Capture

Macro Express records macros by capturing mouse and keystrokes and saving this information for later playback as a macro.

Before starting the first recording, click on Options > Preferences > General - Capture tab from the Macro Express - Explorer window to define the capture settings as explained below.

1.Click on the Capture icon or Macro > Capture Macro from the menu
-- This method prompts to assign the macro activation before the recording.

2.Press the System Hot Key of Ctrl + Alt + Shift + X
-- This method prompts to assign the macro activation after the recording.

There are three ways to stop the recording, depending on which method chosen to start the capture.

3.Right click on the Camera icon in the Notification Area that displays while recording

The Global scope allows for the playback of the macro into any Windows program. The Program/Window scope indicates that the recorded macro will only start in the program or window selected. Or allow the macro to play back in all programs except the ones defined.

Some window menus do not always respond to a single press of the Alt key in a macro. This option records the Alt key twice to help ensure proper activation of the menu.

For example, to open the File menu in an application, press Alt + f during the capture. The macro script displays <ALT><ALT>f, even though the Alt key was only pressed once during the capture.

A check placed in this option records all mouse clicks and movements made during the capture process. There are several mouse options to choose from.

Relative to Screen - Captures all mouse clicks and movements in relation to the cursor's position on the monitor.

Relative to Window - Captures all mouse clicks and movements in relation to the application window that is open and has focus.

Relative to Last Position - Captures the mouse clicks or movements based on the last position of the mouse cursor.

This option is only available if Relative to Window is selected. It remembers the size of the window in which the capture occurs. When the macro plays back, the window is resized, if necessary, to the original size when the recording was made. This helps ensure that the mouse clicks and movements are accurate.

Select this option to only capture the mouse clicks, including the position of the mouse click. This option captures the position where the mouse is to click and also the mouse click itself. No other movements of the mouse are recorded.

Unless drawing or recording the mouse dragging an item, it is best to turn on this option. It reduces the size of the macro considerably and makes it much easier to edit if necessary. It also helps improve the playback speed of the macro, since all of the interim mouse move commands and associated delays are eliminated from the macro.

This option refers to how fast the macro plays back in relation to the recording speed.

Speed	Description
Actual Speed	Plays the macro back at the same speed as the macro was recorded. Any hesitations, etc. play back at the same speed as recorded.
Half Speed	Slows down the macro playback to half of the recording speed.
Double Speed	Speeds up the macro playback to twice the actual recording speed.
Quadruple Speed	Speeds up the macro playback to four times the actual recording speed.
Fastest Speed (no delays)	Plays back the macro with no hesitations, delays, etc. Remove the check next to the Capture at a Specific Speed box to eliminate delays from the macro. Caution: Selecting this option may cause the macro to play back too fast and throw off the timing of the macro.

After the capture is complete, optionally modify the playback speed of the macro in the Script Editor or Direct Editor. Use the Macro Playback Speed command to do this.

With this option selected, a message is displayed indicating that the capture is starting.