subject: KEYSTROKE MACROS OVERVIEW purpose: A macro is a stored sequence of keystrokes. Once you have defined a macro you can invoke or "replay" the macro at any time. discussion: If you find yourself typing the same set of keystrokes again and again, you probably want to define a macro. PC-Type II memorizes your keystrokes as you define the macro. Macros can be used for any PC-Type II process. You can even have the macro pause while you enter some unique set of keystrokes, and then continue on when you are done. Once a macro has been defined, you can define a special keystroke for that macro, give it a name, and save it in a file. You can define up to 25 different macros per macro file and can have unlimited macro files. Keystrokes reserved for macros are Alt A through Alt Z (with the exception of Alt Y). A macro can call other macros, or can even call itself. If it calls itself, it is called a recursive macro. A macro cannot reference a macro in a different .MAC (macro) file. Once a macro is defined, you can invoke the macro whenever necessary. If an error message is issued either during the creation of a macro, or during the replay of a macro, the definition or replay will be stopped. This can be particularly useful for automatically stopping a recursive macro when it reaches the bottom of a file. You can change the name of a macro, delete a macro, modify the keystrokes stored in a macro, and reassign the macro key. Keystroke macros cannot be used when viewing a graph created with the Graph command, with the DOS command, or outside of PC-Type II. When you quit PC-Type II, the macro will stop running. You can, however, execute a macro automatically when you start PC-Type II. This allows you to have PC-Type II perform a series of keystrokes each time you start the program. (See the section Starting PC-Type II on page 45.) NOTE: Try to keep macros general by keeping them independent of the configuration toggle settings. For example, use Ctrl I to insert a new line instead of Enter since one Enter mode does not insert new lines. 189 subject: KEYSTROKE MACRO DEFINITION purpose: The macro definition process memorizes a set of keystrokes and saves them in a buffer. discussion: While PC-Type II memorizes your keystrokes, a Y will flash in the double line at the top left of your screen to remind you that a macro definition is in progress. There are three steps for defining a macro. (1) Start defining the macro by pressing Alt Y. Alternatively, you can begin defining the macro by pressing 0 from the Keystroke Macros menu shown below. This menu appears by pressing the (M)acro option in the Main Menu. 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴커 쿖eystroke Macros: � 팠袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴孤 � Y Save the Y macro � � 0 Begin new macro � � C clean up dir file � � P place . in filespec� � 1 EXIT � 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴켸 NOTE: If no macro existed in the temporary buffer, the line "Save the Y macro" would be shown. When a macro definition is completed it is saved in a temporary buffer until it is assigned its own keystroke. If you initiate the definition of a new macro while a previously defined macro still resides in that temporary buffer, then the message shown below will be displayed. 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴커 쿜uestion: � 팠袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴孤 � � 쿎urrent Y macro will be lost. Okay?� 쿛ress Y or N � � � 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴켸 If you answer N, then the initiation of a new macro is cancelled. At this point you could permanently save the temporary macro by going to the Keystroke Macro menu shown above, and pressing Y to "Save the Y macro". If you answer Y, then the macro in the temporary buffer is erased, and the new definition proceeds. When the new macro is initiated, a Y will flash in the double line in the status area of your screen. 190 (2) Type the text, commands, menu options, etc. which you want stored in the macro. These keystrokes can include other macros which have already been defined. Special macro keystrokes: Ctrl F7 - Cancels the macro definition. If you make a mistake when defining a macro, you can abort the macro definition by pressing Ctrl F7 and start over, or you can continue the macro definition and later modify the macro to remove any unwanted keystrokes. Ctrl K - Temporarily suspends the macro definition allowing you to make keystrokes which will not be remembered. The definition will resume as soon as you press the Enter key. When you press Ctrl K, a K will begin flashing next to the Y on the double line at the top left of your screen. After you press Enter, the K will stop flashing. When you run the finished macro, PC-Type II will process all keystrokes up to the Ctrl K and suspend the macro until you press the Enter key, and then continue with the remainder of the macro sequence. Ctrl Ins - Forces the Insert/Overwrite mode to Insert. For macros to be generalized, you must account for the state of PC-Type II when the macro begins. For example, it is often useful to press the Home key before beginning a macro to be sure you are at the left margin. Ctrl Ins will insure that the Insert/Overwrite state of PC-Type II is Insert. Should you want to make sure that the state was Overwrite, then press Ctrl Ins followed by just Ins at the beginning of your macro. 191 (3) Stop the macro definition by pressing Alt Y (or Ctrl Ctrl Y). Normally you stop the macro definition by pressing Alt Y. If you press Ctrl Y, then the macro is recursive, that is, when it is run, it will repeat itself when it has finished all its memorized keystrokes. After pressing Alt Y or Ctrl Y, the question below will be asked. 