Playing back a simple macro

This section shows how to play back the macro that you just recorded. Before you start, go back to ISPF Primary Option Menu. This is the starting point for this macro.
  1. Verify that the application screen is the ISPF Primary Option Menu. See Figure 2.
  2. Select a macro to run. If you have just recorded the macro used in this example, then the name of the macro is displayed in the currently selected macro field (the white text field on the left of the Macro Manager toolbar.) If not, then follow these steps to make that macro the currently selected macro:
    • On the Macro Manager toolbar click Select a Macro. This icon is the large downward-pointing arrowhead.
    • The Available Macros window appears.
    • Under Macro Location click the location of the macro, such as Personal Library.
    • Under Macro List, click the name, such as ispf_ex1.mac, that you assigned to the macro recorded in the previous section of this chapter.
    • Click OK
  3. Verify that the name of the macro that you want to run is displayed as the currently selected macro.
  4. Play the selected macro by clicking the Play macro icon. (This icon displays a small rightward-pointing arrowhead over the image of a cassette).
  5. You should see the application screen change quickly to the Utility Selection Panel screen and then to the Data Set List Utility screen. Also, during the playback the icons on the left side of the Macro Manager toolbar are briefly disabled. After the playback is complete these icons are re-enabled.
  6. Playback is complete.
Some observations:
  • You had to position the application to a particular application screen before playing the macro. As is almost always the case with a simple macro, the starting point for playing back the macro is the point at which you started recording the macro. After all, this user input makes sense only in a certain context, the context in which it was recorded.
  • You played the macro by:
    • Clicking the Select a macro icon and then selecting a particular macro.
    • Clicking Play macro to play the selected macro.
  • While the macro played, the Macro runtime re-created the mouse click and keystrokes that it recorded earlier. The application responded as it normally does. The application could not tell the difference between a human entering input and the Macro runtime entering input during playback.
  • By playing back the macro, you were able to accomplish the action of moving from one ISPF menu through another to a third menu quickly and accurately.
Parent topic: Recording and playing back a simple macro