Easy Macro Recorder 3.75

#51

To Dayton, and others who explained things.
Thank you.
I have learned something.

Reply | Comment by mike studyform – 14 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (0)

#50

To be more fast in find malicious,you can extract files from:archives,msi,inno setup and next make scanning only on this files(not on entire computer),when is possible and depend from level that you go.
http://legroom.net/software/uniextract

Reply | Comment by Ignat Titus – 14 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-1)

#49

To #47 - that is exactly what I was reporting in post #22. Glad to see it is repeatable.

Reply | Comment by G – 14 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+1)

#48

Dayton explains macros quite nicely In #39, and Macro Express is the best macro program hands(keys) down! But NOT free.

In the early days before Windows was even a thought in Bill's head, We used IBM Text Editors to do EVERYTHING on computers and not having a mouse or a way to manipulate the cursor meant single char typing and nothing more.

An editotr called "Vi" was my first exposure to shortcut(hot)keys that were eventaully called macros. If you do not do a lot of work with a text editor, and are not a regular user of keyboard commands , then macros are probabbly not going to be usefull in your click-click-click daily routine.
If +F4, CTRL+(A|C|V|P), F3, and ALT+Tab are unfamiliar to you, You are not a Keys oriented person and using a mosuse recorder is , lets face it , just plain lazy.
That being said,
If the world of macro automation and doing more work with less keystrokes makes you curious, then Easy Macro Recorder is a GREAT place to start learning all about Macros. Its easy easy easy to make long complex routines into simple commands that you can use from the keyboard without digging through manuals and having to learn all the shell hotkey comands from scratch.
I think if more people knew the power of macros,
they would have simply typed Ctrl+Shift+G to activate thier custom goto GAOTD macro to get here each day.

PS If i recall, windows 3.1 - 98 had a macro recorder and Easy Macro Recorder is a Very nice expansion if you used to use macro recorder in "WIN"

Reply | Comment by Meep – 14 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (0)

#47

I use macros for tech support. I record a series of movements according to window size, position, title, etc. Then I compile them to an executable file and send it via email to whoever needs help. They don't need any special programs installed to use the recorded macro.

The program offered here today can't compile macros, but it's still useful in the same sense if multiple people use the same computer or if the recipient also has the program installed.

This program isn't very useful to me. I have software that does the same basic thing, but with a lot more added features (Focus a window, resize a window, move the mouse according to a window..). There's a lot of programs out there that do so much more than today's offer for $10-$20 more than this program costs.

FYI, exit the program from the taskbar to register it. I panicked a bit when I couldn't figure it out.

Reply | Comment by Nofew – 14 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+2)

#46

here is what I use my macro for: I macro the opening of the websites i like to open every morning. This allows me to get dress while the macro works saving me a couple minutes

Reply | Comment by michael – 14 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (0)

#45

It does not work in Windows Explorer. The macro initializes and asks for a name of the macro. I give it a name and save it. Then, it locks. The cursor is free to move but the keyboard and all related activity ends.

The only actions that do work are: RECORD, STOP. Since nothing occurred, the PLAY does not occur.

I am using Windows 2000 SP4, and the version of Windows Explorer that comes with Windows 2000.

Bad software. Don't make claims about software until it is properly tested and don't bother me again with software like this!

This does not enhance Give Away of the Day's credibility.

Reply | Comment by Dennis – 14 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (0)

#44

To Sam Adams (#37): Unload the compaq utility from memory and you won't have that problem. There's probably an icon on the task bar for Compaq support. No reason to run this bloatware all the time, as you can start it when you need it instead of in the startup programs.

Reply | Comment by Jim – 14 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (0)

#43

Installed on Vista Home Premium with no issues. Works fine. The only issue I have is that you can not set up a hotkey to launch a macro, you always have to use CTRL-ALT-S, then select the macro you want to run.

It would also be better if the loop setting was stored in the macro, not in the global settings, so you could have different loop settings for different macros. However, this is a minor complaint.

I used this to copy 300 pages from a document that did not allow selecting text or copying. Combined with Jing, the macro selected the screen area to be copied, copied it to the default directory, accepting the default name, then went to the next page. The free version of Jing saves screen captures in png format, and IrfanView can display the series of png files as if they were pages in a book.

A useful combination of utilities to capture online content for browsing offline, like wikis or ebooks or dynamic websites or the like.

Reply | Comment by Jim – 14 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+1)

#42

Great, the review system is improving!

Reply | Comment by Timothy G – 14 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-1)

#41

#37 I have the same issue. I pressed the key combo, Ctrl+Alt+S, and a Compaq Support Information box came up with my computer details containing Model#, Product#, Serial#, etc. I do not know how nor if it is possible to change this key combo in Compaq. If you don't have a Compaq, lucky you, I would try closing all unnecessary running programs and hit the key combo, Ctrl+Alt+S, and see what happens, this may be a hot key for other computers info also.

If anyone knows how to remove this hot key for computer support info will you please post it here.

Thanks,
Doug

The Ctrl+Alt+S hot key in Easy Macro Recorder stops recording of the macro you are recording. There is a stop button that can be used rather than the hot key Ctrl+Alt+S, making it is a moot issue.

Reply | Comment by Doug – 14 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (0)

#40

Thanks Bine07 comment #34 I easily miss such things (full of morphine). Still, was only trying to help.

