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Macro Express News
March 12, 2001 You have received this message because you are subscribed to the Macro Express News email list. To unsubscribe from this email list go to http://www.macros.com/esubs.htm, click on the unsubscribe link and follow the instructions. 1. New Release of Macro Express Macro Express version 2.1e has been released and is now available for download from our site at http://www.macros.com/download.htm. Changes include new options for the Activate Window commands and a new Mask Input option in the Variable Set String, Variable Set Integer and Variable Set Decimal commands. A list of enhancements and bug fixes for this version can be found at http://www.macros.com/rev2_1e.htm. 2. Activate Window commands Microsoft has changed Windows to restrict when a program, like Macro Express, can set another program to become the foreground window. This can cause a macro containing an Activate Window command to not work. A symptom of this problem is when, as a result of an Activate Window command, the program doesn't activate and the task bar icon blinks until the user clicks on it. One reason Microsoft made this change is to prevent one program from popping up in the middle of entering input into another program. Macro Express v 2.1d included changes to the Activate Window commands to allow the Activate Window commands to work more reliably. We had several reports that these changes caused some existing macros to stop functioning. To correct this, the "improvements" to the Activate Window commands are now selectable using two new options accessible at Options | Settings | Macro Express Player. Activate Window Send Hotkey The keystroke sent to Macro Express is hidden. However, the keystroke can cause the activated program to react differently than expected. For example, when you activate a program with the "Activate Window Send Hotkey" option off, the activated program may have a specific field highlighted. With this option on, the field in that program may no longer be highlighted when the program is activated. Activate Window Attach Thread Input Macro Express sets these options to the best settings for your operating system. Normally, you will not need to change them. However, if you are having trouble with the Activate Window commands you may want to try turning these options on or off. 3. User Submitted Macros Mark Bender has submitted a macro that demonstrates how to use Macro Express and your internet connection to look up the definition of a word. Read more about Mark's macro here: http://www.macros.com/usermacs/umdefineword.htm. Mark wins a free T-shirt for his contribution. Correction: An incorrect link to Floyd Watergil's macro submission was included in the last issue of Macro Express News. The correct link is http://www.macros.com/usermacs/umpgmfunctions.htm. We apologize to Floyd for this error. You can view all user submitted macros at http://www.macros.com/share.htm#User. 4. Macro Express Tip: Copy only newer files by calling the DOS XCopy command We recently were asked if the Copy File or Files command had an option to copy only files that were newer. The answer is "not yet". However, you can use XCOPY to do advanced copy commands. XCopy is one of the DOS commands that are installed when Windows is installed. It may be in different directories on different versions of Windows. For example, on Windows 9x it is in c:\windows\command\xcopy.exe and on Windows 2000 it is in c:\win2000\system32\xcopy.exe. This example shows how to run XCOPY from Macro Express. Create a macro and place the "Program Launch" macro command in it like this: Launch Program Only is checked Program Path/Name: c:\windows\commands\xcopy.exe Run: Normal Program Parameters: /D d:\testfiles\*.* e:\testfiles\*.* Windows opens up a command prompt window and runs XCopy. The first time you run this Windows won't close the command prompt window. When this occurs just click on the icon in the upper left corner, click properties and then put a check in the "Close Program on Exit" checkbox. Or, if you want, you can have Macro Express automatically close the command prompt window
by adding these commands to your macro. This is a great way to use the advanced commands in XCopy. You may also want to use this technique to run other DOS commands like Attrib, Fc and Label. 5. Comments and Suggestions We appreciate customer feedback. Let us know what you like and dislike about Macro Express. Send questions, comments and suggestions to info@wintools.com. Thank you for your continued support of Macro Express. Insight Software Solutions: http://www.wintools.com
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