it has focus, it does nto really have focus. Two things indicate this

 

1. I easily observe that the cursor is still blinking in the prior window even though the title bar of the prompt dialog is the focus color.

2. When I Text Type after the dialog appears to have focus, the text is inserted in the prior window.

 

Sometimes it will take 5 seconds or more for the cursor focus to move to the prompt dialog. BUT if I wiggle my mouse or cross a window boundary, the focus moves immediately.

 

Not sure it's strictly related to what else is being discussed here, but definitely something fishy going on.