WR

Reply | Comment by Whiterabbit-uk – 14 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (0)

#39

Here is another example of what a macro can do.

Suppose you don't have a spell checker but you constantly mispell words. You could create a macro to do the following:

replace "badword1" with "correct1"
replace "badword2" with "correct2"
replace "badword3" with "correct3"

and use that macro each time you wanted to fix up your text.

Another usage might be a mundane task of moving data. I used to have to renumber a large file where all 1's became 2's and old 2's became 3's and so on. I started at the top of the list and changed all 9's to become 10's. Then changed all 8's to be 9's, etc. The macro allowed me to just push a button each week to fix up the file.

By the way, in the above example, I started moving the highest number 1st. This is because if you start with renaming 1's to 2, you now have new 2's and old 2's intermingled.

U.S. viewers will liken this to mixing old nasty expired cell phone minutes with new cell phone minutes :-)

Reply | Comment by Mark – 14 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-2)

#38

Yeah, I'm with Steelers6 on this issue, to have something memorise my keystrokes is tantamount to abuse if any virus/trojan got into my system, this is one idea I can do without thank you, and to summarise what Jess wrote, it's fine if every photograph you work on is the same, but, all my photographs are different, so, all my keystrokes will be different in editing them, so, I cannot see the sense in this at all....Sorry, GAOTD, nice idea, but impractical for so many of us....

Reply | Comment by Little Stevie Baby – 14 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-5)

#37

Someone asked what you can use Macros for. I don't use this program, I use one called Macro Express, which is NOT free. But since I use it at least 100 times a day, I figure it's worth paying for.

Some of the "simple" things I use macros for:
1. Launching programs. I'm not a mouse person. I like to sit down at my computer, hit a key combination, and have my program launch. For instance, on all my computers, Ctrl-Alt-Shift-W launches MS Word. Ctrl-Alt-Shift-E launches MS Excel. Ctrl-Alt-Shift-C launches Calc. You get the picture. I probably have 20 or so keys just for launching programs. Some of them, after launching the program, will do something else, such as adjusting the window where I want it, or changing a setting so it's the way I want it.

2. Adjusting Settings. For instance, I generally want my screen saver set for 5 minutes. But sometimes I'll be working on something requiring me to sit and watch for longer than that, and I don't want the screen saver to kick in. If I hit Ctrl-Alt-Shift-S on my machine, it will ask me what to change it to. I enter the number, hit ENTER, and I'm done. No manually opening windows, using sliders, and so on.

3. Lining up windows for comparison. I have a macro which will resize two documents to be identical and side-by-side for comparing. (Win7 has this functionality built in - about time!)

4. Logging In. I have a macro that reads the window name, and based on that, will move to the correct location, enter the User Name, Password, and/or other info to log me in to the site. The program I use (Macro Express) DOES allow the macro to be locked and password protected. So instead of having to remember many differnt logins, I only have to remember one keystroke and one password.

5. Eliminating pop-ups. There are a few recurring pop-ups, which are legitimate, from programs I use constantly such as Outlook, which really serve no purpose. Macro Express sits in the background and watches. If one of those windows pops up, M.E. closes it by clicking the button I've told it to. (M.E. can launch macros based on Keystroke combinations, schedule, a menu you build and place in the icon tray, windows appearing, text you type in, or a control appearing).

6. Typing for me. I have a few things I have to type in all the time, such as my signature line at the end of this message. M.E. can type it for me. It can also watch for text you type, erase it, and replace it with other text. MS Word has a similar function, but it doesn't work in any program like M.E. does.

7. Timed events. M.E. can pop up a reminder (with or without playing a sound you specify), launch a program, or carry out whatever actions you tell it to based on time of day, or when the PC starts, or weekly, hourly, monthly, specified intervals, specific days, etc. For example, I have a reminder pop up to look away from the screen at work every 20 minutes to reduce eye strain. It doesn't even bother me. It just plays a little chime to remind me.

8. Overcoming the shortcomings of other programs. I have several programs I use all day long, which the creators obviously never used for more than a few minutes. Consequently, they don't know how tedious it is to dive down through a cascade of menues and sub-menues time after time every time I want to perform a certain action. IN those instances, I have macros to do the work for me. And no worries about it happening at the wrong time - M.E. can be told to only recognize that keystroke if a certain program or window name has the focus. So for instance, I have to add a row to a table in a program that has a 3-level menu for that function. But I phyiscally use the same keystroke combo I would use in Excel (Ctrl-Keypad+), because the macro only does it within the one program, not in Excel.

9. Special Purposes. I have a macro that changes my wallpaper (at a keystroke) from a random selection within a folder of my choosing, without stamping some stupid logo on the picture, thereby ruining it (yes, I used to use Screenshots before they started that crap!) I also have macros that work in games, for instance, to whisper to someone (instead of having to type "/w sharpknives232 (text)", I just hit F10 and type the text. I have macros that enter special characters (for instance the split vertical bar (¦) instead of the regular vertical bar (|), or whatever other special characters I want. I have a macro that will grab the description text of a movie from NetFlix and paste it as a comment into my Movie List spreadsheet.

