Marcus' Macro Blog

How long does xyz take?

Marcus Tettmar — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:14:59 +0000

Need to measure how long a process or a set of commands in your script takes?

We used to have to do this with VBScript’s Timer function. As of v13 Macro Scheduler has it’s own Timer function.

Timer>result

Returns the number of milliseconds that have elapsed since the script was started.

So let’s say we want to measure how long a script takes to run. We could use Timer at the top of the script to get the current milliseconds value, then again at the end and take one from the other to get the elapsed duration in milliseconds:

Timer>startTime
..
.. some code here
..
Timer>endTime
Let>elapsed_seconds={(%endTime%-%startTime%)/1000}
MessageModal>Seconds Elapsed: %elapsed_seconds%

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WebRecorder 3.0 – Faster, More Reliable, More Functions

Marcus Tettmar — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 23:04:42 +0000

We have today released WebRecorder 3.0.

This is a major rewrite with a better recording engine capable of recording more tags and producing leaner, cleaner, code and a faster and more reliable runtime.

It also introduces a download manager so that file downloads can be recorded and scripted more easily without recourse to sending keystrokes to IE’s standard file download box.

We’ve improved the existing commands so that you can script more tags and use more attributes and added new functions for retrieving data, retrieving the screen position of elements and interfacing with the new native IE functions in Macro Scheduler 13.1.

Oh, and you no longer need to use the mouse to record clicks and form fills!

Cleaner, leaner, faster code.
More reliable method for waiting for documents to complete loading
Download manager for scripting file downloads
Better error trapping
Ability to set timeout for Clicks and Form Fills etc
Click and Form fill functions will wait until target tags exist (within timeout)
New functions for extracting data
New function to get X,Y screen position of elements
No need to use the mouse to identify recorded elements
New, improved UI look and feel
Runtime component integrates better with Macro Scheduler’s script controller (faster termination, less liable to hang ups when aborting scripts etc)
Interface easily with Macro Scheduler’s IEGetTags and IETagEvent function
New script function for waiting for text in the page before continuing
Functions to automatically set extracted tag buffer size and avoid buffer overruns

More information on WebRecorder here. WebRecorder 3.0 scripts require Macro Scheduler 13.1 to run.

Enterprise customers with in-date maintenance can already download WebRecorder 3.0 from the registered download area.

Other customers can view upgrade options in their registered download account, or download a trial version here.

Trial Downloads | Registered Downloads | Upgrades

Macro Scheduler 13.1 Update

Marcus Tettmar — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 18:33:54 +0000

Macro Scheduler maintenance release 13.1 is now available for download.

Added: IEGetTags function – get an array of tags from a given internet explorer document
Added: IETagEvent function – click/focus/set value of a given internet explorer document tag
Added: Ready for WebRecorder 3.0
Fixed: LibFunc not handling {“..”} parms correctly
Fixed: Very rare failures of CopyFile, MoveFile, DeleteFile, RenameFile
Fixed: msGetTextPos does not return anything if nothing found
Fixed: Timer being reset in OnEvent subroutines
Fixed: Label2Var unable to assign to existing variables
Fixed: Macro Properties/Standalone Editor not saving form position correctly

Registered Downloads/Upgrades | Evaluation Downloads | New License Sales

Vote for Your Favourite Macro Scheduler Story

Marcus Tettmar — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 10:29:12 +0000

Voting for our Kindle Fire contest is now open.

We’ve had a bunch of great entries. Some great uses of Macro Scheduler revealed such as automating game play, monitoring a global network of routers and DHCP servers, automating the production of medical reports at a Childrens’ Hospital, monitoring and reacting to stock movements, audio file retrieval, and all kinds of automated data entry.

Please check out the entries and vote for your favourite and share it with your friends. If you have entered yourself share it on your wall and ask your friends to vote.

Voting is open until 29th Feb and the winner will be announced first week of March.

Two Days Left to Enter to Win a Kindle Fire

Marcus Tettmar — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 21:33:02 +0000

Our Kindle Fire contest closes for entries on Sunday 15th January.

So if you haven’t already, submit your entry now before voting commences.

Macro Scheduler 13.0.05 Update

Marcus Tettmar — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 11:25:59 +0000

Macro Scheduler maintenance release 13.0.05 is now available for download.

Added: CF_RESULT / CF_RESULT_CODE to DeleteFile, CopyFile, MoveFile, RenameFile
Added: Show Animations for DeleteFile, CopyFile, MoveFile, RenameFile by setting CF_ANIMATE=1
Fixed: Editor incorrectly saving size/height/position/font settings in MSched12 hive
Fixed: FindImagePos scanning entire screen even if WINDOW: specified
Fixed: DirectoryExists returning true for non-existant UNC paths
Fixed: _WRITE_LOG_FILE setting being ignored in OnEvent handler subroutines
Fixed: hot key incorrectly reporting script is in use for some macros
Fixed: Some help file fixes

Registered Downloads/Upgrades | Evaluation Downloads | New License Sales

Happy New Year!

Marcus Tettmar — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 12:30:22 +0000

Today is the first working day of 2012 here in the UK. It should be a positive day but the weather is doing its best to put people in a bad mood, with torrential rain and gale force winds across the country disrupting commuters and generally causing havoc.