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� 쿜uestion: � 팠袴袴袴袴袴袴袴� � � 쿞ave macro now?� 쿛ress Y or N � � � 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� NOTE: If a menu is displayed when you stop the macro definition, you will not be asked if you want to "Save macro now?". If you answer N, the macro will only be available during the current PC-Type II session. When you leave PC-Type II, the macro will be lost. The macro will also be lost if you define another macro in the current session. Of course you can make the Y macro permanent before defining another macro or quitting PC-Type II. If you answer Y, you will be asked: Press key to be used to start new macro: A through Z (except Y) acceptable. Y cannot be used because Y is used to start and stop macro definitions. If the key you select has already been assigned to another macro, PC-Type II gives you the option of overwriting the existing macro, or selecting a different key. Enter descriptive word(s) for the macro At this point you can enter a name for the macro you defined which will help you remember what the macro does. These names are displayed in the Keystroke Macros menu. In the Keystroke Macros menu displayed on page 196, for one macro the letter 'C' was selected and the name provided for it was "clean up dir file". This macro is run by pressing Alt C. 192 subject: RUNNING MACROS general: (1) When a macro is run, PC-Type II displays a flashing M in the upper left corner of your screen. When the macro is finished, the flashing M will disappear. (2) If you entered a Ctrl K in your macro, when the macro gets to that stroke, the cursor will change to a rectangle at the top of the character, and a K will flash next to the M cited above. You can type any keystrokes you want in this mode. After you press the Enter key to finish your entry, the K will disappear and the macro will continue. (3) If you need to stop the macro, press Ctrl F7. (Esc will also work under most conditions, but not when the K is flashing.) (4) The macro will stop when it has processed all its keystrokes, if an error condition is encountered, or if an attempt is made to move the cursor before the beginning or after the end of the file. Y macro: Once a macro has been defined and left in the macro buffer, (i.e., not assigned a keystroke and not assigned a name), it can be run by pressing Ctrl Y. Assigned Macro: Once you have defined a letter key and a name to a macro, it is no longer kept in the Y macro buffer. These macros can be started in one of two ways. (1) Hold down the Alt key and press the letter key under which the macro was saved. For example, hold down the Alt key and press C. (2) Go the Keystroke Macros menu by selecting the (M)acros option in the Main Menu. Then press the letter to which the 땘acro was assigned. This will cause a menu like the one shown below to be displayed. 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴커 � C clean up dir file� 팠袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴孤 � (C)hange name � � (D)elete � � (E)xecute � � (M)odify � � (R)eassign � � e(X)it � 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴켸 Select the (E)xecute option by pressing E. (The heading in this menu displays the macro you selected.) 193 subject: MODIFYING MACROS purpose: Once a macro has been defined, given a keystroke and a name, the keystroke, the name, and the macro itself can be changed. It can also be deleted. discussion: Go the Keystroke Macros menu, (select the (M)acros option in the Main Menu), and press the letter to which the macro was assigned. 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴커 쿖eystroke Macros: � 팠袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴孤 � Y Save Y macro � � 0 Begin new macro � � C clean up dir file � � P place . in filespec� � 1 EXIT � 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴켸 In the sample Keystroke Macros menu above, C was pressed, causing the menu below to be displayed. 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴커 � C clean up dir file� 팠袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴袴孤 � (C)hange name � � (D)elete � � (E)xecute � � (M)odify � � (R)eassign � � e(X)it � 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴켸 Except for the (E)xecute and (D)elete options, you will return to this menu when you have finished the selected option. Press X or Esc to exit the keystroke macro menus. The macro options available are: (C)hange name - modify the name. (D)elete - remove the macro after confirmation. (E)xecute - run the macro. (M)odify - edit/change the keystrokes in the macro. (R)eassign - change the key assigned to the macro. NOTE: If you change the key assigned to a macro which is called by other macros, those calls will not be modified. Except for the Execute option, these changes will not be made permanent until you save the macros to a disk file using the (F)ile handling option of the Configuration Menu. NOTE: The Y macro buffer cannot be modified until it has been assigned a key and a name. 194 subject: EDITING MACROS purpose: The keystrokes defined in a macro can be modified without having to go through the steps of memorizing keystrokes all over again. discussion: To modify a macro, select the (M)odify option of the second menu displayed on the preceding page. The keystrokes in the macro are displayed where the Command Line is located. Letters, numbers and punctuation will be displayed as typed. Cursor keys, Enter, function keys, Ctrl and Alt key combinations, etc., are assigned codes. The code characters are surrounded with { and }. Inside {} is the key code. These codes are: {Fx} - Function key where x is the function key number. F10 would look like {F10}. {Cx} - generally means Ctrl x where x is the designated key. Ctrl B would look like {CB}. {Ax} - means Alt x where x is the designated