Overview

After starting Macro Scheduler a 'cog wheel' icon is placed in the task bar notification area.

Macro Scheduler's main window can be invoked either by double clicking on the task bar icon, or by right clicking and selecting 'Settings' from the pop up menu.

To create a new macro click 'New'.

To edit an existing macro, highlight it in the list and then click 'Edit'.

Click here for help on creating and editing macros.

To delete a macro, highlight the macro to be deleted and click 'Delete'.

To run a macro immediately, select the macro and click on 'Run Now'.  Macros can also be run from the command line.   See Running Macros From the Command Line for more information.

Click on Record to start recording a macro.  For more information about recording macros see Recording Macros.

Click 'OK' to hide the Macro Scheduler window.

To exit Macro Scheduler altogether click 'Quit'.


Creating Macros
Creating and Editing Macros

The macro editing window is invoked from the main Macro Scheduler window either by selecting 'New' or by selecting an existing macro and clicking on 'Edit'.

In the example here the 'Defragment Disk' macro was selected and is being edited.  It is not possible to change the name of a macro once it has been created, which is why the macro name appears grayed out.   When creating a new macro all the fields will be blank.

To create the script choose the script command from the 'Command' drop down list box.  If a value is needed for the chosen command it should be typed into the 'Value' box.  If you forget to enter a value the program will remind you that one is needed.  To add the selected command to the end of the script press 'Add'.  If you want to insert a command above an existing one, highlight the line in the script that you want your new command inserted above and click on 'Insert'.

To delete a line from the script, select the line to be deleted and click 'Delete'.

This method of selecting commands from the list to build your script helps to ensure that no mistakes are made and is great for small scripts or for the new user.  However, when working with long scripts it is often easier to use the integrated editor.  This is invoked simply be clicking 'Open In Editor'.  See 'Using The Editor' below for more information

The 'Import' button allows you to load an existing text or script file into Macro Scheduler.  The imported script will REPLACE anything already entered for this macro.

Click 'OK' to save the macro and close the form.

To cancel without saving changes click 'Cancel'.

The 'Run When' tab of this form displays the options for scheduling the macro.  For more information please refer to 'Scheduling Macros'.   See the section 'Logging and Encryption' for details about the other settings.

Using The Editor

With the editor, commands can be typed out freely, but for guidance there is still the option of selecting commands from a drop down list, which appears on the panel at the top of the editor.

The usual cut, paste, and copy commands are available and can be performed using the tool buttons or using the common Windows hot keys (CTRL-C, CTRL-V, CTRL-X).  The script can be printed by clicking on the printer button.  This will display the printer dialog so that the desired printer can be selected.   To close the editor click on the door button.   Changes to the script will appear in the list box on the macro settings form.


Script Commands

The following table shows a list of commands which require a parameter or value to be entered :

Command	Description	Value Required
Run Program	Runs a program/command	Command line to run
Macro	Runs a pre-recorded macro	Pre-recorded macro to run
Change Directory	Changes directory	Directory to change to
Wait	Waits given seconds	Seconds to wait
Send Character/Text	Sends given text	text to send
WaitWindowOpen	Waits for given window	title text of window
WaitWindowClosed	Waits for window to close	title text of window
Setfocus	Sets focus to specified window	title text of window
Label	Inserts a label in the script for branching control to	value will do any
Goto	Branch to the specified label	a label value
IfWindowOpen	Moves to specified label if given window is present	Window title and label in the format window,label
Message	Displays a message	Message text to display
DeleteFile	Deletes a file	The file to delete
CopyFile	Copies a file	Source File and Destination in format Source,Destination
MoveFile	Moves a file	Source File and Destination in format Source,Destination

The Wait command is quite important.  Imagine starting your word processor.  It takes a few seconds (sometimes longer!) between starting the program and it being ready for your input.  The Wait command can be used to make sure that Macro Scheduler does not start sending the next command before the receiving program is ready.  The time you should specify really depends on your computer and what is running at the time.  The only way of knowing exactly what to enter is by trial and error.  Go through the motions manually before building the script and note roughly how long everything takes.

If you want to be clever you could use the IfWindowOpen command along with Label and Goto to check in a loop if your program has started.  When it is found the loop can be jumped out of.

Be careful though, the Goto and Label statements can provide an excellent way to get stuck in an endless loop !

The list below contains the special key press commands which do not need a value.

Notice that for some keys there is a Release command. This is to cater for situations where these keys are used with other keys, particularly when using 'Hot Keys'.

For example to exit a program you would press ALT and F together to activate the File menu, followed by the X key to select the Exit option.  To simulate this in a script you would Press ALT, then send the text FX and finally Release ALT.  This would appear in the script window as :

Press ALT

Send Character/Text>FX

Release ALT

Be careful to make sure that if one of these keys is pressed you always release it again, otherwise you may find that everything you type after running the script is being interpreted as though you were holding one of these keys down while you type !!  Pressing Esc usually clears this anyway !!

