Editing the Temporary Macro

To edit the current temporary macro

  1. Select the Macro command from the Edit menu and then select the Edit Temp Macro command from the submenu that is displayed.

    The Keystroke Macro Editor dialog, shown in the following image, is then displayed with the current temporary macro in the macro editor pane at the left of the dialog.

  2. If the current macro is the temporary macro, select the Save as command from the editor pane context menu or click the Save As button, to display the Save Persistent Keystroke Macro dialog, which enables you to specify the name that you require for the persistent macro.

    Conversely, if you have edited an existing persistent macro, select the Save command from the editor pane context menu or click the Save button, to update the macro.

    When you have saved the temporary macro as a persistent macro, it is displayed in the Saved Macros list box, as shown in the following image.

    The Saved Macros list box is displayed only when you perform one of the following actions.

    • Select the Save as command from the editor pane context menu

    • Click the Save As button

    • Click the Edit button on the Keystroke Macro Editor dialog that is displayed when you select the Library command from the Macro submenu

    The middle pane (the editor pane) shows the macro text for the selected macro. Syntax highlighting, using your current user preference colors, indicates correct lines. The color of:

    • Keywords (blue, by default) is used for the command words and command option words

    • Numeric literals (red, by default) is used for digits

    • String literals (red, by default) is used for quoted text

    • Comments (gray, by default) is used for comment lines

    • Identifiers (black, by default) is used for unrecognized or invalid text

    You cannot save or play a macro that has errors. A save attempt is refused and the first unrecognized or invalid line is displayed as selected text.

    The Available Commands list box displays the commands that you can add to the macro. These commands include a list of all possible parameters, where appropriate. Command parameters enclosed in square brackets are optional. Optional parameters separated by vertical bars are mutually exclusive. For details, see "Keystroke Macro Language", later in this chapter.

  3. If you want to insert a command into the macro, perform one of the following actions in the Available Commands list box.

    • Double-click on the command.

    • Right-click on the command and then select the Insert in macro command.

    • Select the command and then press Enter or the space bar.

    The command is then inserted in the macro at the caret position.

  4. Click on an entry in the Saved Macros list box to display another persistent macro.

    If the existing macro has unsaved changes, a confirmation dialog is displayed, asking whether to save or discard the changes.

  5. When the Saved Macros list box has focus, perform one of the following actions to play the selected macro and then close the Keystroke Macro Editor dialog.

    • Click the Play button.

    • Right-click and then select the Play command from the popup menu.

    • Press Enter or the space bar.

Popup menus in the Macro Text pane and the Saved Macros list box provide the commands listed in the following table in addition to the standard edit actions available in the Macro Text pane (for example, copy and undo actions).

Command Description
Play Plays the selected macro and then closes the dialog.
Save Saves the changes to the selected macro.
Save as Displays the Save Persistent Keystroke Macro dialog, enabling you to specify the name that you require for the persistent macro.
Save&Play Saves the selected macro, plays it, and then closes the Keystroke Macro Editor dialog.
Edit Displays the selected macro in the Macro Text pane.
Delete Deletes the selected macro. (A confirmation dialog is displayed.)
Copy to temp Copies the contents of the selected macro so that you can save it as the current temporary macro.
Export All Writes all saved persistent macros to the file specified in the common Save As dialog.
Export Selected Writes the selected persistent macro to the file specified in the common Save As dialog.
Import All Displays the common Open dialog to enable you to select the file of exported macros you want to import, updates macros with existing names, and adds new macros.
Import New Displays the common Open dialog, to enable you to select a file containing exported macros, adds the macros that do not already exist, and ignores the rest (for example, if you want to import a macro from another user and retain your own macros).