Macros

The word "macro" is short for "macro-instruction". Since the word "macro" means "big", a macro-instruction is a big instruction. A macro is a sequence of keystrokes, mouse movements, and menu commands that has been recorded and given a name (and possibly a keyboard shortcut). Once it has been recorded and assigned to a keystroke, all of the commands may be executed simply by pressing the assigned key. While macros can be very complicated, the three examples below are very simple macros.

How you know if you need macros

If you find yourself constantly repeating the same sequence of keystrokes, mouse movements and/or menu commands, it would be worth your while to record those commands once in a macro, and thereafter refer to the macro whenever you want to carry out the recorded commands. If you have assigned your macro to a key on the keyboard, all you will have to do is press the assigned key.

Three useful macros (need to be recorded)

· Arial To convert selected text to Arial. Alt-A (on step 2 below, choose Arial from the font name box)

· Times New Roman To convert selected text to Times New Roman. Alt-R (on step 2 below, choose Times New Roman from the font name box)

· Courier New To convert selected text to Courier New. Alt-C (on step 2 below, choose Courier New from the font name box)

To record a macro:

1. Make sure the cursor is where you want it to be, and that any text that needs to be selected has been selected. Then from the menu choose: "Tools" | "Macros" | "Record New Macro". The Macro Toolbar should appear (it's the world's shortest toolbar):

Give the macro a name (use only letters, no spaces, hyphens, etc.).
Click on the "Keyboard" button if you want to assign the macro to a key on the keyboard:

and select the keystroke that you want to associate with the macro. "Alt" combinations work best, like Alt-A for Arial, Alt-R for Times New Roman, and Alt-C for Courier New.

2. Enter the keystrokes and menu selections that you want to record.
For example to create an Arial macro, (assume you selected the desired text on step 1 above), just select "Arial" from the font name box on the formatting toolbar.

3. Click on the "Stop Recording" button.

Updated 2007.03.15