Display article   Subject:  DeskMate Macros Companion:  Productivity through Automation
   04/30/97   19:42:49


DESKMATE MACROS COMPANION:  PRODUCTIVITY THROUGH AUTOMATION

Think about your favorite DeskMate program.  You probably have
certain key sequences or mouse movements you do several times
while using that program.  For example, it takes several
keystrokes to print a spreadsheet or to key in your name and
title.

Now you can automate these sequences with DeskMate Macros
Companion.  This makes you more productive and gives you more
time to do other things.

How Do Macros Work?

The Macros Companion lets you create "macros" which are simply
recorded keystrokes and mouse movements.  You assign these
recorded keystrokes to a certain key combination (for example,
<ALT><P>).  When you want to "play back" these recorded
keystrokes, you press that key combination.

For example, you may want to assign <ALT><P> to mean "print the
current spreadsheet."  You would turn on the macro recorder and
tell it to assign the following keystrokes to <ALT><P>, go
through the key and mouse sequence that prints the spreadsheet,
then turn off the macro recorder.  The next time you want to
print, you would press <ALT><P>, and Macros Companion would
automatically supply the keystrokes and mouse movements to print
the current spreadsheet.

How To Use DeskMate Macros Companion

DeskMate Macros Companion installs very easily:  just place the
floppy diskette in your drive and type INSTALL.  Then follow the
instructions that appear on the screen.

To start recording, select the MORE option from the <F10>
Accessories Menu.  At the next dialog box, choose Macros.

To add a macro, select Add from the <F2> Options menu.  Next you
type in a description of your macro (like "Printing") and select
a keystroke to be associated with it (like <ALT><P>).

Then press the keys and move the mouse as needed to perform the
function.  As you do, Macros Companion records your sequence.
Finally, press <ALT><F1> to stop the recording process.  You will
hear two beeps to confirm that the recording was successful and
complete.

To play back your macro, simply press the sequence of keys you
selected.

Advanced Features

DeskMate Macros Companion allows one macro to call another macro
and also allows you to record macros directly without accessing
the Macros menu.  An information file on the diskette tells how
to take advantage of these advanced features.

Enhanced Productivity with DeskMate Macros Companion

If you use DeskMate applications moderately or heavily in your
business or home office, DeskMate Macros Companion enhances
productivity enough to pay for itself very quickly.  Here's a
little math to prove it:  Say you save 10 seconds every time you
use a macro and you use six macros per hour during each of six
hours per day.  Even this moderate usage saves 10 x 6 x 6 seconds
or six minutes per day.  At six dollars per hour, that is one
dollar saved per day.  That makes the $19.95 price of DeskMate
Macros Companion easy to cost justify!

DeskMate enhances productivity, and DeskMate Macro Companion
increases it even more.  It's another fine example of Tandy's
added value!