I hope that answers the question of what you can use macros for. Basically, I think the computer should make my life easier, not harder. If I find myself doing something over and over, I'll make a macro to do it instead. The reason I like Macro Express is that, in addition to having an incredible number of tools and commands at my disposal, it also allows me to record a macro, then go in and edit it manually. This helps me to "tweak" the macro so it always works. I once had a macro that carried out over 1000 repeat actions in a giant Excel spreadsheet every month. Not only did it save me a heck of a lot of work, but it also did the work flawlessly - which I cannot. I'm human. I make mistakes. My macros don't. So my macros help me to look REALLY efficient and productive, when in fact, I'm NOT working harder - I'm merely working smarter!

- Dayton - Thu. 10/15/2009 @ 12:21:52 <-- Done by a macro!

Someone asked what you can use Macros for.  I don't use this program, I use one called Macro Express, which is NOT free.  But since I use it at least 100 times a day, I figure it's worth paying for.

Some of the "simple" things I use macros for:
1.  Launching programs.  I'm not a mouse person.  I like to sit down at my computer, hit a key combination, and have my program launch.  For instance, on all my computers, Ctrl-Alt-Shift-W launches MS Word.  Ctrl-Alt-Shift-E launches MS Excel.  Ctrl-Alt-Shift-C launches Calc.  You get the picture.  I probably have 20 or so keys just for launching programs.  Some of them, after launching the program, will do something else, such as adjusting the window where I want it, or changing a setting so it's the way I want it.

2.  Adjusting Settings.  For instance, I generally want my screen saver set for 5 minutes.  But sometimes I'll be working on something requiring me to sit and watch for longer than that, and I don't want the screen saver to kick in.  If I hit Ctrl-Alt-Shift-S on my machine, it will ask me what to change it to.  I enter the number, hit ENTER, and I'm done.  No manually opening windows, using sliders, and so on.

3.  Lining up windows for comparison.  I have a macro which will resize two documents to be identical and side-by-side for comparing.  (Win7 has this functionality built in - about time!)

4.  Logging In.  I have a macro that reads the window name, and based on that, will move to the correct location, enter the User Name, Password, and/or other info to log me in to the site.  The program I use (Macro Express) DOES allow the macro to be locked and password protected.  So instead of having to remember many differnt logins, I only have to remember one keystroke and one password.

5.  Eliminating pop-ups.  There are a few recurring pop-ups, which are legitimate, from programs I use constantly such as Outlook, which really serve no purpose.  Macro Express sits in the background and watches.  If one of those windows pops up, M.E. closes it by clicking the button I've told it to.  (M.E. can launch macros based on Keystroke combinations, schedule, a menu you build and place in the icon tray, windows appearing, text you type in, or a control appearing).

6.  Typing for me.  I have a few things I have to type in all the time, such as my signature line at the end of this message.  M.E. can type it for me.  It can also watch for text you type, erase it, and replace it with other text.  MS Word has a similar function, but it doesn't work in any program like M.E. does.

7.  Timed events.  M.E. can pop up a reminder (with or without playing a sound you specify), launch a program, or carry out whatever actions you tell it to based on time of day, or when the PC starts, or weekly, hourly, monthly, specified intervals, specific days, etc.  For example, I have a reminder pop up to look away from the screen at work every 20 minutes to reduce eye strain.  It doesn't even bother me.  It just plays a little chime to remind me.

8.  Overcoming the shortcomings of other programs.  I have several programs I use all day long, which the creators obviously never used for more than a few minutes.  Consequently, they don't know how tedious it is to dive down through a cascade of menues and sub-menues time after time every time I want to perform a certain action.  IN those instances, I have macros to do the work for me.  And no worries about it happening at the wrong time - M.E. can be told to only recognize that keystroke if a certain program or window name has the focus.  So for instance, I have to add a row to a table in a program that has a 3-level menu for that function.  But I phyiscally use the same keystroke combo I would use in Excel (Ctrl-Keypad+), because the macro only does it within the one program, not in Excel.

9.  Special Purposes.  I have a macro that changes my wallpaper (at a keystroke) from a random selection within a folder of my choosing, without stamping some stupid logo on the picture, thereby ruining it (yes, I used to use Screenshots before they started that crap!)  I also have macros that work in games, for instance, to whisper to someone (instead of having to type "/w sharpknives232 (text)", I just hit F10 and type the text.  I have macros that enter special characters (for instance the split vertical bar (¦) instead of the regular vertical bar (|), or whatever other special characters I want.  I have a macro that will grab the description text of a movie from NetFlix and paste it as a comment into my Movie List spreadsheet.

I hope that answers the question of what you can use macros for.  Basically, I think the computer should make my life easier, not harder.  If I find myself doing something over and over, I'll make a macro to do it instead.  The reason I like Macro Express is that, in addition to having an incredible number of tools and commands at my disposal, it also allows me to record a macro, then go in and edit it manually.  This helps me to "tweak" the macro so it always works.  I once had a macro that carried out over 1000 repeat actions in a giant Excel spreadsheet every month.  Not only did it save me a heck of a lot of work, but it also did the work flawlessly - which I cannot.  I'm human.  I make mistakes.  My macros don't.  So my macros help me to look REALLY efficient and productive, when in fact, I'm NOT working harder - I'm merely working smarter!

