As a seasoned independent consultant specializing in streamlining business processes, automation comes into play nearly everyday of my professional life.
Macro Scheduler is the most robust Windows/Internet automation program that you are going to get for anywhere near the price they charge for Macro Scheduler. There are a couple of others that have more bells and whistles but your pocketbook will be paying a heavy price for them. Most of my customers are interested in saving money, that is why they brought me onto the scene - few are interested in spending thousands of dollars when this program will automate nearly anything with little or no human intervention for a fraction of the cost.
While I would like to see them integrate access to JScript there is support for VBScript. I guess that part of the charm of this program is that they have done a very fine job of keeping things simple, thus their decision to go with VBS rather than JS?
If you ever do get stuck, the context sensitive help system will bring you directly to the command in question's explanation. In the recent versions they have integrated a system that makes it nearly impossible to make syntax errors in your code because of its' Script Builder technology, that quickly walks you through each command as you go.
If you do run into problems beyond those just mentioned, MJT is beyond compare when it comes to customer support. They will help you fast via email, a bulletin board system or even do a remote log-in to your site should that become necessary!
So many companies now-a-days try to sweep deficiencies under the carpet using many techniques like erasing BBS messages, requesting users to 'take it off line with them' etc. - if someone discovers a deficiency in Macro Scheduler, it is discussed amongst as many users as would care to help troubleshoot, then fixed and publicly released!
If I could get customer support in a tenth of the companies I deal with that are as courteous and talented as they are at MJT, I would simply be in heaven!
Bottom line is that if I could only one have one macro tool in my briefcase, this would be the chosen one, hands down.
After using Macro Scheduler Pro for a little over a week, already I have found uses which I had never even thought possible prior to purchasing. I run a small 1 to 2 man business where most jobs are done by myself. I really need extra staff but can't afford them.
To me, Macro Scheduler is an extra employee. I employed him for a one-off fee of approx. £70. He is happy to work overtime and unsocial hours without pay. He didn't need a contract of employment and is happy to do any job I ask of him and at any time. I can even give him the day off when I need the computer, knowing that he's happy to come in after normal work hours to do his jobs. He saves me time and makes me time.
There are a lot of repetitive computer related jobs to be done regularly of which one in particular is to produce up to 700 PDF files of packaging inserts - all with different content - ready for printing. I estimate that a macro which I have just written and tested on a sample number of files will take approx. 7 hours to complete the whole 700 PDFs. Doing this manually - between other jobs - would take at least 3 weeks in normal working hours to complete.
"Imagine having a tireless employee that you don't have to pay, that does
everything you say exactly the same way every time. I work at home on
the internet and Macro Scheduler does most of the work for me!
Macro Scheduler:
1. Wakes me up.
2. Checks and sorts my email from all my accounts, (and answers some of it!).
3. Automatically places hundreds of classifieds for me on schedule.
4. Delivers products to my customers (programs and electronic books).
5. Maintains my computer and hard drive, backups, scandisk, etc.
6. Downloads my favorite web pages for me to read every morning.
7. Distributes press releases for me.
and much more!
In fact, Macro Scheduler does so much for me that I bought a second
computer for it to use. That computer now works for me 24 hours, 7 days
and I hardly ever touch it!"
"Macro Scheduler is without doubt the most useful utility I have ever found. I use it for an enormous variety of tasks ranging from repeating repetitive tasks to improving the operation of other applications to suit my purposes. These are a just few examples.
1. When Windows Starts I use Macro Scheduler to launch my startup applications so that they run in the order that I require with preset delays between them. This solved a problem I had with applications conflicting by being run all at once.
2. I use Macro Scheduler to automatically make daily and weekly backups of various files using other utilities to update zip files for example. The automatic daily backup of my system registry has saved me from disaster on many occasions.
3. I like to change the screen-saver regularly but couldn't find any utility that worked in the way I wanted, so now I use Macro Scheduler to change them automatically. It also changes settings in some of the screensavers by amending the registry or ini/dat files as appropriate to give even more variety.
4. When I connect to the Internet I like to have some other applications running in the system tray and Macro Scheduler runs them automatically as well as launching my connection software and dialling.
5. I got fed up with games being interrupted if I forgot to turn off the screen-saver and Windows task Scheduler so now all my games are launched by Macro Scheduler which turns these off automatically. It also checks the correct CD is loaded and for certain games the screen resolution is changed before running.
6. I have an application to encrypt files but it couldn't work from the context (right click) menu in explorer without further user input so I added a script to set the passkey and other details automatically. The script is encrypted itself to maintain security.
7. I wanted to disassemble some animated gif files into separate frames (some over 100) but there was no quick way in my application to so this. In 5 minutes I had written a quick script in Macro Scheduler to do it and saved hours of repetitive work.
"Are you aware how incredible your product is? If not, I'll tell you. Please feel free to use any of this material in whole or in part, in any of your marketing material.
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Here's why your Macro Scheduler is the absolute best :
I have tried approximately 6 of your competitors, and your software has all the best features of all the others. Many of the others lack important features, but yours has ALL of them. I like the way it includes mouse movements - many of the others do not. I like the way it has a record facility - some of the others do not. I like the way I can write my own scripts *without* using the record - many others do not allow this. I like the way I can edit scripts - many others will only record keyboard actions and not allow you to edit them. I like the way I can use previously useless function keys, such as F12 etc. 6.2 makes even further use of these - many of the others don't let you use function keys.
I have very many repetitive tasks, and I have calculated how much time your software saves me :
1. Answering emails.
I have a macro which will grab the email address of the sender and reply
with the appropriate message all at the touch of one button.
Previously : 3 hours per day
With Macro Scheduler : 30 - 60 minutes
2. Making astrological blueprints which are then cropped, cut and pasted
into an email.
I have a macro which will do this for me. It makes the blueprint, catches
the correct email address to send it to, writes the email, crops the
blueprint, saves the blueprint with the correct name, then attaches it to an
email and sends it.
Previously : 4 hours per day
With Macro Scheduler : 45 minutes
3. Filling orders received via my website.
Previously : 5 minutes each, total time 60 minutes per day
With Macro Scheduler 6.2 : About 15 seconds each, less than 5 minutes daily.
4. Writing repetitive web pages.
This is the best one. I am writing a website for my brother which involves
writing 160 pages which are almost identical, except for a few names and
images. I write a Macro which writes the entire html document, changing a
few variables each time which are read from a text file (also generated by
MS 6.2)
Previously : 5 - 6 hours
Now : About 1 minute. Not kidding.
5. FTP'ing up to 20 websites.
Previously : About 30 minutes
With Macro Scheduler 6.2 : about 5 mins
This is just the tip of the iceberg. I have 103 macro's.
AND...
Here's why Macro Scheduler is good for my health.. I am sure you haven't thought of this angle before :
I have been using computers since I was 10. I am now 34. This has taken its toll on my wrists and fingers. I am using Macro Scheduler 6.2 in conjunction with a USB keypad which has 20 extra keys. I can assign each key an action, such as "ctrl alt P". This allows me to use MS 6.2 without having to remember countless shortcuts, and reduces even further the amount of keystrokes I have to make. Instead of pressing "ctrl alt p" I just hit the button on the USB keypad. Also in my armory I have a Cirque Easy Cat. This is an alternative to a mouse, and is a little mouse pointer controller similar to what we see on the laptops (little grey flat pad you slide your finger across). These three things mean I achieve far more every day than I used to, and my fingers and wrists don't hurt anymore.
So. Now you know how great your product is.
Kind regards,