This tutorial steps through the process of creating a shortkey activated macro and playing it back using the Prefix and Suffix activation methods.
 
Prefix Key

We will first start with the Prefix key activation. This option requires typing an identifier key before the shortkey in order for the macro to run.

 

Preference Settings

1)The first step is to set the playback options. This only needs to be done once.

2)Open the Keyboard Express - Explorer window and click on Options > Preferences > Shortkeys.

3)Select the "Use Prefix Keys" option and enter the letter z as the Prefix Key. The prefix key requires that “z” is typed in addition to the shortkey in order for the macro to run. This is an extra precaution to not accidentally run a macro during everyday typing. Click "OK" to save and return to the Keyboard Express window.

Create the macro

4)Next click on the New Macro Icon to open the Create New Macro window.

5)Click on Shortkey for the activation and enter “addr” in the "Original Shortkey" edit box.

6)Enter “Address” in the Nickname field to remind us of what the macro does and click OK.

7)In the Enter Keystrokes field, type your address.

8)Click on the "Save and Close" button to save the change and return to the Explorer window.

Run the macro

9)Next open Notepad to test the shortkey activated macro.

10)With the cursor in the notepad window we’ll type zaddr.

11)The zaddr is erased and replaced with our address.

 

Suffix Key
Now we'll take a look at the Suffix key option. This option requires typing the shortkey and pressing Enter or the Space Bar to activate the macro.

 

Preference Settings

1)Open the Keyboard Express - Explorer window and return to the Options > Preferences > Shortkeys panel.

2)Click on the "Use Suffix Keys" option. Also select the “Use Punctuation Characters” and “Retype Suffix Key” settings.

3)Click OK to save the changes.

Run the macro

4)Return to the Windows Notepad program.

5)Type zaddr and you will notice that nothing happened other than typing zaddr. The prefix key is not currently active.

6)Now type addr and press the Space Bar. Addr is erased and replaced with our address.

7)Next type addr plus the colon key. This activates the macro and places a colon at the end of the text. A punctuation character activates the macro when the Use Punctuation Characters option is selected.