- Dayton - Thu. 10/15/2009 @ 12:21:52  &lt;-- Done by a macro!

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Reply | Comment by Dayton Livingston – 14 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+7)

#36

Never mind. I forgot that Easy Macro Recorder appears in the Windows notification area. I found the hotkeys options setting.

Btw, I am using EMR to create customer ID numbers in QuickBooks (which unbelievably doesn't do this already automatically) for a non-profit with about 1,500 donor records.

Reply | Comment by Sam Adams – 14 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-2)

#35

Installation seemed to go okay, but when I try to run the program an Easy Macro Recorder pop-up window appears with the message:

"Hotkey Ctrl+Alt+S is used by another program, please change it in Option Window."

Easy Macro Recorder itself never comes up. What Option Window is the message referring to?

When I hit Ctrl+Alt+S, a Compaq Support Information window appears with info about my PC.

I can't find any option for changing the key mapping for this.
Also checked my keyboard settings and don't see any use of Ctrl+Alt+S there.

Btw, several months ago I tried an earlier version without a hitch. I created some macros then, but now have no way to check the key mappings.

Help!

Reply | Comment by Sam Adams – 14 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-3)

#34

Has anyone tried it with non-Windows applications?

If "Yes", what happened?

Reply | Comment by MetSci – 14 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-2)

#33

ok, a example of what this programs does.
during the days of Virtual Magic Kingdom, a Walt Disney online game run between 2005 till 2008, I used the earlier version of Easy Macro to obtain building pieces to enhance my characters VMK rooms.
While playing their online game there were events that coincided with actual scheduled events in the Disney Resorts, Disney World, Disneyland, Hong Kong Disneyland, etc. The Virtual Magic Kingdom events gave gifts to persons who participated in these online events.
Now being resourceful, I had multiple characters which participated in the event to get the gifts. The event may consist of getting on a ride such as the Alice In Wonderland ride and riding till the end which may take 5 minutes. Hence, I set the recorder to record my on screen clicks for my first character, getting on the ride, riding till the end and then re-entering the ride again.
Boom, at this point, I ran the macro I had just recorded on all of my characters in different login windows and went outside to cut the grass. When I returned 2 hours later, my characters had rode the ride 103 times giving me 103 gifts.
What’s my point, I was not sitting on the computer clicking my fingers to dust trying to get the reward for riding the ride. The macro did it for me.

However, the first time I had ever used a program with this capability was when I was working on a software project as a Systems Software Test Engineering performing End to End testing. I used the Mercury Interactive Suite "Win Runner", a Desktop Client / Web application Testing program that had a built in macro recorder to do clicks on forms, screen & panels either on the client desktop application or a web application. Start the recorded then click, type, tab, etc in the forms / panels. Afterward we ran the macro over and over to see if we could break what the developers just finished developing and had released to our group.
I am sure you will find a handy use for the Easy Macro Recorder… Install it, and then walk away till the day arises when you want to do some mundane activity over and over on your desktop while you do something more constructive.
- Flash

ok, a example of what this programs does.
during the days of Virtual Magic Kingdom, a Walt Disney online game run between 2005 till 2008, I used the earlier version of Easy Macro to obtain building pieces to enhance my characters VMK rooms.
While playing their online game there were events that coincided with actual scheduled events in the Disney Resorts, Disney World, Disneyland, Hong Kong Disneyland, etc. The Virtual Magic Kingdom events gave gifts to persons who participated in these online events.
Now being resourceful, I had multiple characters which participated in the event to get the gifts. The event may consist of getting on a ride such as the Alice In Wonderland ride and riding till the end which may take 5 minutes. Hence, I set the recorder to record my on screen clicks for my first character, getting on the ride, riding till the end and then re-entering the ride again.
Boom, at this point, I ran the macro I had just recorded on all of my characters in different login windows and went outside to cut the grass. When I returned 2 hours later, my characters had rode the ride 103 times giving me 103 gifts. 
What’s my point, I was not sitting on the computer clicking my fingers to dust trying to get the reward for riding the ride. The macro did it for me.

However, the first time I had ever used a program with this capability was when I was working on a software project as a Systems Software Test Engineering performing End to End testing. I used the Mercury Interactive Suite "Win Runner", a Desktop Client / Web application Testing program that had a built in macro recorder to do clicks on forms, screen &amp; panels either on the client desktop application or a web application. Start the recorded then click, type, tab, etc in the forms / panels. Afterward we ran the macro over and over to see if we could break what the developers just finished developing and had released to our group.
I am sure you will find a handy use for the Easy Macro Recorder… Install it, and then walk away till the day arises when you want to do some mundane activity over and over on your desktop while you do something more constructive.
- Flash

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Reply | Comment by Flash – 14 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+3)

#32

#17 Whiterabbit
"There’s no easily accessible help menu available for Easy Macro Recorder, if the developer reads this why don’t you add the help section that you’ve created on your web site into the program proper?"

Where did you (not) look?? The very same help as online IS directly right in the program and actually can't be overlooked ;)
Simply right click the tray icon, select Options and right on the bottom of the option window is the Help botton, going to the exact same content like the online help. Additionally there is a shortcut to that help file in the start menu folder.

Reply | Comment by bine07 – 14 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+2)

#31

Installed ok on my Vista system. I used to be a heavy user of macros but haven't in the last few years... thanks for this GOTD, I'll enjoy trying it out!

