As a Macro Scheduler envangelist, I keep an eye on several usenet newsgroups for any reference to windows automation software, or anyone asking for help with automating some task. I also subscribe to Google Alerts so I know when a new article has been posted which contains certain key phrases. Now, of course, with my PR hat on, one thing I hope for is an opportunity to answer the question by demonstrating how Macro Scheduler can help solve the problem. However, the wrong thing to do is just post a link to Macro Scheduler in response to any question vaguely related to macros in Windows. This is just the sort of thing that upsets people, especially in the Usenet community.
However, this is exactly what I’ve seen other people do. I’ve seen a number of messages from software companies which are nothing more than boilerplate sales notes used in response to someone with a specific need. At the very least, if you think your software will solve the problem, then post an example showing how! Often though, you don’t even need any third party software to solve the poster’s problem.
For instance, I saw a message recently where someone wanted to schedule a call to a web page. All he needed to do was have his browser go to a specific URL once a day. That’s it. The URL did some processing on his web application, so it just needed running once a day. No interaction required – just call up the URL and then close the browser. He had created a Windows Task Scheduler entry which ran Internet Explorer with the URL on the command line. But the drawback was that it leaves a copy of IE running, and when he was using the PC the IE window would get in his way.
A developer of a basic macro tool had posted a response which said nothing more than “you can use our software to do this” – with a link to their website. No indication of how. But, you don’t need any third party software to automate that! You can use VBScript, built into Windows, and IE’s ActiveX interface to do the whole thing transparently. So I wrote a few lines of VBScript code and explained how to schedule it. No need to pay for any other tools.
What did I get out of that? Well, apart from the satisfaction of trumping a wannebe competitor, I helped someone with a useful response. That feels good. Of course I also mentioned Macro Scheduler and a link to mjtnet.com in my signature. Maybe, one day, the poster, or someone who reads that thread, will remember that and check out Macro Scheduler. Maybe their requirements will one day be greater and they will need to do other things that can’t be done with built-in tools alone. Hopefully they’ll remember me, because I gave a helpful response, and they’ll come and check Macro Scheduler out.
