Run Keyboard Macro
The Run Keyboard Macro action is very powerful and flexible tool allowing the automation of some repetitive keyboard manipulations when a particular window appears - it allows recording the required sequence of keystrokes (such sequence is called keyboard macro) in a special format and "play" this sequence automatically every time the certain window opens; "playing" here means the programmatic emulation of typing, as if you would really have been pressing the keys defined in the macro sequence.
Keyboard macro sequence can include any key or key combination; you can get more information on how to create a macro here.
Hint This action has an extremely wide variety of possible applications; here are just few common examples:
- automatic positioning to the end of a long document (text, webpage, spreadsheet, etc.) or list (e.g. the file folder containing numerous files) by sending an appropriate key combination: <End>, <Ctrl+End>, <Ctrl+PageDown>, etc
- automatic filling of "Login/Password" fields in security query dialogs: assign to them the macro with the following structure - your login name<Tab>your password<Enter>
- automatic insertion of regular text blocks into documents/e-mails: just paste such text block as a macro and assign this macro to a certain window
Important Note! Although keyboard macros are assigned to some particular windows, actually they are run via the special system keyboard buffer, which is shared by all windows. It means that if any new window appears when some macro is already being played then this newly appeared window will regain the input focus and therefore will receive the rest of played macro, so macro's target window won't get the whole sequence as expected. Considering this side effect, we recommend you to take into account the following ideas when using macros:
- use accurately and deliberately the key combinations that change the input focus, such as <Alt+Tab>, <Ctrl+Esc>, <Win>, etc.
- avoid creating very long macros because the more is the macro length the more is the probability of accidental input focus change
- use wisely the Delay before running option for certain macros to schedule their playback at appropriate time
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