Reply | Comment by pinky – 14 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-3)

#30

In a nutshell Easy Macro Recorder watches what you do, records it, & can hopefully play that *recording* back, saving you from having to type whatever keystrokes etc to accomplish that task in the future.

Macros &/or scripts (& in some cases their grand daddy, .bat files) are very popular in office-type programs, in photo & graphics, & for maintaining systems/networks. For the last couple of years Microsoft has been pushing its scripting app for Windows, they've built a version of visual basic into their office apps for years, & if you use versions of Vista or 7 with voice recognition, you can create macros that run from voice commands. Scripting is popular with/in the *nix OSes, with several apps (arguably starting with Pearl) growing in power & features to where they're used in Windows' software & very common with/on web servers. Which all just goes to point out that whatever task you want to automate, there are [often free] tools available, from simple apps like today's GOTD, Easy Macro Recorder, to much more powerful development apps, & pretty much everything in between.

Easy Macro Recorder is a VB (Visual Basic) app that includes an older version of Microsoft's VB runtime -- VB is like an older version of .NET, with reusable code that's shared by all other VB apps... IOW you have to have the VB runtime installed, but you only have to install it once for every VB app you want to run. Unfortunately instead of just including the latest VB runtime setup file from Microsoft, Easy Macro Recorder includes 9, individual, older files intended for Windows' special system folder. The good news is that you can get the latest VB runtime setup file from Microsoft Download, it's a small file, & it puts things right for all the VB apps on your PC/laptop. Otherwise the program's folder only holds 4 files that total less than a MB in size, & installation adds a folder under your system's user appdata folder (the actual path varies by Windows version, i.e. Documents and Settings\[UserName] in XP, Users\[UserName] in Vista/7).

As a small VB app Easy Macro Recorder should setup & work with just about any Windows install, BUT, Microsoft also tried to phase VB out, so even the latest runtime files aren't all that recent. I've had no problems with VB software in win7 64 RC after (re)installing the latest runtime, but many report compatibility problems between VB & other installed software in Vista & 7.

In a nutshell Easy Macro Recorder watches what you do, records it, &amp; can hopefully play that *recording* back, saving you from having to type whatever keystrokes etc to accomplish that task in the future.

Macros &amp;/or scripts (&amp; in some cases their grand daddy, .bat files) are very popular in office-type programs, in photo &amp; graphics, &amp; for maintaining systems/networks. For the last couple of years Microsoft has been pushing its scripting app for Windows, they've built a version of visual basic into their office apps for years, &amp; if you use versions of Vista or 7 with voice recognition, you can create macros that run from voice commands. Scripting is popular with/in the *nix OSes, with several apps (arguably starting with Pearl) growing in power &amp; features to where they're used in Windows' software &amp; very common with/on web servers. Which all just goes to point out that whatever task you want to automate, there are [often free] tools available, from simple apps like today's GOTD, Easy Macro Recorder, to much more powerful development apps, &amp; pretty much everything in between.

Easy Macro Recorder is a VB (Visual Basic) app that includes an older version of Microsoft's VB runtime -- VB is like an older version of .NET, with reusable code that's shared by all other VB apps... IOW you have to have the VB runtime installed, but you only have to install it once for every VB app you want to run. Unfortunately instead of just including the latest VB runtime setup file from Microsoft, Easy Macro Recorder includes 9, individual, older files intended for Windows' special system folder. The good news is that you can get the latest VB runtime setup file from Microsoft Download, it's a small file, &amp; it puts things right for all the VB apps on your PC/laptop. Otherwise the program's folder only holds 4 files that total less than a MB in size, &amp; installation adds a folder under your system's user appdata folder (the actual path varies by Windows version, i.e. Documents and Settings\<em>[UserName]</em> in XP, Users\<em>[UserName]</em> in Vista/7).

As a small VB app Easy Macro Recorder should setup &amp; work with just about any Windows install, BUT, Microsoft also tried to phase VB out, so even the latest runtime files aren't all that recent. I've had no problems with VB software in win7 64 RC after (re)installing the latest runtime, but many report compatibility problems between VB &amp; other installed software in Vista &amp; 7.

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Reply | Comment by mike – 14 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+4)

#29

Seems like a neat program. But I cannot think of an application where it would help me. Any examples of where this type of macro is useful?

Mark in Nashville

Reply | Comment by Mark in Nashville – 14 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-2)

#28

Hi! This looks really cool, but I want to ask a question before I download it.
If I record the keyboard stroke "enter ctrl+v enter" and repeat, will it work while using a browser such as FireFox? Incase you didn't know, ctrl+v is "paste", so when I; enter to activate a chatbox, paste my copied message, and enter it, then repeat. Will this program be able to do that pretty fast? Such as like, 5 times a second, cause thats about how fast I can do it with my hands.

Thanks!

Reply | Comment by Josh – 14 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-4)

#27

AutoHotkey blows this out of the water in terms of power and functionality... But for the non-programmer types I guess this one is much better (easier) to use. If your a technical user howerver, I highly recommend AutoHotkey.

