MacroPlay for OS 4 v9.2

CONTENT

• Introduction
• Determining your version
• Purchase
• Difference between MacroPlay and MacroPlay Pro
• How to Install or Upgrade
• Registration
• Minimum Requirements
• What Is A Macro?
• Create A Macro
• Record A Macro
• View Created Macros
• Replay A Macro
• Set The Macro Properties
• Change The Display Order Of A Macro
• Schedule A Macro
• Execution Of A Scheduled Task
• Unlock Device for Scheduled Macro
• How to Troubleshoot
• Databases Created By Macroplay
• Uninstall
• Comments
• History of changes
• Software Disclaimer

You can schedule macros to run at a time that is most convenient for you. You can schedule a macro to run hourly, daily, weekly, or monthly automatically without user intervention. Or you can schedule a macro to execute when a special system event happens.

You can link a macro to a button or command key on your device for quick access. In addition, MacroPlay can run your macro at various speeds to accelerate your pen tap actions.

DETERMINING YOUR VERSION

If you have the file "mp4pro-XXX.zip", you have bought the registered version of MacroPlay Pro.

If you have the zip file "mp4litedemo-XXX.zip" or "mp4prodemo-XXX.zip", you have the demo version. The demo version is the same as the registered version, except that it will work for only 7 days.

PURCHASE

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MACROPLAY AND MACROPLAY PRO

• Time-based scheduling.
• Event-based scheduling.
• Accelerated playback speed.
• Button/Command triggered macro.

• Install the prc file that is found in the zip file you downloaded.

If you have a demo version of MacroPlay currently installed in your device, and you have bought the registered version and wish to install the registered version, please use these steps.

• Uninstall the demo version.
  • Go into your current MacroPlay application. Open the menu. Select Uninstall->Uninstall MacroPlay.
  • Go to your Launcher. Delete MacroPlay. Do not delete "MacroPlay Data", "MacroPlay Log", and "MacroPlay Task".
  • You will no longer see MacroPlay in your Launcher.
• Install the prc file that is found in the zip file you downloaded for the registered version.
• The macros you created in the demo version will still be available in the registered version.

After installing the registered version, start MacroPlay and you will be prompted to enter your registration code.

If there is any problem in using the registration code, please contact XVision.

Do keep your REGISTRATION CODE for future reference. To get to the Registration screen, you can select Menu->Info->Register.

Please note, if you do not register and unlock your copy, you cannot access the full functionality of MacroPlay.

If your device is running PalmOS 5.x, you will need MacroPlay for OS 5. You can obtain this at XVision's website, http://XVisionNow.tripod.com.

If you have an OS below 3.5, you can contact XVision for support.

Here are some typical uses for macros:

• Schedule a connection to the network for downloading.
• Speed up routine editing and formatting
• Automate a complex series of tasks
• Turn on/off the sound in the Prefs app

CREATE A MACRO

MacroPlay currently only supports recording and replaying of single pen taps. A single pen tap is touching the stylus/pen on the Palm screen and then lifting the stylus/pen up from the same contact point. MacroPlay supports double pen tap since a double pen tap consists of 2 single pen taps.

This current version of MacroPlay does not support pen writings. Therefore it does not support the Graffiti. If you use the pen to draw a line across the screen, MacroPlay will only record down the start and end points. During replay, 2 pen taps will be replayed, rather than a line draw.

• If you do not have a hard keyboard for your device, you can enter letters and other characters using the soft on-screen keyboard supplied by Palm. You can activate the on-screen keyboard by tapping on the "abc" icon in the Graffiti area. You enter text by tapping on the soft keyboard. MacroPlay will capture this series of pen taps during recording and then replay it properly.
• If you have a hard keyboard, you can use your keyboard to enter text and MacroPlay will record your key presses.