Press Backspace

Press Tab

Press Enter

Press Esc

Press F1

Press F2

Press F3

Press F4

Press F5

Press F6

Press F7

Press F8

Press F9

Press F10

Press F11

Press F12

Press Home

Press End

Press Up

Press Down

Press Left

Press Right

Press Page Up

Press Page Down

Press Ins

Press Del

Press Shift

Release Shift

Press CTRL

Release CTRL

Press ALT

Release ALT


Recording Macros

Macro Scheduler can record your keyboard and mouse actions.

To start recording a macro click the Record button on the main Macro Scheduler window.

You will be asked to give the macro a name and on continuing, recording will commence.

The Record button changes to a Stop button.  Click Stop to stop recording.  The macro will then appear in the macro list.

To play back a pre-recorded macro, select it and click Run Now, in the same manner you would for a normal macro.

To schedule a macro that has been recorded create an ordinary script and use the Macro command to run your pre-recorded macro.  See the section Script Commands for more information.


Running Macros From the Command Line

A new feature in this release of Macro Scheduler is the ability to pass a macro name as a command line parameter to Macro Scheduler.

The syntax would be :

msched macroname

If the macro specified exists it will be invoked and Macro Scheduler will exit.  An error will be displayed if the value passed to Macro Scheduler is not a valid macro name.

Running macros like this has a number of uses.  For example, a shortcut icon can be placed on the desktop or in the start menu to fire off one of your macros.   This also makes it easy to run macros from within other programs or batch files, or from within Word macros for example.


Registering Macro Scheduler

Why Register ?

The License Agreement specifies that you can use Macro Scheduler freely for evaluation purposes only for 30 days.  After that time you must register it.

As well as legalising your copy of Macro Scheduler, registering will bring you the following benefits :

Limitations will be lifted (Until the program is registered there is a limit of two macros and scripts are limited to 15 lines).

Technical Support

Free updates

How much does it cost ?

The cost of registering one copy of Macro Scheduler is :

40 USD

Are there any multi-user licenses ?

Yes, the following table outlines the current licensing options available and their costs :

License	Price (USD)
5	150
10	260
25	600
50	1000
100	1400
500	4000
1000	6000

How do I register ?

Registration can be carried out on-line at www.shareit.com

Shareit accept all major credit cards and can also accept payment by post and money transfers.

To register, point your browser at www.shareit.com and enter 100312 in the register program text box.  This will take you to the Macro Scheduler page from where you can complete the registration form.

After completing the registration form on line you will be emailed a username and a registration key.  From the about box click on 'Register' and enter your username and registration key.  The limitations will then be lifted and you can have as many macros as you like and much bigger scripts.


License Agreement

Macro Scheduler is Copyright (C) 1997, Marcus Tettmar

All rights for this software are reserved by the author.

You are not allowed to modify or reverse engineer the contents of the program file.

Macro Scheduler is Shareware. That means you can use it free of charge only for 30 days to evaluate the product.  After that, you must either register your copy by paying a small license fee to the author, or stop using it.

This software cannot be resold or used in any profit-generating activities, including, but not limited to, distributing Macro Scheduler as part of commercial products, or in support of commercial services, without the authors expressed written permission.

There is no warranty or claim of fitness or reliability. The program is distributed AS IS, and the author shall not be held liable for any loss of data, down time, loss of revenue or any other direct or indirect damage or claims caused by this software.

Copyright © 1997 Marcus Tettmar, all rights reserved


Getting Support

If you are a registered user you can get support by emailing me at :

msched-sup@mjtnet.demon.co.uk

Please also send bug reports, comments and suggestions to this address.

For hints and tips have a look at the Scripts & Tips page at :

http://mjtnet.simplenet.com/scripts.html

Keep an eye on the MJTNET Software web site for new product announcements and information:

http://mjtnet.simplenet.com/


Scheduling Macros

To schedule a macro, select the desired macro from the list and click 'Edit'.

In the Macro window choose the 'Run When' tab to display the scheduling options.

Select the days on which you want the macro to run and the time.  If required you can specify a frequency for repeating the macro.  To execute the macro on a monthly basis check the box in the 'Monthly' section and enter the month date.   If a particular day is selected as well as a month date, the macro will run on the days chosen and also on the selected day of the month.

When a 'Repeat Every' value of more than zero is specified, Macro Scheduler will advance the run time by that number of minutes after the macro has been executed.  In this way the macro will repeat at the specified frequency.


Logging and Encryption

Logging

The progress of macro execution can be logged to a file.  It is possible to set different logging options for different macros.  The logging options are selected from the Macro Editing Window.

To enable logging for the selected macro check the box marked 'Log Progress of Macro'.

A new log file can be entered or an existing one selected by using the Browse facility.   Selecting the second check box will cause the log file to be emptied before the macro is started.  To append the logged events to the end of an existing file leave this box unchecked.

Encryption

Script files can be encrypted to secure their contents.  This is useful for scripts that send passwords to other applications for example.

To encrypt the selected macro, simply check 'Encrypt This Macro' and enter a password.  The password must be entered twice to ensure that it is entered correctly.   This password will then be used to edit the script.

When an encrypted macro is selected from the main macro list for editing, the user will be presented with a dialog requesting the password.