 |
2.1 Creating a
macro
Macros can be created in two ways: by recording keystrokes
and/or (some) mouse clicks ("recording"), or by typing the macro
commands, using the macro programming language ("programming").
Only text input or WordPerfect codes done by keystroke or mouse
click can be recorded. Decision processing, variables, loops and
other features of the programming language must be typed into the
macro itself. (Inserting programming commands is discussed later
in the tutorial, in the section on editing macros.)
To begin recording a macro, click on Tools/Macro/Record, or
press
Ctrl-F10. You will be asked for the name of the macro. Macros
are files like other WordPerfect documents, but they have "wcm"
as the extension in the file name. You can name a macro with any
name that would be permissible for a file. You should use a name
that describes what the macro does, and will be easy to remember.
WordPerfect will automatically append the ".wcm" extension to the
filename.
2.2 Macro
recording
WordPerfect indicates that you are recording a macro by
showing the phrase "Macro Record" on the status bar. From this
point WordPerfect stores the actions you take in the program in
the macro; that is what is meant by "recording." Once you start
recording, the results of your keystrokes and/or mouse
clicks will be stored in the macro, until you end the recording
by clicking on Tools/Macro/Record and uncheck Record on the menu,
or
by pressing Ctrl-F10 again.
Note that what will be recorded is the effect of your
keystrokes or mouse clicks, not the keystrokes or mouse
clicks themselves. (This is a change from WordPerfect's macro
language before
version 6). For example, if you record the sequence
Format/Line/Spacing/2/OK, what will be recorded in the macro is
that you changed to double-space line format. Similarly, if you
type "xxyyzz" and then backspace twice to delete "zz," what will
be recorded is that you effectively typed "xxyy." If you begin
an action and then abandon it or reverse it, there is no
"result," so nothing is recorded in the macro.
2.3 Recording mouse
clicks
While recording a macro, you will notice that the mouse cursor
changes to a circle with a slash through it when you move the
mouse over the document. That is because mouse clicks
within the document (to position the cursor, or to
select text) are not recordable. For these operations you must
use keystrokes. You can use the mouse to choose items from a
menu or in a dialog box; the results of these mouse clicks will
be recorded.
2.4 Text
macros
The simplest macro is one that just inserts text into a document,
as if you had typed the text.
When you create a text macro, keep in mind how it will be used.
If the macro is a phrase, you may want to include a space at the
end. If the macro is a full sentence, you will probably want to
include the period and the space(s) after the period. If the
macro is a separate paragraph, you may want to start with a tab,
and will probably want to end with one, and maybe two hard
returns. Thinking ahead regarding how the macro will be used
will make your macros more useful and convenient.
2.5 Cursor
position
Keep in mind the position of your cursor when you record a macro.
If your macro requires that the cursor be in a particular
location in the document, the macro should first position the
cursor at that location before it does anything else. If you
neglect to do this, you will get unpredictable (and often
undesirable) results when the macro is played, since the cursor
may not be in the necessary location at that time.
2.6 Where macros
are stored
Macros are stored in the directory or folder designated as the
macro directory in the WordPerfect program configuration. Look
under file settings (Tools/Settings/Files) to determine or change
where WordPerfect will look for macros when they are invoked, and
where it will store macros when they are recorded. Later
versions of WordPerfect allow both a "default" directory (where
WordPerfect will look first) and a "supplemental" directory
(where WordPerfect will look if the macro is not found in the
default directory). WordPerfect comes with a number of macros
included; it is often a good idea to keep those macros in a
separate directory from those you program yourself.
Macros can also be stored in templates. Template macros are
beyond the scope of this tutorial.
|
|
