Creating a Macro Outside Macro Express

[patgenn123]

Hello everyone!

 

I was wondering if Macro Express can do this:

 

I have a database that creates contacts and the like. Is there a way of creating a unique individual macro that creates the text in the direct editor in a direct way? In order words, I want to create the text that Macro Express can read in the direct editor. Can this text be read from a file by the direct editor or how can the direct editor be used to create a macro from another macro?

 

Also, if you wanted to use an activation trigger, how you do include that in the direct editor?

 

 

Thanks!

 

Pat

[kevin]

I hope I correctly understand what you are trying to do.

 

It is possible for an external process to create a file containing macro commands. It is not possible to create an activation for a macro created this way but you can use an existing macro, along with its activation, to run the macro created by the external process. Here's how:

 

Create a macro with the activation you want. Inside the macro include the 'Load Macro Text File' command. This will run the macro created by the external process when the activation is typed. You might want to add macro commands before and/or after the 'Load Macro Text File' command. For example, you may want to add an 'If File Exists' command to make sure the external macro file exists before running it. And if your macro is meant to only be run once, you might want to delete the external macro file after it runs.

 

To design the process in the external program (e.g. your database) you will need to see how the macro commands look in the Direct Editor. Create a sample macro (without activation) that performs essentially what you want to perform and then view it in the Direct Editor. Write whatever you need to have the database program create what you need with the specific changes you need. For example, to create a macro that enters a contact you may create a sample macro that uses 'Name', 'Address' and 'Email'. Then when writing the program within the database have it enter the correct name, address and email address where 'Name', 'Address' and 'Email' appear in the sample macro.

[patgenn123]

Thanks for the response Kevin!

 

The reason why I ask is because it would be neat if there was a way to create a HTA that has all the options that the schedule Default Activation has that could create macros automatically outside of Macro Express itself using the text in direct editor to form macros based on the HTA.

 

So, for example, if I wanted to create a HTA where I could create a form that I could tell it to schedule to send an e-mail to people I have in a multi-select list box, Macro Express would be transparent in the sense that the commands would be coming from the HTA form and it would give the commands to ME to create the macro in the background.

 

In another instance, in my database I have a "schedule activity" form where I am looking to create actions using ME from the form. The form is always the same and it would be awesome to simplify the macro to ask it to schedule the macro to run based on what I tell the "schedule activity" form in my database to do. So whatever my form does, so does the macro.

 

Pat