Initial character dropped when used from pop-up menu

[Tim Warren]

Hi, if I'm trying to use a macro from a pop-up menu, the initial character is omitted on playback.  For example, if when used directly the macro types ‘type’, when accessed from the menu it will appear as ‘ype’ (or just occasionally ‘pe’).

Starting the text with a space doesn’t fix it.  What does work is to put a character such as :, but of course that’s not convenient when using it directly.

The problem isn’t limited to a particular app.  I’ve trawled through the KnowledgeBase, but can’t find a reference to it.

I'm using Pro, V4.9.0.1, running under Windows 10 Home, but it’s been a long-running thing – I’ve only now got exasperated enough to raise it.

Thanks in advance for people's help.  I know everyone here will agree with me that Macro Express is a wonderful product (and has been all the way back to Keyboard Express in the 90s).

[James534]

I use wordpad alot. This seems to help when I use it.  Make sure the target application is focused.  Add a little delay.  If that doesn't work, try slowing down how quick the characters are typed.

[acantor]

I just created a pop up menu to test, and I'm not seeing the behaviour you're observing.

 

Could you post examples of the macros that the pop up menu triggers?

[Tim Warren]

This is what I get when I use the following shortkeys (all the macros here are shortkeys, but the problem is the same with hotkeys):

##sh generates Harrodian
##sp generates St Paul’s
##sw generates Weydon

I've attached (I hope) a screenshot of the menu.  When I select from that menu, I get:

arrodian
t Paul’s
eydon

(text indented for readability)
The menu is configured as Windows Default style, Displaying under the Mouse.  The scope is Global, but the same problem appears when it’s program specific, etc.  I can of course give further info on the macros themselves if nec.

[Tim Warren]

And here's some more screenshots, hope they're useful

[acantor]

Everything looks right.

 

What happens if you change the Shortkey prefix from the default "##" to a single character, such as "#" or "," or "q"?

[Tim Warren]

Hi, acantor, I've tried:

• setting the prefix as '#' and 'xxx';
• using suffix keys (with the default setting);
• changing the menu activation from <ctrl><alt><shift><F9> to <F8>;
• resetting the activations of all the System Macros back to their defaults (years ago, I'd changed them to <win><ctrl><keypadx>, where x is . or 2-8, because I wanted to use <ctrl><alt><shift>s-z for other things);

...but the result is the same.

I think it was clear from what I wrote, but just in case:  I use other menus, both global and program specific, and get the same problem everywhere.

[acantor]

Everything looks okay. It's curious that the issue is systemic and not confined to one script. This suggests to me that something is amiss with your Macro Express installation, or that another application is conflicting with Macro Express.

 

You might try disabling other applications via Msconfig, one by one, in an effort to identify a background application that is interfering with Macro Express.

 

Alternatively, reset all Macro Express settings to their defaults, and retest. You can do this, screen by screen, in Preferences.

 

If that doesn't work, consider uninstalling Macro Express. Then reinstall it and retest.

 

If it still doesn't work, upgrade to the latest version of Macro Express (5 or 6 depending on your needs) and try again.

 

I hope you're able to solve this problem, as pop-ups are useful tool. I've used pop-up menus for years and have never seen such behaviour.

[Tim Warren]

12 hours ago, acantor said:

Everything looks okay. It's curious that the issue is systemic and not confined to one script. This suggests to me that something is amiss with your Macro Express installation, or that another application is conflicting with Macro Express.

 

You might try disabling other applications via Msconfig, one by one, in an effort to identify a background application that is interfering with Macro Express.

 

Alternatively, reset all Macro Express settings to their defaults, and retest. You can do this, screen by screen, in Preferences.

 

If that doesn't work, consider uninstalling Macro Express. Then reinstall it and retest.

 

If it still doesn't work, upgrade to the latest version of Macro Express (5 or 6 depending on your needs) and try again.

 

I hope you're able to solve this problem, as pop-ups are useful tool. I've used pop-up menus for years and have never seen such behaviour.

Will do - thanks very much for your help

[James534]

what happens if you put in pauses between each step ?

[Tim Warren]

On 1/28/2021 at 3:49 PM, James534 said:

what happens if you put in pauses between each step ?

I've just tried this, James...and it seems to work!  I started with Pauses, then a Timed Delay of 100 millisecs before the Text Type, and then reduced it all the way down to 1 millisec, and all of them appear to remove the problem. I'm not sure why that's necessary within Menus but not directly, but it seems to do the trick, and I can't tell you how pleased I am with that - thank you very much.

