Group Folder Error Options

[Bob Hansen]

Using Macro Scheduler 7.2.034 and Windows 98SE

Problem:
When starting system I get an error window from Macro Scheduler. This window is labeled "Group Folder Error". Is shows the path for a folder and says it does not exist. (In fact the folder does exist). The error window only gives me two options: "Remap Directory".and "Delete Group". I do not want to delete the group, so I must drill down through the windows, trees, buttons to select the same group folder path and reset it. I cannot ignore window.

This just started since I moved group folders from local drive to a mapped network shared resource. I suspect this error may be happening because of extensive mapping that may not have been completed before Macro Scheduler is loaded. But I need to keep the groups on a network share so that the macros are available to multiple users.

Solution A:
Add another button to Ignore or an "X" control to close the window. Don't force me to remap every time I restart machine.

Solution B:
Modify the sequence of loading Macro Scheduler or having some time of delay to allow mapping to be completed first.

No matter how this is resolved, can an Ignore timeout be set up so unattended starts are not hung?

Thanks for listening.

[Bob Hansen]

Any solution on this in the near future? It does seem to be a timing issue. Sometimes if I wait and try every 20-30 seconds, it finally sees the existing folder. But not always....

For me this is a bug, vs. an enhancement request. Happens every time system is rebooted. Has onyone else seen this problem?

[Bob Hansen]

I first raised this issue almost one year ago. This is still a problem, but apparently I am the only one who sees it? I have determined that this is not a timing issue, it is reproducable just by turning off the network share in the group path.

When Windows starts it tries to load Macro Scheduler which is in my StartUp folder. But I have some groups on different network drives. Sometimes one or more of those drives is not available, and when Windows starts, I get the window to delete those groups. I do not want to delete them. There is no way to continue loading Windows. So I press CTL-ALT-DEL for the Close Program window to make that Macro Scheduler Group window go away. But then Macro Scheduler will not start later, and I get error messages.

I discovered that the groups.dat and groups.ini files had been modified removing references to the group paths for macros in my macros.dat file. I need to manually go back in and edit the groups.dat and .ini files, restoring the path and folder references that were deleted.

If an option to continue without deleting cannot/will not be provided, is it possible to stop modifying the group.* files? Or at least make a backup of them to make it easier to restore.

Thanks again for listening.

[support]

Use "After" to delay the execution of Macro Scheduler on startup:

ftp://ftp.mjtnet.com/pub/after.zip

[Bob Hansen]

Thanks for the suggestion to use "after", but that will not work.
When I first saw this a year ago, I suspected it was timing, but it is not.
As I noted in my last email, it is not a timing issue. It is the unavailability of the resource.

Example: Drive H is mapped to\\Server2\C-drive
If Server2 is not on line, or the C_Drive is no currently being shared, then I will still get the error message, and the files will still be modified and I still will not be able to start Macro Scheduler again until I go in and manually edit the files back to the correct content.

I can understand that perhaps a resource is no longer avalable permanently in which case the changes need to be made, or remapped. But it the resource is only temporarily unavailable, then no change is wanted.

All I am asking for it to provide the option for us to make that decision when it happens. Even better would be a timeout with a choice of default value in case system is rebooted/turned on while unattended. As it is now, the system will hang during reboot, even if "after" gives it a delay. And then after bypassing the error, file editing will still be needed.

This has been coming up because one of my clients has been having troubles with nightly routines. It turns out that some workstations are being turned off when they should be left on. We can try to deal with that at the human level, but can't depend on that to always happen. So now when remote access wakes up a system to do nightly routines, the system hangs until operator comes in 6 hours later, finds system hung, deletes groups and then finds that Macro Scheduler no longer works properly.

I guess I can [put a batch file into StartUp folder I would need to create a batch file to call Macro Scheduler only after checking to see if all resources are available. But even if I only want to use some macros whose groups are available, then I will not be able to use any of the macro scripts, because I do not try to start Macro Scheduler. And even if that batch file process was acceptable, then I will still have to remember to make changes to the batch file any time changes are made to the group structure.

I just don't think this should be the way to work. Macro Scheduler has been a terrific tool for becoming more productive. But this current issue is counter to the basic purpose of Macro Scheduler. I really believe this should be corrected.

[Bob Hansen]

I have been living with this issue for almost 7 years now. I had come to accept it, but it is really becoming an aggravation (now version 12). Any chance of a permanent solution in the future? Obviously, I don't complain too much, all the other features substantially outweigh this problem.

[Marcus Tettmar]

Will an option called "Ignore Group Path Errors" help? This may have implications later if errors are ignored on startup and then an attempt is made to access a macro in a group that caused the error.

[Marcus Tettmar]

Simpler solution: don't do check on startup - only when changing to the group manually.

[Bob Hansen]

don't do check on startup - only when changing to the group manually.

I am not doing a check. I have Macro Scheduler in my StartUp folder. It is doing its own check, has multiple paths to groups in mapped drives. But the mapping has not happened yet. Perhaps I could force this to be the last item loaded at Startup, but have not come up with an idea to make that happen.

Hmm, maybe load with a batch file vs. the Macro Scheduler shortcut. I can check for the paths in the batch file, and perhaps do a few pauses or some type of delays..... Even better, maybe make this a Macro Scheduler script and compile it, and have that exe file called vs. Macro Scheduler or a batch file.

Thanks for making me think about this again, I think I have just talked myself into a solution. Thanks for the help!

Edited....Just this in Version 12: -
Improved: no longer perform group folder error check on startup
That sound like the fix for me, thanks a lot Marcus, will check that out this weekend.