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[A826]Automation Tool For Testing
by Shu Jun, Shu

What's Macro? They said it's a series of special instructions for a program or a metalanguage that allows a name to be substituted for repeated sequence of operations or text within a document or program. In general, it belongs to automatic utility that can be designed for automating the plodding and repetitive tasks. It will greatly simplify your work, increase your productivity, and free your time for other important jobs.

So why use macro program to simplify your work? Here's a true case happened in my company before I resigned that the statistician of my company one day wanted to input each all over one thousand employees'name, age and income and department into a new system, normally, she would copy all from the old system and paste them into the new one by one by hand over one day. That's so big that the statistician truly boring and would spend more time to do so, luckily, she found a macro software instead of doing the job manually. Apparently, from the example, you know the advantage of Macro, so why not try a macro program to free your hand, and let the work simple?

So what can a macro program exactly do for you? Now you know a macro is a set of keystrokes, mouse actions and instructions that are recorded, saved, edited. The recorded keystrokes, mouse actions and instructions can be played back (executed) in further. Macros can simplify day-to-day operations, which otherwise become tedious. For example, a single macro keystrokes can open many websites at once, enter your name and address with pressing a hot key. Of course, you can use the trigger to set a condition to cause a macro to playback. If you want a macro is launched when some events occur, scheduling macro is a good idea.

In my opinion it's good practice to use a macro software to save your costly time to do more important jobs while situated in a pressure society. With a macro software help, you not only simplify your jobs, but also save your time and free yourself. Furthermore, a macro software could be applied for all kinds of tasks, just like for individual task, each family member can record their own macros to open and close their web-based email accounts, games, favorite web-sites, etc. In addition, for business processes, automate and schedule any business task, and automatically fill thousands of business forms, etc. All the recorded macros are stored on your local computer, thereby ensuring your privacy and security. You can also password protect macros with powerful password encryption.

So why not have a try a macro software? Save thousands of clicks and keystrokes. Reduce your repetitive tasks to a single mouse click or a keystroke! In fact, once you start using a macro software, you'll discover more and more new ways to use it for your bothersome repetitive tasks. The choice is yours. Check out Macro Expert . The download is free at http://www.macro-expert.com


Before we go to Macro Recorders, the first question is – What is a Macro?

A macro is a series of commands and instructions that allows you to perform repeated tasks in response to a single command or keystroke. In other words, you can hit one letter and have the macro execute a set of commands.

A Macro Recorder is a software that records these commands and allows you to play them back at a later time. The main advantage of using a macro recorder is that it allows you not only to play back routine tasks but also complex tasks.

Most traditional macro recorders do not analyze or understand what the user recorded. Which meant that if there was any change in the user's recorded environment i.e. say the location of the file changed or the user's desktop area changed, the recorder will not playback the macro correctly.

The new generation of macro recorders is intelligent; which means that even if the location of the file changes or the desktop area changes, the playback is flawless. Many macro recorders also allow you to edit your tasks and create them through their editors rather than recording them directly. This makes the software more flexible and more complex tasks can be automated. A chain of tasks can also be created and automated.

More advanced macro recorders have a feature where you can create executables (“.exe”). These .exe files are standalone and can be conveniently and independently run from any computer without installation of the said macro recorder software.

A serious consideration is the security aspect. Many macro recorders save the recorded macro in a plain text format with no security provision, making it easily accessible to anyone. What is required is some sort of password protection. Many new generation macro recorders are sensitive to this.

So how does one choose a macro recorder?

Some of the things to keep in mind are:

1. Accuracy of the recorder: The recorder should be able to accurately replay the tasks keeping in consideration the changes in location of files and desktop area changes.

2. Ease of use: I guess this is self explanatory. The recorder should be as easy as 1-2-3. The recorder should be able to help you create tasks in minutes without spending time figuring out how to record the task.

3. IE Plug-in: The recorder should have the ability to wait till web page loads, before it carries out tasks like auto login, generate reports, etc.

4. Ability to run Macros faster: Sometimes when the task recorded is big; the time taken to run the macro is also more. Some recorders have the ability to speed up the task. If you have big tasks you want to run, keeping this criterion in mind would help in choosing the right macro recorder.

5. Ability to run macros that are file specific or global: Sometimes, you might want to run a macro you created on file A to run with file B. It is important to check whether the recorder you selected handles this criterion.

6. Other features to keep in mind are: Ability to create .exe files (if you want to run the same task on multiple machines without installing the recorder on all machines); security features available; ability to batch process and batch script.

In conclusion, macro recorders are not only for advanced computer users, but also for any PC users in general. For those at home, using a PC as a pass time, a simple task like shutting down the PC at a pre-defined time can be automated, saving electricity bills. So whatever your profession and whatever your PC usage, there is a macro recorder out there to meet your criteria. Just keep in mind your requirement and the tips for choosing the right one.

Article Source : Pg. 341

About Author
Both Shu Jun & Tethys Solutions are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.

Shu Jun has sinced written about articles on various topics from Computers and The Internet, Education. . Shu Jun's top article generates over 5400 views. to your Favourites.

Tethys Solutions has sinced written about articles on various topics from Computers and The Internet. is a leader in Macro and Automation Software. Our award-winning. Tethys Solutions's top article generates over 480 views. to your Favourites.
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