Phrase Express Macros for Realm Works

[MNBlockHead]

Originally Posted by Bobifle

Could you please post the macro so we get a better idea on how to do it (in other words we'd like to steal your stuff )

Well, it really isn't a macro. It is a sraight up text replacement. See the attached screenshot, which shows a very simple 5e statblock.

It is difficult to show how to build a form in one screen shot. I would need to make a step-by-step tutorial. First, I want to complete and test the one I'm building, and second, it would take some time to write up. Also, while I like to dig into the macros and understand how to type them out in plan text, it is MUCH easier to use the Macro menubar in PhraseExpress. You simply put your cursor where you want to fill in text, and go to Macro—>Form—>Text Input box. And fill in your parameters. Where it gets more complicated is when you want to calculate values based on inputs or use conditional logic (IF...THEN...ELSE). For that you need to know how to set and get temporary values. Look at the #settemp and #gettemp maco commands.

One of the best things about the newest version of Phrase Express is the check text/value tool under Macro—>Programming, that give a GUI for creating macros that use the #check command, which compares a value to something else and outputs text based upon the comparison.

Anyway, I'll try to post a form walkthrough when I find some free time.

ScreenClip.png

[Erdrix]

I was able to make a mouse macro to do line coloring.

Now I just need to figure out the rest of it.

[Bobifle]

Originally Posted by MNBlockHead

It is difficult to show how to build a form in one screen shot. I would need to make a step-by-step tutorial.

Don't bother doing so, you've done already enough I see how its done thanks to your screenshot.

I first thought I'd have to code so kind of rtf formatting but it looks like you actually don't, phrase express being wysiwyg

[Erdrix]

You know would be interesting if it could do? A macro that scans the paragraph and after each period or question mark it presses enter to put each sentence on it's own line.

[MNBlockHead]

Originally Posted by Erdrix

You know would be interesting if it could do? A macro that scans the paragraph and after each period or question mark it presses enter to put each sentence on it's own line.

You can do this with advanced string operations, but it can get complicated with American-style punctuation (we put our periods/full stops inside quotation marks) and you might have to use the TRIM function since I always get two spaces at the front of each sentence. It would be nice is PE would support RexEx so I could process text with more precision (maybe it does, but, if so, it isn't obvious how).

[Bobifle]

I've looked into phraseexpress and it looks like you can actually share macro files.

[MNBlockHead]

Yes, and for more complicated ones (like if I ever get an NPC-generated made), it would make sense to just share the file than to create a detailed step-by-step.

[Davout_1806]

MNBlockHead,

Thank you so much for introducing such as awesome tool.

Some minor contributions.
Combine snippets while keeping extra line between them. Place cursor at end of last line and activate.

{#ENTER}{#CTRL -chars m}

Add tag field above current snippet

{#F9}{#DOWN -count 2}{#RIGHT}{#DOWN -count 4}{#ENTER}

[MNBlockHead]

Thanks. Both are useful and I've added them to my library.

[MNBlockHead]

One thing that I've been playing around with is how to use PE to help with applying tags.

I would like to have a hotkey that would automatically select and enter one or more tags. That is not too difficult as I only need to use HOME to go to the top and then count the number of down arrow presses to reach the tag I want. But the issue is that if you add a tag above the tag in the PE macro, you break the macro.

Unfortunately, you can't just start typing a word to go to a tag. Tagging is one of the things that I most want to automate in RW, but tagging in RW is very mouse dependent. It is not keyboard friendly at all.