trying to create a capture macro - works on my PC but not my teams

[Jennifer.Helmbrecht]

I just got Macro Express and have read through the tutorials but am trying to learn this on my own and am stuck.

 

I tried to create a capture macro by recording my clicks of a series of drop down menus within a company program that are standard. That way when the macro runs those standard fields would auto populate and the case specific ones can be entered.

 

The macro works just great on my PC, but after having my team try the macro it is not working on anyone else's PC. It just looks like quick flashing and clicking but its not actually selecting any of the fiends on their computers.

 

Any ideas what I might have missed?

 

Thanks!!!!

Confused

[Cory]

Welcome to stage 2 of macro development.

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Most of us started as you did by recording macros. And as long as we used them on our system they worked fine. But at a certain point the macros created with the recorder are not adequate. The environment is different, speed of machines and all kinds of things. Most of us write our macros from scratch in the scripting editor and you will too one day when you get the hang of it. But the transition can be smoothed out in the fact that you can record a macro then modify it in the scripting editor.

 

The first thing you will probably want to look at is timing. You will probably need to play with some delays but I encourage you to look at the timing controls. For instance on one system a window might pop up in 200mS but on the other machine it might be 2 seconds at time. Instead of putting in 3 seconds of delay you could use a 'wait for' command like Wait For Window Title". This will make things as quick as they can be on every machine. For now you might want to fatten up the time between commands and slow down the typing to see where you are going wrong. Eventually you will find use for variables, logic all a whole host of cool things.

 

Some general bits of advice: Avoid mouse moves like the plague on distributed macros. The screen dimensions and colors varies too much from system to system. Try using as many text types as possible. EG don't click on the Save button but rather use CTRL+S. Second look into using windows controls. There is a tutorial in the samples macro file in your install folder using calculator. It's a little techie but it's good to learn as soon as possible. Get a copy of Joe's book Macro Express Explained and read it cover to cover. That was my best help. It was written for ME3 but most of the lessons learned like controls are still valid.

 

And if you're really in a bind and can't wait for people to respond on the forums you can always hire me to advise and teach you. Or of course even write them for you. If you are interested Visit my contacts page. There you can have a free Google Voice call with me or just fill out the form and I'll get back with you. Or of course you can send me a PM.