Trigger: Timer ?

[inokenti]

Hi, I am french so sorry for my bad english ! :-)

 

Macro Express is a great program but i don't find in this program a scheduler whitch allow to run a macro once on startup of "Macro Express" after a delay (like a timer)

 

By example :

 

- start once the task "open windows", 30 minutes after the starting up of Macro Express

- start once the task "open software", 18 hours and 5 minutes after the starting up of Macro Express.

 

Thank you for your help.

[randallc]

Hi,

No setting I know of; you might need to have a macro start on startup which saves a file with a time; then run another macro on a schedule every minute or whatever to check if the time difference is up.There's a macro somewhere on the site which does this.

Best, Randall

 

Timer

topic

[inokenti]

Ok thank you a lot for your help !

[kevin]

Here is another approach using two macros. Suppose you want the delay to be 45 seconds.

 

First macro:

- Create a Scheduled Macro set to fire of every 45 seconds.

- Put your macro commands in it.

- Near the beginning of the macro include a Macro Disable command and enter this macro's name.

- Disable the macro.

 

Second macro:

- Create a macro that runs when Macro Express is started (At Startup)

- In this macro include a Macro Enable command and enter the name of the first macro.

[randallc]

Hi, Kevin,

 

I am sure you have a complex understanding of a complex problem here!

i don't follow what happens when the Disabled macro which disables itself early on is re-enabled; doesn't it just run the "early disable" command and not work?

 

In any case how does this apply to the problem of "- start once the task "open software", 18 hours and 5 minutes after the starting up of Macro Express."?

 

Thanks, Randall.

EDIT - Sorry to be so slow!

I was having trouble seeing what each macro does here.

In simple terms to me, your solution entails;

 

1. Set a trigger macro to run at a certain time you want after start-up (but such a time can not be just set "once" - must be "every").

 

2. So that it only runs once, instead of "every 18.5 hours" or 30mins,

 

3. include in that macro a command to disables itself, so it only runs once.

 

4. Then next time at startup, it won't run as it is disabled, so we need the second macro just to re-enable , so it is scheduled at every start-up! -

GOT IT! eventually.

[kevin]

When a macro is disabled, it does not allow it to be activated. However, in this case, the macro will finish running. On reflection, it does not really matter whether the macro disables itself at the beginning or the end. But, in a future version of Macro Express it might. I was thinking ahead a little by stating that the Macro Disable command should be placed near the top of the macro.

 

To run a macro 30 minutes after Macro Express starts, set the scheduled time in the first macro to 30 minutes.

 

To run a macro 18 hours and 5 minutes after Macro Express starts, create another 'first' macro and set it's schedule to 18 hours and 5 minutes.

 

I would expect that 18 hours and 5 minutes might be a little long. The technique I suggest may not work because it would reset the timer every time Macro Express launches. But, for a 30 minute time interval, this technique would most likely be simpler to implement than checking the time every minute or so.

 

My suggest was not intended to be more complex. Rather, I thought it was a simpler solution.

[inokenti]

It is an excellent solution! I had not thought of it. Thank you kevin!

 

A last question, is what there will be for new versions of the express macro software or is that the current version is the last one?

 

If yes for new versions, you think in how long the next ?

 

 

[t.s.lim]

Execuse me for jumping in at this point:

 

What inokenti wants is similar to my past request for schedule feature. While I want a macro run once (at no pin pointed time) daily, weekly or monthly, inokenti wants it to run once N minutes after startup.

 

I have been staring at ME's schedule dialog for nearly half and hour after reading inokenti post (which reminds me what I have suggested in the past), I think there is a design flaw in the ME's schedule system:

 

1) There are 9 kind of scheduling methods (from the schedule dialog): 'At startup', 'Once', ..., 'Load file' but I think 8 will be enough. Because the run macro 'Once' is actually a repeat of run macro 'Daily', please see the attached picture.

 

2) I strongly suggest, rather than putting it as a schedule method, 'Once' should be a setting within other schedule methods. Example, Hourly Once, Daily Once, Weekly Once, Other Once and so on. What I mean is the 'Hourly', 'Daily', 'Weekly' and 'Other' will still maintain what they have now but add an option of 'Once' to them.

 

3) For what inoketi wants, it is simply Run macro 'Other' every 18*60+5 minutes 0 seconds ONCE

 

I know it is hard to convince the author of ME to do the above changes, any way I will keep trying (This is my 4th trial)

 

t.s.lim

[inokenti]

I have found what i want in an other software : schedule 3.5.35.

In the schedule proprieties, i can select "On Event" --> "At startup" and there is a case "Delay" where i can put a time of 0 hours to 24 hours.

If I do not manage to put on this function in ME, I would use in complement this software (schedule) to launch the macros.

[t.s.lim]

Hi inokenti,

 

When having more and more scheduling tasks (through program like ME), I am concern about the ease of maintaining. It is not that much about spending extra penny to get another program that does the job, but my top priority is to run as little scheduling program as possible (preferably only a single one). Theoritically, the less scheduling program one use, the less resource is required and if only one scheduling program is being used then there is only one place to manage all the scheduled tasks (centralize the maintenance).

 

In my case I won't and will be very reluctant to ADD another program to do what ME can't (or has difficulty to achieve). But I think everyone has a tolerance limit, when more and more scheduling has to be "run once", I think I will resort to droping ME and get a better replacement... (I hope I don't have to)

 

In fact, what you want (and what I want) can also be done by writing to a temp file (as someone has suggested to me in the past, please check it out if you are interested). Well as a registered user to ME I prefer the future ver of the program to add that feature (and make life much easier both in creating and maintaining run-once-macro) than resort to a workaround.

 

I am sorry, IMO, so far, suggestions seems to be workaround than a proper solution! I hope I am not offending anyone by saying so...

 

t.s.lim

[inokenti]

Hi t.s.lim

 

Completely all right with you. It is true that it is much simpler to centralize everything in the software ME than to use supplementary softwares. The software which I quoted was just for showing in the developer of ME that this function exists in other softwares.

I hope that the function of timer will be in the next version if the developer hear our suggestion ...... by waiting there are effectively some methods to by-pass this problem. I am going to test them this week and I come back in forum in next days.

 

@+

 

P.s : this text result of a traductor. That has to see itself!! lol