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      <title>About Macros</title>
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      <div class="title_topic2" id="xps10_pagetitle">About Macros</div>
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      <p class="para_topic">A macro is a file that stores a series of statements describing user interaction with the keyboard and the mouse in an NX session. Any series of interactive input operations can be recorded in a macro file and then repeated simply by playing back the Macro file. Macros are useful for performing short, repetitive tasks, and can be tailored for your working environment.</p>
      <div class="title_division">Context Dependency</div>
      <p class="para_division">Macros are context dependent and based upon the user interface of NX. This means that they store information about interaction with the user interface (e.g., selecting from the menu bar, filling in a text field and setting a toggle button), and not the function that those interactions start.</p>
      <div class="title_division">Starting Point</div>
      <p class="para_division">The starting point of a macro is critical and must be consistent each time the macro is run. Generally, you will want to execute a macro from the same point in the interface from which it was created.</p>
      <div class="title_division">Making Sure Your Marcos Always Run</div>
      <p class="para_division">If you want, you can use a technique known as &quot;Gateway Reset&quot; to assure that your macros always run, regardless of your location within NX. See  <a class="links" href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="top.openFile('shared_func/tls_mac_startstoprecord_r.html');return(false);">Start Record </a>for details on how to use Gateway Reset.
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      <div class="title_division">Macros and New Releases of NX</div>
      <p class="para_division">In order to provide improvements in NX, changes to the user interface must take place. Keep in mind that modifications made to the NX user interface may affect your macro. Therefore, macros are not guaranteed to play back across releases.</p>
      <div class="title_division">Macro Files</div>
      <p class="para_division">Once you start recording a macro, your entire interaction with NX is written to the macro file. This file is identified by the file extension &quot;.macro&quot; in your directory file listing.</p>
      <p class="para_division">A macro file is a simple text file that can be edited with a text editor. To delete a macro, simply delete the corresponding macro file from your directory.</p>
      <div class="title_division">When Building Macros</div>
      <p class="para_division">Keep these points in mind when building your macros:</p>
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            <p class="para_item">A GRIP program cannot execute a macro; however, you can run a GRIP program using a macro.</p>
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            <p class="para_item">One macro cannot call another macro.</p>
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      <div class="title_division">Path of Initial Location of Macro</div>
      <p class="para_division">The file path used to determine the initial location of a macro may be set in your customer defaults file. The name identifier used in the file is UG_initialMacroDir:. The directory specified in this value indicates the default directory to use as a filter when recording and playing back macros. The initial value is not set, and will default to the location where NX is started.</p>
      <div class="title_division">Startup Macros</div>
      <p class="para_division">You can also create a macro that allows you to log on to NX directly from the operating system. For more information about this feature, please see the User Interface manual for your hardware.</p>
      <p class="para_division">You may also want to read the following topics: Macro File Syntax - Basic syntax for a macro file and Macro Statement Format - List of all macro file keywords.</p>
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            <td valign="top" align="left"><img align="left" src="../graphics/note.gif" alt="Note" title="Note"></td>
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                  <p class="para_note_body"> During macro recording, the Start Record option changes to Stop Record, and the Start Timer option changes to Stop Timer. </p>
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