RECORD A MACRO

1. Start MacroPlay from your app launcher.
2. Tap on the New button.
3. Choose the application to be associated with the new macro from the pop-up list. Tapping on the pop-up trigger will show all the applications that are present in your device. The app you select will be launched when you press the Start Recording button. After the macro is created, the selected app will be launched everytime this macro is played. So, if you want to create a macro for the Memo app, you should select Memo Pad in the app list.
4. Provide a name for the macro. The name can consist of any character, including space. It can be long as well. Please provide a descriptive macro name so that you can remember the task that this macro is to perform.
5. Tap on the Start Recording button. If no name is supplied, recording will not start. If a name is supplied, the selected app will start. From this point onwards, all pen taps will be recorded.
6. Perform your task using pen taps and key-presses. The timing between each of your action will also be noted and stored in the macro. So,for example, if you wait for 2 seconds between 2 pen taps, this 2 seconds delay will be reproduced during the macro playback.
7. To stop recording, press the Power or Datebook button. This will bring up MacroPlay with the newly created macro shown on the Main screen.

Please note that you cannot create a macro which involves MacroPlay. This is because starting MacroPlay will stop any ongoing recording.

VIEW CREATED MACROS

The first column from the left contains the diamond-shaped bullet. This bullet is used for changing the display order of the macros in the list. You can tap and hold to drag a macro to a different position in the list.

The second column is the name of the macro. Tap on the name to start the playback of the macro.

The right most column contains a square-shaped icon. Tap on this icon to display the properties of the macro.

If a macro has an active schedule, another column will appear. A clock-shaped icon will appear next to the macros with an active schedule. Tap on this icon to show the schedule details.

REPLAY A MACRO

1. Start MacroPlay. The names of all recorded macros are shown on the screen.
2. Tap on the macro name that you want to replay. The macro will start running immediately.
3. The macro will be replayed at the speed set by the user in the Properties screen.
4. Please note that after the macro replay is done, you will NOT be returned to MacroPlay.
5. You can stop the replay at anytime by pressing the Power or Datebook button.

Please note it is advisable to refrain from tapping, drawing or touching the screen during replay. Wait for the macro to finish playing before touching the screen. In addition, if an alarm display is triggered and shown during macro playback, the playback will be disturbed, resulting in unexpected results.

SET THE MACRO PROPERTIES

Name

Playback Speed

You can change the playback speed of this macro. Each macro can have a different playback speed. When the macro is first created, the speed is set to normal.

A normal speed means that the timing between the pen taps used during recording will be reproduced during playback. When a macro is time-sensitive, like waiting for network response while downloading data, you will need to replay the macro at normal speed.

Tip: Most of the time, you should use the normal speed when you are accessing the internet or reading emails. This is because you need to take into consideration of the delay in network response. Downloading content requires time. So, if you speed up the playback speed, you will not give the network enough time to respond.

You can increase the default playback speed to accelerate the pen tap actions. Tap on the popup trigger "Playback Speed" to set the speed. "2x" means that the playback speed is 2 times the normal speed.

Please note that setting the Playback Speed to too high may cause a macro to fail during playback. For example, if you are using OS4.0 and the macro contains pen taps on the built-in "soft" keyboard", a too high playback speed will lead to improper macor playback, the taps on the keyboard will not be registered by the OS. Therefore you will need to experiment with a suitable playback speed for your macro.

Shortcut Link

You can link a macro to a Button or a Command Key. With this link, when that Button is pressed or the Command Key is entered, the macro will be executed. You choose the Button or Command Key in the Shortcut field.

Each shortcut can only be linked to one macro. If you select a shortcut that has already been linked to another macro, the shortcut will be linked to the current macro and the other macro will not be linked to any shortcut.

Schedule Macro

Tap on the Schedule Macro button to show the schedule details for this macro.

Delete Macro

Main button

CHANGE THE DISPLAY ORDER OF A MACRO

Tip: Changing the display order of the macros allow you to place frequently-used macros at the top of the list. Then when you see the macro list in the Main screen, you can access your frequently-used macros with a single tap without scrolling.

Tap and hold on the diamond-shaped bullet. The selected row will be highlighted. Drag your pen to the desired position. Lift up your pen and the selected row will be placed in the new position.