Also AutoHotkey scripts can be converted to EXE files to work on any computer... very handy. http://www.autohotkey.com/

Reply | Comment by Austinkir – 14 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (0)

#26

#21, G, long time no see. No telling what's different about your system, perhaps your security software. It's probably just as well. As with many macro recorders, Easy Macro Recorder doesn't know what it's clicking on or sending keystrokes to, which makes it very dangerous, particularly in a work environment. That's why I use MouseRobot, which you should be able to figure out since you're a programmer, but you may not be in the mood to spend money. Free Download a Day often watches GOTD and features something similar (freeware). Today they're featuring the open-source Blaze, which has features that you may find useful as a programmer (you can read the limited documentation online; it's beta and requires .NET 3.5). I won't have time to test it until much later.

Reply | Comment by Fubar – 14 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+1)

#25

I like this app, used it a lot last time it was on this site. But lost it due to a reinstallation.

I look forward to using it again!

Reply | Comment by Marcus – 14 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-2)

#24

In opening Easy Macro I get a dialog box saying "hotkey ctrl+alt+s is used in another program, turn it off in option window"
however it doesn't say which program nor how to access the "option window" or where this window is located??????

I can't seem to get any further than this dialog box. Help, anyone.

Alan ataplow@vtlink.net

Reply | Comment by Alan Taplow – 14 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (0)

#23

I use macros at the poker sites ...
Instead of waiting for the "register" button to appear and then try to beat 10000 other people to reach the servers at the same time (I use to just sit there and try pressing the left mouse button for 1 minute and it got very tiring and then I'd still miss my chance because I was between clicks), I now create a macro in order to have it click in the spot where the "register" button will appear and the computer does that clicking at 100 times a second. Now I nearly always get into the poker contests. Although ... sometimes it clicks and then doesn't move fast enough out of that box and then I click again and 'unregister' myself (LOL) and so I've had to adjust the rate for individual poker sites and how they operate. That's what I use macros for ...

Reply | Comment by upandatum – 14 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+4)

#22

Looking at this program - it's interface and function - I can only ask "Why would ANYONE pay a penny for this???" For years there have been and are good macro recoder freebies available. This is a waste of time.

Reply | Comment by leemreay – 14 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-4)

#21

Don't know what is different about my system, but as soon as I start recording, I can still move the mouse but Windows no longer sees it - can't click on anything, and moving the mouse over active areas (eg the hidden task bar which should then pop up) does nothing. Once you stop recording, the things you clicked on *then* start to happen (Windows open, start menu appears, etc)

Something is seriously broken. And this is my work system that doesn't have a lot of crap on it; I thought the macro recorder would have been a good tool for work so it was one of the few giveaways I've installed here.

This is XP Sp3 on a dual core CPU. (A Dell D820 Portable).

G

Reply | Comment by gtoal – 14 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-2)

#20

OFF TOPIC and Just saying... as I have nothing to offer. If I did, I would share.
I rely on feedback & posts before I accept the give away & download.. Does that sound rude?

Anyway, I give a lot of thanks to ASHRAF, FUBAR & HAPPY PERSON for their times and efforts.

I for one read their opinions and feedback before I hit the 'download' button.

I have been a long time fan and lurker of this site for many years & will continue.

Thank you

Reply | Comment by Lurker – 14 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+15)

#19

Thanks for offering the software but I use http://www.autoitscript.com/ but I will still download and test it.

Reply | Comment by winracer – 14 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-7)

#18

Thanks to 12 (aRenegade) and 13 (Jess) for their description of a macro and just what this program does. I thought that I was the only dummy until I read the comment at 4 (ignat titus).
Thanks guys !

Reply | Comment by terrawarra – 14 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+9)

#17

There's no easily accessible help menu available for Easy Macro Recorder, if the developer reads this why don't you add the help section that you've created on your web site into the program proper?

You have to go to the developers site then click on support; where you'll find a list of hyperlinks that take you to individual help topics such as editing the macro or adding a key stroke. I've copied all of these to a word document and then added that to the Easy Macro Recorder entry in the Start Menus Program list. That way if I need to access any help it's at hand without having to open up my internet browser and go offsite to find help.

I've copied the word document to a thread over in the forums which you can access here:

http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/forums/topic/6344

For those who aren't sure how to add things to the Start menu I've included a simple tutorial. All you need to do is copy the information to a document (any will do such as a PDF, Word, Wordpad or Notepad) then place the document into the Programs folder which is located in the Start menu folder - (via Documents and Settings).

As fubar said, this is probably not gong to be used by many, but it's definitely useful if you do a lot of repetitive work on the computer. Creating a macro saves all the mundane repetitive tasks that you do on a daily basis.

Thanks Goldsolutions for the latest update and to the giveaway team for securing the software. :)

Reply | Comment by Whiterabbit-uk – 14 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+29)

#16

Thank for who try to responding me.Also i think that it will necessar a site like videohelp but for programming,somethink lite:Programmning for amateurs,Programming step by step etc.Maybe this site exist.

Reply | Comment by Ignat Titus – 14 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-18)

#15

#1 "You can’t assign hotkeys to run/playback each individual macro."

Presumably you mean that you cannot create a stand-alone executable for the macro, and that seems to be true. However, you can clearly create hotkeys within the program for each action since that is the entire point of a macro program.

It fails on Win 7 though, so I can't test it.

