The Macro Library
Macros are
combinations of keystrokes and/or actions that can be
assigned to a gesture or surface key. The Macro
Library exists to hold and organize collections of
user-made and built-in macros. While it is not
necessary to save or create a macro in the library in
order to assign a keystroke or action to a gesture/key,
it is wise to do so for macros that will be used
frequently or for organizational purposes. This
section will explain the 3 types of macros available and
how you can create or edit them.
The 3 types of Macros
|
Event Macros
| An event is one or
more keystrokes, mouse clicks, or mouse movements.
Most of the Macros in the Macro Library are simple
Event Macros like Ctrl-S for Save. |
|
Text Macros
| These are text
strings or messages that can be sent to the
computer. Unlike Event Macros, Text Macros
allow for long, multi-line text messages. |
|
Internal Function Macros
| These macros do
not send out keyboard or mouse commands. They
are used to change the current state of your
FingerWorks device (ex. changing the OS mode from
Windows to Mac). |
Creating a Macro
|
The first step in creating
an event or text macro is to choose a name for the macro
(internal function macros cannot be created but can be a
part of an event macro). The box above shows the
input box for the new macro or macro folder name (you
can only create folders when selecting the Macro Library
folder as shown to the right). If we would like
our macro to be listed under the "Editing" folder as
shown to the right for example, first select the Editing
folder and then enter a macro name in the boxes shown
above. We will next see how we can edit this new
macro we have created.
To delete a macro,
simply right mouse click on a macro name (like "Copy"
shown on the right) and select delete. |
 |
Editing a Macro
Above is an example of
editing a macro using the "Copy" Event Macro.
We will next describe some of these sections:
|
Macro
Library Folder |
The folder where you
would like to place the macro. Changing this
folder moves the macro into the new folder and
deletes it entry from the old one. |
|
OS
Mode Filter |
One macro can have
different definitions depending on which OS is
currently selected. For example, a copy in
windows is a ctrl-c while in macs it is a cmd-c.
This filter selects which OS mode version of the
macro you are currently editing. |
|
Filtered Events for
' ' Macro |
This is the list of
events that happen during this macro. In the
example above, a copy macro only consists of the
keystrokes Ctrl and C. The buttons on the
right of the list can be used to change, add, and
delete macros from this list. |
When a the "change" or
"add" button is hit above, a new window pops up asking
what action should be taken during this particular part
of the macro. This window is called the
Key/Mouse/Macro Event Editor and we will see it again
when assigning gestures and key mappings.
|
Event
Type |
These are all the
possible actions that we can make our FingerWorks
device perform. Notice that besides just
simple actions like keystrokes, this section also
contains all of the macros we have available to us
(listed under Event Macro Ref, Text Macro Ref, and
Internal Macro Ref). This allows us to chain
macros together to create more complex macros to
suit our needs. |
|
Key Code |
This drop down
selection box contains all the possible keyboard
values we can assign to this action. |
|
Modifier Keys |
These are the
special function buttons (like Ctrl in this
example) that will be active during this
actions. |
|
Duration |
This the how long a
certain action is active. For example,
the duration for a keystroke is how long that key
will be held down for during this action. |
Now that we know the
basics about macros, we can see how we can assign these
to chords and surface keys.
|