Moving a macro is exactly the same as moving a Memo item in your Memo application.

SCHEDULE A MACRO

You can run a macro automatically at a certain time, without any user-input from you, by creating a schedule for the macro.

There are 2 ways to display the macro's schedule. You can tap on the Clock-shaped icon in the Main screen. Or you can tap on the Schedule Macro button in the Properties screen.

To create a schedule based on time:

1. Select Time in the When field.
2. Select the time to run the macro.
3. Select the start date of the task. This the date that the task will first be executed.
4. If you want to repeat the execution of the task, tap on Repeat. This will show you the Change Repeat window. In this window, you will specify the repeat interval for the task. This is similar to creating a repeating appointment in your built-in Date Book application.

Tap on the Macro Properties button to display the macro properties. Tap on the Main button to show the Main screen.

EXECUTION OF A SCHEDULED TASK

After scheduling a macro to be run in a future time, the macro will be played automatically when the time has come. No user intervention is required.

Please note that during the replay of the macro, you should refrain from touching the screen so as not to interrupt the playback. In addition, if an alarm display is triggered and shown in the midst of a macro playback, the playback will be disturbed, resulting in unexpected results.

If the palm device is off, it will be powered on to execute the macro.

If you want to power off your device after the execution of a scheduled macro, please see PowerOff at http://XVisionNow.tripod.com.

If the Attention Dialog is shown, all the Attention items will be snoozed to clear the screen and execute the macro. You can return to your Attention items after macro completion by tapping on the blinking Attention Indication. This Attention feature is present in OS 4.x.

A scheduled macro will not be triggered and played if a macro is being recorded or a macro is currently playing.

If you scheduled more than 1 macro to run at the same time, then only 1 macro will be played, the remaining macros with conflicting time will not be played. Hence, do not schedule macros to the same time. If you want to run a macro after another macro, set the schedule time of the second macro to a time after the first scheduled macro has finished execution.

You can check what tasks are executed by viewing the log. Bring up the menu bar on the Main screen and then tap on the Info -> View Schedule Log item to see the log. Each line of the log shows the date, time and task name that the task is executed. The log also records tasks that are not executed because of time conflict. A '--' symbol in front of a line means that the name task is not executed at the recorded time. Thus viewing the log can tell you if you have any conflicting tasks.

UNLOCK DEVICE FOR SCHEDULED MACRO

If the device is locked and off, it needs to be unlock before a scheduled macro can be executed. If you have locked and power off your device, and you want a schedeuled macro to be able to execute during power off, you will need to set the Unlock Preferences.

You access the Option -> Unlock Preferences by opening the menu bar at the Main screen.

If Unlock is disable, no scheduled macros will be executed when the device is locked and off.

Enter the password you set in the built-in Security app into the Unlock Password field. MacroPlay uses this supplied password to unlock your device.

This Unlock capability of MacroPlay only works with the built-in Security app supplied by Palm. If you use other 3rd-party security app to lock your device, MacroPlay may not be able to unlock the device properly.

HOW TO TROUBLESHOOT

DATABASES CREATED BY MACROPLAY

• MacroPlayer_Data_McDB.PDB: stores the macros
• MacroPlayer_Task_McDB.PDB: stores the scheduled tasks
• MacroPlayer_Log_McDB.PDB: log file for tasks

These databases will be back-up automatically when you hotsync your palm. They will appear in your palm backup folder.

If you wish to use your macros in another palm device with MacroPlay installed, you can install "MacroPlayer_Data_xxxx.PDB" into the second palm device. Then all the macros you created in the first palm device will be copied to the second device, replacing any existing macros in the second device.

UNINSTALL

• Run/Launch MacroPlay.
• Select the Menu item Uninstall -> "Uninstall MacroPlay".
• Select Yes.
• Select OK. This will bring you to your Application Launcher.
• Delete MacroPlay using your Application Launcher immediately.
• Delete all entries with a "MacroPlay" word in the name. These are MacroPlay databases. Once these databases are deleted, your macros will be lost. You will need to recreate the macros if you ever install MacroPlay again in the future.

