#!F-adobe-helvetica-medium-r-normal--18*
#!N 
#!CSeaGreen #!N  #!Rcremac Creating Macros 
#!N #!EC  #!Rtoolnot #!N #!N Macros are themselves visual programs and 
are created in much the same way. For example, the macro 
represented in  #!Lmacex94,dxall436 f Figure 94  #!EL  maps data onto a plane, colors it, and 
then performs a deformation using the RubberSheet module. It is constructed 
by placing the appropriate tool icons on the VPE canvas and 
connecting them. Note: You can also create a macro directly from 
a visual program in the VPE window. #!Cbrown #!N  #!F-adobe-times-medium-r-normal--18*    #!Rmacex94 
#!N Graphics omitted from Online Documentation. Please see the manual. #!N 
#!N Figure 94. Example of a Macro #!EF #!N #!EC See 
"Creating Macros the Easy Way" on page  #!Lcmtew,dxall436 s CMTEW  #!EL  . #!N #!N 
Macro's inputs and outputs are represented by the  #!F-adobe-times-bold-r-normal--18*   Input #!EF 
and  #!F-adobe-times-bold-r-normal--18*   Output #!EF tools from the  #!F-adobe-times-bold-r-normal--18*   Special #!EF category. 
A macro has at least one input or output. #!N Note: 
Macros cannot include interactors, Sequencers, colormaps, probes, picks, Display, or Image 
tools. #!N #!N #!N Place the  #!F-adobe-times-bold-r-normal--18*   Input #!EF icon on 
the canvas and connect it to the appropriate tool icon input 
tab. The  #!F-adobe-times-bold-r-normal--18*   Input #!EF type conforms to that of the 
input tab to which it is connected. Like other tools, the 
 #!F-adobe-times-bold-r-normal--18*   Input #!EF icon can be connected to multiple input tabs. 
You can use the Configuration dialog box for the  #!F-adobe-times-bold-r-normal--18*   Input 
#!EF tool (  #!Lmaccf95,dxall436 f Figure 95  #!EL  ) to specify: #!N #!I0 #!N  #!F-adobe-times-medium-r-normal--18*   
#!N #!N #!I30 #!N o Tab position in the macro #!N 
#!I30 #!N o Name of the input #!N #!I30 #!N o 
Default value for the input #!N #!I30 #!N o Description of 
the input #!N #!I30 #!N o Whether the input is a 
required parameter #!N #!I30 #!N o Whether the input has a 
descriptive default value. #!N #!I0 #!N #!EF #!N #!N #!N Some 
of these values are, by default, inherited from the input tab 
to which the  #!F-adobe-times-bold-r-normal--18*   Input #!EF tool is connected, but many 
of them can be changed from the Configuration dialog box. #!Cbrown 
#!N  #!F-adobe-times-medium-r-normal--18*    #!Rmaccf95 #!N Graphics omitted from Online Documentation. Please see 
the manual. #!N #!N Figure 95. Input Configuration Dialog Box #!EF 
#!N #!EC The fields in the Configuration dialog box for the 
 #!F-adobe-times-bold-r-normal--18*   Input #!EF tool are: #!N #!I0 #!N #!N #!I0 #!N 
 #!F-adobe-times-bold-r-normal--18*   Position #!EF #!I50 #!N Specifies the tab position this input 
occupies on the resulting macro icon. By default, the tab positions 
are assigned in the order that you select the  #!F-adobe-times-bold-r-normal--18*   Input 
#!EF icons from the tool palette. For example, the first icon 
you drag over to the canvas has position 1, the second 
has position 2, and so on. #!N #!N If an input 
is deleted from a macro, the position of the other inputs 
are  #!F-adobe-times-medium-i-normal--18*   not #!EF automatically changed. For example, if the input 
at position 2 of a macro with three inputs is deleted, 
the other two inputs remain at positions 1 and 3, with 
position 2 left empty. Each input  #!F-adobe-times-medium-i-normal--18*   must #!EF have a 
different value for position. #!N #!I0 #!N  #!F-adobe-times-bold-r-normal--18*   Name #!EF #!I50 
#!N Specifies the name of the input. This field must begin 
with a letter, and no spaces or special characters, except for 
the at-symbol (@) and the underscore character (_), are allowed. #!N 
#!I0 #!N  #!F-adobe-times-bold-r-normal--18*   Type #!EF #!I50 #!N Specifies the type of 
the input. The type conforms to the inputs that the  #!F-adobe-times-bold-r-normal--18*   
Input #!EF tool is connected to. When connecting it to more 
than one input, the  #!F-adobe-times-bold-r-normal--18*   Input #!EF tool assumes the type 
of the most restrictive input to which it is connected. For 
example, if the  #!F-adobe-times-bold-r-normal--18*   Input #!EF tool is connected to two 
inputs, an object and a scalar, the  #!F-adobe-times-bold-r-normal--18*   Input #!EF tool 
type would become a scalar type. #!N #!I0 #!N  #!F-adobe-times-bold-r-normal--18*   Default 
Value #!EF #!I50 #!N Specifies a default value for the input. 
If the  #!F-adobe-times-bold-r-normal--18*   descriptive value #!EF toggle button is activated, the 
default value field of the macro is treated as a description, 
not an actual value. You can use this to indicate to 
users of the macro what sort of parameter this input should 
be. #!N #!I0 #!N  #!F-adobe-times-bold-r-normal--18*   Description #!EF #!I50 #!N Provides a 
short description of the input for your own documentation purposes. This 
description is used to generate the Description window for the resulting 
macro tool, which you can access through its Configuration dialog box. 