There's a similarly named shareware macro program called EZ Macros from AmericanSystems (www.americansys.com) that has been around forever and isn't evidently being developed now but still works very well. That's not this, AFAICT

Reply | Comment by Mac Ro – 14 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+3)

#14

Just wanna add my 2 cents. I have a prior version of this program. I use it, it works well. It is very handy for a programmer who recompiles a program frequently, to automate the process with a macro and speed up and save many keystrokes and clicks.

Reply | Comment by SteveK – 14 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+12)

#13

Really easy to install and use it, Thanx GAOTD !

Reply | Comment by Jozsef – 14 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-8)

#12

@Ignat Titus

I'll try to explain from what I understand so far about macros.

A macro is the name given to the recording you can make of a series of keystrokes and mouse clicks/movements which you can use to do some tricky or even boring task that you need to do again and again.

Here is an example of a tricky task:
Let's say that you want to alter a bunch of photos to make them more attractive and appealing because they had all come out too dark and drab. So you open your graphics program and work on the first photo, doing a number of things to it, till finally you're pleased with your effort. (And of course you've made a mental note of all the steps you took). Good grief, it's taken you a whole hour to do it and you don't want to repeat all those steps for each photo. This is where Macro Recording software can come to your rescue.

You go to work on the second photo but as you do so you use your Macro Recording software to record all those keystrokes and clicks you used in the process of fixing your first photo.

After that, you can just click on your recorded macro and it will automatically run the same multi-step process on each of your photos while you sit back and have a cup of tea. (This is called the 'playback' part of the business. It does the work, you have a rest)

Truth to tell, I've only ever used Macro Recording from within a specific program, that has it 'built-in' with the program, eg MS Word, or a graphics program I used to use.
I've never used a standalone software to record macros, so I'm not sure how compatible standalones are with running complex tasks you need to do inside your programs. The developer of this one has stated it will 'Record all events of mouse and keystrokes of any Windows applications'.

Hopefully others will tell how successful it is in doing complex multi-step tasks inside programs.

All you clever macro users out there, please provide a few simple examples of 'macros-in-action' and how they help you in your daily computering. This will help folk who are entirely new to the macro concept.

While I'm writing, a big Thank You especially to Mike and Fubar who have helped me immeasurably over the months with their knowledge and experience which they generously share.

@Ignat Titus

I'll try to explain from what I understand so far about macros.

A macro is the name given to the recording you can make of a series of keystrokes and mouse clicks/movements which you can use to do some tricky or even boring task that you need to do again and again.

Here is an example of a tricky task:
 Let's say that you want to alter a bunch of photos to make them more attractive and appealing because they had all come out too dark and drab. So you open your graphics program and work on the first photo, doing a number of things to it, till finally you're pleased with your effort. (And of course you've made a mental note of all the steps you took). Good grief, it's taken you a whole hour to do it and you don't want to repeat all those steps for each photo. This is where Macro Recording software can come to your rescue.

You go to work on the second photo but as you do so you use your Macro Recording software to record all those keystrokes and clicks you used in the process of fixing your first photo.

After that, you can just click on your recorded macro and it will automatically run the same multi-step process on each of your photos while you sit back and have a cup of tea. (This is called the 'playback' part of the business. It does the work, you have a rest)

Truth to tell,  I've only ever used Macro Recording from within a specific program, that has it 'built-in' with the program,  eg MS Word, or a graphics program I used to use. 
I've never used a standalone software to record macros, so I'm not sure how compatible standalones are with running complex tasks you need to do inside your programs. The developer of this one has stated it will 'Record all events of mouse and keystrokes of any Windows applications'.

Hopefully others will tell how successful it is in doing complex multi-step tasks inside programs.

All you clever macro users out there, please provide a few simple examples of 'macros-in-action' and how they help you in your daily computering. This will help folk who are entirely new to the macro concept.

While I'm writing, a big Thank You especially to Mike and Fubar who have helped me immeasurably over the months with their knowledge and experience which they generously share.

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Reply | Comment by Jess – 14 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+52)

#11

To @4 Ignat Titus & Macro 101 - A program created by a user to perform a sequence of multiple commands that normally would have to be done manually. Macros let users turn widely used sequences, menu selections, and keystrokes into a single command or key combination. It is a series of commands, keystrokes, and/or mouse clicks that you can save, and run whenever you want to. If you find yourself repeatedly performing a particular task in Word, Excel, etc, you can lighten your workload by combining those steps into a macro that can be run by clicking an icon or pressing a key combination.
Macros are created by recording keyboard and mouse actions. For example, when switching from cable TV to a DVD player, a macro could cause the AV Receiver to switch audio sources, and the TV to switch its video source at the press of a single button (that you defined). Another example; a user presses the F9 key and several menu options and dialog boxes appear, and wait for the user to make their selection. The user predefines the questions and actions. I hope this help to clear things up a bit…

Reply | Comment by aRenegade – 14 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+25)

#10

Good software for the people who keep doing similar activities like running maintenance/backup/scanning programs every day.

But the regular/average user may not find this useful.

Reply | Comment by bestinhost – 14 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-9)

#9

I'm in the Haven't got a clue what this is, or does, camp - so for that reason, I'm out.
Thanks GOTD, your offerings have made me slightly more computer savvy with each passing program, and I'm sure I'll learn more today when some kind people explain to #4 and me what it's all about.