COMMENTS

Please send all comments to j_ixe@hotmail.com.

Thanks for your support,
Johnny Ixe

HISTORY OF CHANGES

• All MacroPlay versions support pen taps and key presses.
• MacroPlay Pro supports advance features while MacroPlay does not.

• Allow pressing of Datebook button to end macro recording. This supports devices without a proper power button. This feature is added to the non-keyboard version only.

• Update the text on the screen to tell user to press the Power button to end recording. Minor fix.

• Add support for High-Resolution screens, like those from Sony, Palm, Handera, etc.
• Version 9.0K adds support for devices with Keyboard. This supports Handspring's Treo, and Palm's Tungsten W.
• Change the way to stop recording or playback. Use the Power button to stop.
• Change the version and format of the databases created by MacroPlay.
• Remove support for old OSes. MacroPlay only works with OS between 3.5 and 4.x. MacroPlay does not work with OS below 3.5.

• Allow a macro to be linked to a shortcut. Now you can activate a macro by entering a shortcut in your Graffiti.

• Schedule a macro after a soft reset.

• Dismiss an Attention Dialog, if any, before executing a scheduled macro. This will allow a scheduled to run on time.
• No need for Hack and a Hack manager. Easier to use.

• One button access. Press a button and the linked macro will be executed.
• Execute a selected macro after a HotSync operation.
• Compatible with built-in Security app. Unlock device before executing a scheduled macro.

• Add support for i705 device.
• Add color icons.
• Fix hourly scheduling problem. Macros scheduled to run hourly will execute properly now.
• Fix Alarm blocking. If an alarm dialog is triggered and not dismissed when a scheduled macro is to be executed, the macro will now start execution once the dialog is dismissed.

• Enhance the User Interface.
• Allow macro renaming.
• Allow each macro to play at a different speed.

• Add the ability to set hourly repeating task. You can now schedule a macro to run hourly, or every nth hour.
• Add support for PQAs. You will be able to select PQAs in the application list during macro creation.
• In the application list, the names of all available applications are the same as the names you see in your launcher. This is not so in prior versions.
• Fix a bug that causes an error when trying to delete the Log file.

• After users' feedback about the slow speed of macro replay, I have included a new feature to set the default macro playback speed. For each macro, you can choose to replay a macro at the normal speed (this is the speed during recording) or the default playback speed (2x, 4x, 16x, 32x, or 64x).
• Remove the MPConvert program. This convert program is giving lots of problems. Therefore I advise users to re-create their macros. I am sorry for the inconvenience.

• Fix an error with Palm OS4.0. Now macro can be played properly.
• Fix MPConvert to prevent Open Database error.

• The timing of the pen taps will be recorded into a macro. This means that the time period between each pen taps during macro recording will be stored. During replay of a macro, the timing of each pen taps will be reproduced. This will allow the creation of macros that are time-sensitive.
• User will be able to create macro that uses the built-in "soft" keyboard in Palm OS 4.x.
• If the application associated with a macro is not present, the replay will not start.
• You can use any of the 4 hardware buttons to stop macro recording or replay.
• During macro replay, if the user accidentally taps on the screen, that pen tap will be ignored so as not to disturb macro replay.

• Add Macro Scheduling capability.
• User can sort the display order of macros to allow frequently-used macros to be at the top of the list for quick access.
• The application list, that is displayed when a new macro is created, is sorted alphabetically.
• The palm databases used to store the macros is now enabled for back-up.

• Enhance the memory management of the code.

• Allow user to choose the application to be associated with a macro. The app will be launched everytime the macro is played.

SOFTWARE DISCLAIMER

He makes no warranties as to performance, merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or any other warranties whether expressed or implied.

No oral or written communication from or information provided by him shall create a warranty.

Under no circumstances shall he be liable for direct, indirect, special, incidental, or consequential damages resulting from the use, misuse, or inability to use this software, even if he has been advised of the possibility of such damages.