MEP add-ons

[Cory]

I was writing allstarleb about pushing MEP too far. That is trying to write complex routines which it really isn't designed to do. EG sorting an array or performing a RegEx match. I've gotten reasonable proficient in .NET and understand MEP pretty well so I'm willing to write simple command line programs for MEP users in cases where there's a simple function or whatever in .NET that does what you need. YOu can then run them hidden using the "Program Launch" command and it will return your value or values using the "Capture Console Output" feature.

 

A few I've thought of

1. An extension based on .NET WebClient. I could set it up to do GET and POST and return the contents of web pages to you without a web browser.
2. Email send. I have one already for sending HTML formatted email. MEP has a simple email command but is missing many features.
3. RegEx match. As I mentioned before. Very powerful.
4. SQL Server client.
5. Multiple input forms.
6. MS Office Interop. Basically all Office apps have an Interop API. This allows one to open and modify Office docs just like a user. Mainly I was thinking about using it to get lists from Excel.
7. ANd thousands more.

As long as it doesn't take too much of my time I'm willing to do them for free.

[allstarleb]

Hey Cory,

I would love to test them out for you within my capacity and I think they would be a valuable addition to the community. I know you area busy person so this would be much appreciated, especially the multiple input form!
An optimal objective when programming these is to make them easy to use, simple, and powerful. So they take complex things and make it easy for users to plug and play to achieve the desired outcome without having to pop open the hood and fiddle around. So the ideal scenario is the user only has to input the parameters for these items to function and they function.

let me know if you need anything from me.

Cheers,

Ali

[terrypin]

Hi Cory,

 

Away from home (limited to iPhone and iPad) and just seen your generous offer.

 

I'll post again when I'm back at my PC but meanwhile here's one personal requirement I have which I suspect lies outside the sort of thing you describe. I've just moved to a new PC and my file structure has changed drastically. So a great number of my macros need changing. For example I want all references to C:\Docs\My Dropbox to become C:\Users\terry\Dropbox.

 

Ideally I'd like to be able to open my main macro file FULL.mex in a hex editor and make that replacement globally. But the only type of changes I've ever been able to make successfully by that method are those rare ones which retain exactly the same size. Like changing C:\ to D:\.

 

I think an alternative (apart from writing a repetitive macro that examines every line of every macro and replaces that string when found) will be to export FULL.mex as a macro information text file and work on that. Rather like the excellent Find macro I recall you made some years ago. I'll look at this more closely when I get home in a week or so, but meanwhile would appreciate all thoughts please.

 

Terry, East Grinstead, UK

[Cory]

I've done that before. Exported to a macro info file and did a global replace. I can't remember exactly but I seem to think it worked.

[Cory]

Many of these things I have in mind like basing a command on RegEx could be very complex. Forms for instance have hundreds of possible control and each has hundred of parameters. I would want to keep it simple. In a way that has been ISS's philosophy with MEP all along. And it's smart. Otherwise one should just learn a programming language ;-)

[allstarleb]

Many of these things I have in mind like basing a command on RegEx could be very complex. Forms for instance have hundreds of possible control and each has hundred of parameters. I would want to keep it simple. In a way that has been ISS's philosophy with MEP all along. And it's smart. Otherwise one should just learn a programming language ;-)

Cory, I agree we need to learn programming.

For example, the form they have as a sample with the fancy stuff works. I understand the logic and can operate with it, but it's a completely separate eco system and not easy to work with. The objective is to make it easy for MEP users to do important things without needed to learn a new language.

[Cory]

I completely agree.

[terrypin]

"I think an alternative (apart from writing a repetitive macro that examines every line of every macro and replaces that string when found) will be to export FULL.mex as a macro information text file and work on that. Rather like the excellent Find macro I recall you made some years ago. I'll look at this more closely when I get home in a week or so, but meanwhile would appreciate all thoughts please."

 

Back from holiday I tried that approach. But I'd hoped that I could then edit it using my text editor and then in MX Pro use File > Import > Import Text File...

 

However, MX Pro expects the text file to have a rigid structure, different to the exported one and also seems to expect only macros with hotkeys or shortkeys. A substantial proportion of mine have neither, as I activate them from menus or Explorer.

 

So unless anyone knows how to reliably hack an MEX file with a hex editor, it looks like I'll have to resort to the tedious task of a macro to operate on every line of every macro (over a thousand).

 

--

Terry, East Grinstead, UK

[Cory]

Terry you might want to start another thread for this. We've drifted off topic.

[terrypin]

Terry you might want to start another thread for this. We've drifted off topic.

 

OK, you're right, will do. In fact I was about to post afresh, as I've hit an obstinate snag with the basic find/replace approach.