#!N #!I0 #!N  #!F-adobe-times-bold-r-normal--18*   Options #!EF #!I50 #!N The  #!F-adobe-times-bold-r-normal--18*   required 
parameter #!EF toggle button, when activated, indicates that the input is 
required for the macro. The corresponding input tab of resulting macro 
icon is highlighted with a different color. This option is inherited 
from the input to which the  #!F-adobe-times-bold-r-normal--18*   Input #!EF tool is 
connected. #!N #!N The  #!F-adobe-times-bold-r-normal--18*   descriptive value #!EF toggle button is 
used with the  #!F-adobe-times-bold-r-normal--18*   Default Value #!EF field, as described above. 
#!I0 #!N #!N #!N #!N Specify the macro's outputs with the 
 #!F-adobe-times-bold-r-normal--18*   Output #!EF tool from the  #!F-adobe-times-bold-r-normal--18*   Special #!EF category. Place 
the  #!F-adobe-times-bold-r-normal--18*   Output #!EF tool icon on the canvas and connect 
it to the appropriate output tab from another tool icon. The 
 #!F-adobe-times-bold-r-normal--18*   Output #!EF also inherits its type from the output tab 
to which it is connected. #!N #!N The Configuration dialog box 
for the  #!F-adobe-times-bold-r-normal--18*   Output #!EF tool is similar to the one 
for  #!F-adobe-times-bold-r-normal--18*   Input #!EF , but the  #!F-adobe-times-bold-r-normal--18*   Options #!EF toggle 
buttons and the  #!F-adobe-times-bold-r-normal--18*   Default Value #!EF field are grayed-out. #!N 
#!N Before you can use the macro, you must first name 
it, save it, and then load it, making it available in 
the tool palette. #!N #!N To name the macro, select the 
 #!F-adobe-times-bold-r-normal--18*   Macro Name #!EF option from the  #!F-adobe-times-bold-r-normal--18*   Edit #!EF pull-down 
menu. The  #!F-adobe-times-bold-r-normal--18*   Name... #!EF dialog box opens. The  #!F-adobe-times-bold-r-normal--18*   Name 
#!EF dialog box for the example macro is illustrated in  #!Lmacname96,dxall436 f Figure 96  #!EL  
. Type a name for the macro in the  #!F-adobe-times-bold-r-normal--18*   Name 
#!EF field. The name must consist only of letters and numbers 
(no spaces or underscores), and must begin with a letter. By 
default, the macro is assigned to the "Macros" category. You can 
assign the macro to a different category by typing a new 
name in the  #!F-adobe-times-bold-r-normal--18*   Category #!EF field. The category you choose 
can be a new or existing category. #!Cbrown #!N  #!F-adobe-times-medium-r-normal--18*    #!Rmacname96 
#!N Graphics omitted from Online Documentation. Please see the manual. #!N 
#!N Figure 96. Macro Name Dialog Box #!EF #!N #!EC #!N 
#!N To save the macro after it has been named, use 
the  #!F-adobe-times-bold-r-normal--18*   Save As... #!EF option of the  #!F-adobe-times-bold-r-normal--18*   File #!EF 
pull-down menu. Because macro files are saved as visual programs, and 
therefore have  #!F-adobe-times-bold-r-normal--18*   .net #!EF extensions, it may be helpful to 
organize them in a separate directory to distinguish them from other 
visual programs. #!N #!N #!CIndianRed #!N #!N  #!F-adobe-times-bold-r-normal--18*   Creating Macros the 
Easy Way  #!Rcmtew #!N #!N For use in other visual programs 
or to simplify the "network" that appears in the VPE canvas, 
you may want to combine some of the tools of a 
visual program in a single macro. This can be done directly 
and easily in the VPE window if the selection includes only 
allowed tools (see preceding  #!F-adobe-times-bold-r-normal--18*   Note #!EF , page  #!Ltoolnot,dxall436 s TOOLNOT  #!EL  ). 
#!N #!I0 #!N  #!F-adobe-times-medium-r-normal--18*   #!N #!N #!I30 #!N 1. On the 
VPE canvas, use the left mouse button to create a selection 
box around the tool icons to be included in the macro. 
(It may be necessary to first reposition some of the icons 
in order to simplify this "boxing" process.) Note: Alternatively, you can 
"shift click" on all the desired tools. #!N #!I30 #!N 2. 
Select  #!F-adobe-times-bold-r-normal--18*   Create Macro #!EF from the  #!F-adobe-times-bold-r-normal--18*   Edit #!EF pull-down 
menu. #!N #!I30 #!N 3. In the  #!F-adobe-times-bold-r-normal--18*   Create Macro #!EF 
dialog box that appears, enter the required information: macro name, category, 
description, and file or path name. The default category ("macro") and 
description ("new macro") can be changed or left as they are. 
#!N #!I30 #!N 4. Click on  #!F-adobe-times-bold-r-normal--18*   OK #!EF . Unless 
you specified otherwise, the macro will be saved in the directory 
from which Data Explorer was started, under the name you specified 
(input and output names can be changed by editing this saved 
file) using the Visual Program Editor. The new macro will appear 
in the category specified, under the name specified in the dialog 
box. #!N #!I0 #!N #!EF #!N #!N #!N #!EC #!N #!N 
#!N  #!F-adobe-times-medium-i-normal--18*   Next Topic #!EF #!N #!N  #!Llodmac,dxall437 h Loading Macros  #!EL  #!N  #!F-adobe-times-medium-i-normal--18*   #!N 