Reply | Comment by mike studyform – 14 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-32)

#8

We've been given numerous versions of this since March, 2007. This is a VB app, better install than most VB apps and may fix some VB-related registry damage. Same as earlier versions, Vista does an XP SP2 compatibility reinstall, and you get an error on that install which can be ignored. It's just too basic for my needs. Opens to the tray, so look there. Previous registration remains valid. One handy feature is that it will give you a partial list of hotkeys and indicate which are used by other applications (but as usual, not which apps).

Most people rarely use macros. I use a macro to get around some Vista permissions problems. Your choices for automation include macros, guided automation tools, Windows scripting languages, other scripting languages, and programming languages. I notice decent automation apps for Windows simply aren't selling, so they're not being developed and prices have generally risen.

Some guided automation tools that we've been given in the past include xStarter (hooks into everything) and RoboTask. Another commercial one that may have interesting features is WinAutomation, but a cheaper home license is no longer available. QuicKeys for Windows looks interesting but, like most, is dead, and you'd have to test it on Vista and higher. Insight Macro Express and Pro look like interesting products.

A previous giveaway that I like but most people can't figure out is AutomationBox MouseRobot (the developer gave me a license), another dead product (by dead, I mean no longer under development, but still available). I like its ability to find controls and guarantee that it's sending keystrokes and mouse-clicks to the correct windows, although reliability isn't guaranteed (i.e., if other activities interfere, it can stop, and it can fail to find things).

For scripting, AutoIt and AutoHotkey are the usual suspects, and as I said, there are the Windows scripting languages, other scripting languages, and programming languages.

We've been given numerous versions of this since March, 2007.  This is a VB app, better install than most VB apps and may fix some VB-related registry damage.  Same as earlier versions, Vista does an XP SP2 compatibility reinstall, and you get an error on that install which can be ignored.  It's just too basic for my needs.  Opens to the tray, so look there.  Previous registration remains valid.  One handy feature is that it will give you a partial list of hotkeys and indicate which are used by other applications (but as usual, not which apps).

Most people rarely use macros.  I use a macro to get around some Vista permissions problems.  Your choices for automation include macros, guided automation tools, Windows scripting languages, other scripting languages, and programming languages.  I notice decent automation apps for Windows simply aren't selling, so they're not being developed and prices have generally risen.

Some guided automation tools that we've been given in the past include xStarter (hooks into everything) and RoboTask.  Another commercial one that may have interesting features is WinAutomation, but a cheaper home license is no longer available.  QuicKeys for Windows looks interesting but, like most, is dead, and you'd have to test it on Vista and higher.  Insight Macro Express and Pro look like interesting products.

A previous giveaway that I like but most people can't figure out is AutomationBox MouseRobot (the developer gave me a license), another dead product (by dead, I mean no longer under development, but still available).  I like its ability to find controls and guarantee that it's sending keystrokes and mouse-clicks to the correct windows, although reliability isn't guaranteed (i.e., if other activities interfere, it can stop, and it can fail to find things).

For scripting, AutoIt and AutoHotkey are the usual suspects, and as I said, there are the Windows scripting languages, other scripting languages, and programming languages.

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Reply | Comment by Fubar – 14 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+63)

#7

Can't install on Windows 7 32 bit. Get error:-

Internal error. Failed to expand shell folder constant "userdocs".

I have tried running it in various compatability modes but still no luck.

Reply | Comment by Jamie – 14 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+3)

#6

I Tried it on windows 64 bit os and it installed fine, however I am unable to use it becasue I use keyscrablers to encrypt all of my key strokes.

So, I had to uninstall. After thinking about it, it seems a bit risky to allow a program to record your keystrokes. That's the main reason I have keyscrambler.

Sorry, I can't use it and I really don't like the idea of anything recording my keystrokes. A keylogger could get hold of this then what.

Thanks anyway I'll error on the side of caution.

Vidimo Se!

Reply | Comment by Steelers6 – 14 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-39)

#5

Google translate:

Unless of course the developers read the feedback on the program, we would like to see in new versions of the more powerful functional.

1) Accounting change the screen resolution, if the recorded macro is used on another computer.
2) entry in the selected area with a record of what is happening on the screen in the video file for further visual editing macros.
3) visual macro editor, subject to certain conditions - the location of the object / text / bugs / etc. For example to wait for the opening of the document / page if you can see the error, then perform another action, etc.
4) run on schedule.

That is, in other words to make a programmable bot.

Reply | Comment by SC – 14 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-25)

#4

I'm total ignorant.Description isn't enouht for me.I need a teacher.What is macro?Where is use it?How it work(what is the strategy)?.A little example,to don't die like a full.And perhabs,many others??????????????.Easy to install on Xp SP3,but i don't know what to do with this.Thank.

Reply | Comment by Ignat Titus – 14 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-113)

#3

Looks good. BTW... after opening, it still said it was demo

copy pasted info from readme to registration.. worked fine. Lou

Reply | Comment by Lou – 14 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-38)

#2

Thanks for offering this software for free.

It is a pity that I have already got Aldo's Macro Recorder. I am now fond of it so much.

Since Easy Macro Recorder is given away, I am more than happy to give it a test.

THX again!