Playing a macro in Macro by Zaweba
Play a macro in Macro by Zaweba with the button, F5 or its own hotkey. A countdown that never takes the focus gives you time to click into the target window.
Recording is half the job. Playing it back is where Macro by Zaweba saves you time. You can start a macro with the Play button, with F5, or with the macro's own hotkey from any program. Before each replay a short countdown appears, 3 seconds by default, so you can get the right window ready.
The countdown overlay is designed not to get in your way. It never takes the focus, and clicks pass straight through it, so you can click into the window the macro is meant to work in while the numbers count down.
Three ways to start
The Play button is the obvious one when Macro is on screen and you have just recorded or edited something.
F5 does the same from the keyboard, which is quicker when you are testing a change in the step editor: edit, F5, watch, edit again.
The macro's own hotkey is the one you will use most once a macro is finished. Each macro in the library can have its own trigger, such as Ctrl+Alt+1, and pressing it from any program starts that macro. You don't need to switch to Macro at all.
Why there is a countdown
A macro types and clicks into whatever is in front of it. If it starts the instant you press Play, it starts in Macro's own window, which is rarely what you want. The countdown gives you a moment to switch to the target program, click into the right field and take your hand off the mouse.
Because the overlay never takes the focus and lets clicks pass through, you can do all of that while it is counting. When it reaches zero, the macro starts in the window you left active.
Setting the countdown
The countdown can be anything from 0 to 10 seconds in Tools > Settings. Three seconds suits most people. Lengthen it if your target window is slow to bring forward or you like to settle before a long replay. Set it to 0 if you always start macros with a hotkey from inside the target program, where there is nothing to switch to.
While it plays
Macro plays at the speed and repeat settings chosen for the macro: from 0.5x up to 10x or No delays, a set number of times, until stopped, or once per row of a list. Leave the mouse and keyboard alone while it runs, since your own input can collide with the macro's.
To stop at any moment, hold Esc for one second. It works in any program at any speed, and any key or button the macro was holding is released. Quick Esc taps, and the macro's own Esc presses, are ignored, so a macro that uses Esc itself won't stop by accident.
Getting a reliable replay
Start the target program in the same state each time, with the same window and the same screen layout as when you recorded. If the window might move, record with positions relative to the active window, so clicks are measured from the window's corner.
If a replay misbehaves, slow it down first. Faster speeds shorten recorded typing pauses, and some programs can't keep up. Then look in the step editor for a missing Wait step where the program needed a moment.
Beyond the button
For unattended runs, Macro can also play from the command line with ZawebaMacro.exe --play and a file or macro name, with --speed, --times and --exit options. Schedule by Zaweba uses this to run macros on a timetable, with the result in its history. The countdown and the hold-Esc panic stop still give you a way out whenever you are at the keyboard.
