Then try double-clicking the macro directly - you will see the same result.

Once the new, blank document is on display, press the key combination you defined for your macro. Now let's open a new, blank document to receive the macro's output.

Press the key combination you defined for it.

You have defined a new macro, one that will be activated if you:

Move to the bottom of the macro editor and press 'Accept.'.

You may optionally select an icon for your macro by pressing 'Choose Icon.'.

Press Alt-Q (or, if your keyboard doesn't support this key combination, choose another equally obscure combination).

At the right end of the panel marked 'Shortcut Key' above the main editing area, press the button marked 'Define.' The program will wait for you to press a key.

Type something there, a sentence of your choosing.

Move the editing cursor over to the macro editor at the right, to the large central window marked 'Macro Editing Area.'.

I mention this because you will need to do this later on. This means you can switch between the macro editor and any documents you care to, without having to close any of them. Notice about the right panel that there is a tab at the bottom for the macro editor, and also tabs for any documents you may have had open previously. and the right panel will show the macro editor. Now the left (macro) panel will look like this.

Point the mouse cursor at the folder marked 'Macros.'.

Here is a closeup of the left panel (it may not look exactly like this on your copy of Arachnophilia): Let's make a macro and play with it.Īrachnophilia has two panels in its display - a right panel containing documents to be edited, and a left panel dedicated to macro activities (which, when you want, you may close - just click the left arrow on the dividing bar). Nearly all the Arachnophilia menus and toolbars are composed of macros, which means you can change them to suit your own needs. Unlike system commands, macros are editable, copyable, deletable, and have a name that appears on toolbars (optionally) and menu items (always).

If you haven't guessed already, the menu item that makes the macro list is itself a macro. List System Commands that can be used to create the list. A complete list of system command and descriptions can be gotten with the macro ',' and there is a menu item in the default menu set Tools.A system command has a fixed name like '', and, when this name is included in a macro, it executes a system command.It is important to understand how macros invoke system behaviors: The name of an external Java class provided by the user to do specialized work,.The name of an Arachnophilia system command, like '',.A specially formatted HTML tag that is used to modify the document content,.Some text you want to put in your document,.

A 'content', which can be one or more of:.An optional icon image (Arachnophilia comes with a large set of icons),.A 'tooltip,' a message that appears over a toolbar button or menu item when the mouse cursor is located there,.A title that appears on menu items and toolbar buttons and that is used to identify the macro internally,.what you want to do, how you want to do it, with what menus, toolbars, and keystrokes.Īrachnophilia macros can even invoke external Java classes created by the user or third-party sources, so there really is no limit on the degree to which the user can customize Arachnophilia.

You still have to learn about Arachnophilia, but very quickly you turn the tables on Arachnophilia and start By using macros, Arachnophilia shifts the paradigm away from programs that you simply learn from. The underlying purpose of the macro architecture is to make Arachnophilia capable of doing much more than the author could include explicitly, which is a serious limitation of most modern computer programs. Using macros, the user can completely change Arachnophilia's appearance and behavior. This is because macros offer a fantastic amount of flexibility. Arachnophilia's menus and toolbars rely almost completely on a command architecture based onĪnd the HTML editing features rely completely on macros of various kinds mixed with system commands.

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