The office Christmas decs have been taken down and Gearhead has removed his santa hat.

But we’re looking up! And looking forward to the 15th year of Macro Scheduler. Isn’t that amazing? Still pushing the boundaries, and still boosting productivity throughout the world.

So Happy New Year to you all, and thanks for being there!

Don’t forget that our Kindle Fire competition is still open to entries. We’re accepting entries until 15th January when voting will commence. Just tell us how Macro Scheduler helps (or would help) you and you could win the fantastic Amazon Kindle Fire Android Tablet (or vouchers of equivalent value).

Christmas Promo Reminders

Marcus Tettmar — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 12:38:59 +0000

Win a Kindle Fire (or $199 Amazon Vouchers)
Don’t forget about your chance to win an Amazon Kindle Fire running android, or vouchers of equivalent value. There are a few entries so far. There is still time to add yours. The closing date for submissions is 15th January when voting will commence. Enter here.

Get Macro Scheduler Lite Free with every Std, Pro or Enterprise Order
Until the end of December we’re giving away a copy of Macro Scheduler Lite with every new order of Macro Scheduler Std, Pro and Enterprise. Grab a copy for use at home, or for a friend or colleague. Offer ends 31st December.

Play Santa’s Gift Grab and Share Your Score
And finally, I hope you have been having fun with our little Christmas game. We certainly enjoyed making it. The highest score I’m aware of is 554 so far! Can you do better? Let us know how you did on our Facebook page.

Play Santa’s Gearhead Gift Grab Game!

Marcus Tettmar — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 16:29:45 +0000

We made a fun little Christmas game for you all:

Help Santa get the presents down the chimney, but watch out for the snowmen and coal which freeze the chimney or set the presents on fire. Of course true to form Macro Scheduler saves you time, so in the game if you catch an MJT Gearhead you get extra time!

Click on the image above or here to play. Don’t forget to share your score!

Enjoy, and Happy Christmas!

Case Study: Macro Scheduler Saves 3600 Elf-Hours and Gets Presents Delivered On Time

Marcus Tettmar — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 15:11:51 +0000

“Here in the North Pole our elves work hard every year to ensure presents are created and delivered on time to good little boys and girls all over the world,” says Santa Claus, “but with a booming world population and the ever increasing demands of modern employment and elf-and-safety regulations, our task is getting harder and harder and we need to modernize without breaking the bank or requiring specialist skills”.

On Christmas Day Santa Claus delivers toys to well behaved boys and girls all over the world. Budgets are tight, especially with the collapse of the Icelandic banking system where most of Santa’s investments were held. As an ethical organization Santa’s operation must also be seen to be economic and efficient and now has to adhere to strict new guidelines on the amount of hours per day elves can work.

Up until now Santa’s operation was largely manual. “We are in an awkward position,” says Claus “people expect us to carry on our traditions of elf-labour and creating products by hand, but at the same time the world has moved on and we need to compete with the likes of Walmart and ToysRUs and cut our costs. So we needed to find ways of improving efficiency without losing our traditional appeal. 100% mechanization is a no-no. But something that would help with the repetitive manual number crunching and data entry tasks would be ideal. We also had to find something that didn’t require specialist IT knowledge. I mean, our elves, bless them, they’re wonderful at toy-making, but technology? Not so much. So we turned to Google and found Macro Scheduler.”

Many of the tasks carried out by the elves are repetitive and time-consuming, taking elves away from the more productive work of producing toys and wrapping presents. “Once a day we have to download the new lists from our incoming server. There’s the naughty list and the good list.” says Jingle, Santa’s Chief Elf, “We need to check for duplicates, then copy and paste each list into our own master list. Of course boys and girls can switch from list to list too, so we need to cross reference. If someone was on the good list but has been naughty we need to find their record, remove it from the good master list and place it on the naughty list. This used to be a manual process, taking around 6 hours a day. With Macro Scheduler we were able to automate the entire process. A macro trigger responds to the lists appearing in the inbox and then reads through the data and cleans our master list automatically. It’s entirely automated. We used to take turns doing this job and you wouldn’t believe how much happier everyone is now that they can make toys instead.”

That task alone is saving over 2000 elf-hours a year. But it’s not just the elf-savings that Santa’s team is benefiting from. Elves are happier too. It also saves a number of embarrassing mistakes. “In the past it was easy to mess up a change in the lists. Some poor kid ends up being put on the naughty list by mistake and he doesn’t get a present. That was a real PR nightmare! Santa would lose his rag too. I mean you didn’t want to be there! Yeh, the elves are much happier now and we’re now more likely to hit our toy-creation performance targets too. Everyone wins”.

Santa and his team are now using Macro Scheduler wherever they can and can see many opportunities to expand its use across their North Pole operations center over the following year.

“We’re really impressed with the product and the support that comes with it. None of our elves were programmers, with only basic IT skills, but they’ve picked up Macro Scheduler quickly. The possibilities are endless and we’re really glad we found it.” says Claus.

For more information on Macro Scheduler click here. For more case studies and success stories go here.