[terrypin]

Hi Tim,

 

Did you try making the very first command a Delay? Say:

 

Delay: 0.1 seconds

 

P.S. I think you're forgetting to crop your screenshots.

 

Terry

[Tim Warren]

1 hour ago, terrypin said:

Hi Tim,

 

Did you try making the very first command a Delay? Say:

 

Delay: 0.1 seconds

 

P.S. I think you're forgetting to crop your screenshots.

 

Terry

Hi, yes to both: (1) see my response to James' post - it worked, and (2) I thought my screenshots had been OK, but spotted they weren't too late - apologies, this is new to me, next time...

[acantor]

Is it necessary to "Lock" these macros? Do you still need to insert delays if you remove the Lock/Unlock statements?

[Tim Warren]

5 hours ago, acantor said:

Is it necessary to "Lock" these macros? Do you still need to insert delays if you remove the Lock/Unlock statements?

To be honest, I don't know what effect Locking & Unlocking has here. Most of my macros don't have Lock/Unlock statements, and I've no idea how they appeared in the very few that have them - wasn't me wot put 'em there, so I assume they much have been somehow system-generated. The problem still appears whether or not Lock/Unlock is in the macro (more accurately, used to appear, now that I know to put a tiny delay in).

[Tim Warren]

1 minute ago, Tim Warren said:

To be honest, I don't know what effect Locking & Unlocking has here. Most of my macros don't have Lock/Unlock statements, and I've no idea how they appeared in the very few that have them - wasn't me wot put 'em there, so I assume they must have been somehow system-generated. The problem still appears whether or not Lock/Unlock is in the macro (more accurately, used to appear, now that I know to put a tiny delay in).

 

[Samrae]

The Lock Player and Unlock Player commands are added when you load a macro created in Macro Express 3 into Macro Express Pro 4. There is a checkbox that asks if you want to add them. Lock Player is used to prevent another macro launching while the first macro is still running. This has been useful to me on rare occasions.

 

When you select an item in a popup menu a few things occur:

 1. The popup menu disappears

 2. The active window changes

 3. The typing (or whatever the macro does) begins.

 

It sounds like step 3 is starting before Windows finishes with steps 1 and 2. The amount of time to accomplish steps 1 and 2 can vary depending on the speed of your computer and what is running. The same macros on a different computer may behave differently.

 

[Tim Warren]

20 hours ago, Samrae said:

The Lock Player and Unlock Player commands are added when you load a macro created in Macro Express 3 into Macro Express Pro 4. There is a checkbox that asks if you want to add them. Lock Player is used to prevent another macro launching while the first macro is still running. This has been useful to me on rare occasions.

 

When you select an item in a popup menu a few things occur:

 1. The popup menu disappears

 2. The active window changes

 3. The typing (or whatever the macro does) begins.

 

It sounds like step 3 is starting before Windows finishes with steps 1 and 2. The amount of time to accomplish steps 1 and 2 can vary depending on the speed of your computer and what is running. The same macros on a different computer may behave differently.

 

Thanks, Samrae, that's useful to know

[acantor]

I'm glad to know that the problem was simple to repair – adding a short delay before "Text Type" commands. I hope you did not travel too far along the path of repair that I suggested in an earlier message!

 

If you were to configure Windows slightly differently, or run the same macro on a different computer, there may be no need for a delay; or you may need a longer delay.

 

Thank you for describing the problem and persisting until a solution was identified. I anticipate that I may experience the same problem at some point.

 

In Macro Express's Preferences, under "Playback" and "Delays" there are options to add delays between clipboard commands, and after executing "Window Activate." Perhaps there should be a third option: add a delay after choosing a command from a pop-up.

[Tim Warren]

12 hours ago, acantor said:

I'm glad to know that the problem was simple to repair – adding a short delay before "Text Type" commands. I hope you did not travel too far along the path of repair that I suggested in an earlier message!

 

If you were to configure Windows slightly differently, or run the same macro on a different computer, there may be no need for a delay; or you may need a longer delay.

 

Thank you for describing the problem and persisting until a solution was identified. I anticipate that I may experience the same problem at some point.

 

In Macro Express's Preferences, under "Playback" and "Delays" there are options to add delays between clipboard commands, and after executing "Window Activate." Perhaps there should be a third option: add a delay after choosing a command from a pop-up.

No, I'm relieved to say I hadn't even started on that route. Thanks to you, too, for helping (and indeed keeping an eye on progress)  🙂