key. Alt 1 would look like {A1}. {Sx} - means Shift x where x is the designated key. Shift F10 would look like {SF10}. (This code only works for Function keys and the Tab key.) Other key codes you need to know are: {EOM} - End of macro {ESC} - Esc key {BS} - Backspace {DEL} - Del key {DOWN} - down arrow {CDOWN} - Ctrl down arrow {END} - End key {CEND} - Ctrl End key {ENTER} - Enter key {CENTER} - Ctrl Enter key {HOME} - Home key {CHOME} - Ctrl Home key {INS} - Ins key {CINS} - Ctrl Ins key {LEFT} - left arrow {CLEFT} - Ctrl left arrow {PGDN} - PgDn key {CPGDN} - Ctrl PgDn key {PGUP} - PgUp key {CPGUP} - Ctrl PgUp key {RIGHT} - right arrow {CRIGHT} - Ctrl right arrow {UP} - up arrow {CUP} - Ctrl up arrow {C\} - Ctrl Backslash {C_} - Ctrl underscore {T} - Tab {ST} - Shift Tab key Example: The macro below was created to close a letter with a blank line, then type the string "Sincerely,", three blank lines, and the name "Dick". {CI}{CI}{HOME}Sincerely,{CI}{CI}{CI}{CI}{HOME}Dick{EOM} NOTE: When you edit a macro, it should end with {EOM}, (end of macro), so that spaces at the end will not be lost. 195 subject: SAVING KEYSTROKE MACROS purpose: In order to use a defined macro in another PC-Type II session, it must be saved to disk. Y macro: If the defined macro is still in the temporary buffer, (called the Y macro), then it must first be assigned a keystroke before it can be saved to disk. This is accomplished by: (1) accessing the Keystroke Macro Menu (select the (M)acros option from the Main Menu). (2) selecting the Save the Y macro option by pressing Y. (3) assigning a key to the macro and giving the macro a name as discussed on page 198. Macros to disk: Macros which have been assigned keystrokes and given names, can be used by holding down the Alt key and pressing the key assigned to the macro. However, they must be saved to disk in a .MAC file to be available for other PC-Type II sessions. To save a set of macros to disk, select the (F)ile handling option in the Configuration Menu. Press 3 (Macro file to disk), and you will be asked to enter a path and a filename for the set of macros. (PC-Type II will assign the file extension .MAC automatically.) .MAC format: A .MAC file is an ASCII file and can be edited. In the ensuing discussion, refer to the example below. The first line of a .MAC file is a header line which specifies the number of Keystroke macros in the file. Following the header line is the first macro. Its assigned key is in parentheses followed by the macro name. Finally, each keystroke in the macro is given. NOTE: Since macro names can be 25 characters long, at least 25 character positions should be left between the beginning of the macro name and the beginning of the macro keystroke description. Many macros require more than one line. Each line of a keystroke definition must begin with a \ character. If the line ends with a \ character it implies another line of keystrokes for the same macro follows. The macro should end with the {EOM} (end of macro) code. (See Editing Macros for a definition of the keystroke codes). example: PC-Type II Macros 2 (C) clean up dir file \{CPGUP}{F5}{F5}{F5}{F5}\ \{CPGDN}{F5}{END}{EOM} 196 subject: LOADING .MAC FILES purpose: You can save macros in numerous .MAC files. To be able to execute macros saved in these files, they must be loaded into PC-Type II. discussion: Macros can be loaded from disk into PC-Type II in 3 ways: (1) By reference in the .PRO file loaded at the start of a session or during a session. (See the section Configuration Files on page 108.) (2) Loaded directly from the (F)ile Handling option in the Configuration Menu. (See the section Configuration Files on page 118.) (3) As a command line option when PC-Type II is started from DOS. In this option, even if the .PRO file loaded contains a reference to a macro file, the command line option will override that reference and load the macro file specified. (See Command Line Options in the section Starting PC-Type II.) When a different set of macros is loaded, the previous set is no longer available for use until it is reloaded. 197 subject: MACRO HINTS purpose: By following certain conventions, macros can be made more general and useful. discussion: As a general rule, always try to define a macro in such a way as to be independent of specific PC-Type II states. It is safer to begin macros from either the text area or from the Command Line. If a macro is started from a menu, you must insure that you are in that same menu before starting the macro for it to work properly. If you want a macro to always begin in the text area, you should begin it with a keystroke, or combination of keystrokes to guarantee that it is in the text area, such as Ctrl Home or the down arrow followed by the up arrow. If you want a macro to always begin on the Command Line, do the same as above and followed by Esc. It is useful to begin a macro with the Home key to insure the cursor is positioned at the left margin of the text or the home position of the Command Line. It is a good practice to insure that the Insert/Overwrite state is always in the same condition when defining a macro. Ctrl Ins insures that it is in the Insert state. Ctrl Ins followed by Ins insures that it is in the Overwrite State. Insure that no highlighting exists when you begin a macro which highlights text areas. Begin such macros with Ctrl U. Use F10 when possible to execute commands. It is very powerful when used in conjunction with recursive macros. Finally, give the macros meaningful names when you save them. It is easy to forget what function a macro performs, and long macros are not easy to read. NOTE: .MAC files are ASCII files and can be edited. We recommend, however, that you modify your macro files inside PC-Type II. Errors are far less likely to occur. 198