MACRO EDITOR - HELP


Macro-Definition Structure-Definition
Internal structure of macro file Structure displayed to users of DELTA.

MacroGroups Groups
MacroGroup-ContentGroup-Content
Macro-Content
AttributeTableAttributeTable

Overview

The Purpose

The purpose of the MacroEditor is to edit MacroFiles. MacroFiles consist of two main parts. The first one is called Macro-Definition. In this part you create macros. Once you have created some macros you are able to order and structure these basic elements. This happens in the second part called Structure-Definition. The two sections are optically separated in the MacroEditor.
Macro-Definition Structure-Definition

DELTA

The MacroEditor can be used as a standalone application or as a DELTA add-on. The remarkable difference is the look of the menu. In the standalone version you are able to create a new file and save with a new name. Whereas with the add-on version you can only edit the file given by DELTA.

DTD

The DTD (Document Definition Type) describes the syntax of a XML-File. In order to build well-formed, correct macros the MacroEditor provides the possibility to use such DTDs. In the MenuBar there is an item: Change DTD. As far as dtds are made available by DELTA you can choose from a list of files.

Attributes

Nearly all elements (MacroGroups, Macros, Macro-Content-Elements, Groups...) have attributes. In order to see these attributes and their values just left-click the object of desire.

Context Menu and Buttons

Also every element has a context-menu. Just right-click to open.

The following buttons are used several times in the user interface:

Apart from the attribute-tables every window has these arrows in the toolBar. They enable you to move up/down elements. Above all that is an important feature for structure-elements. If you move an element in a tree you'll notice that this happens only within a level. In other words, every treeNode keeps it's parentNode.
Copy, Cut, Paste and Remove Element
The buttons are disabled if an operation is not allowed on the selected element.


MacroGroups

MacroGroups (MGs) have pure structuring functionality. Comparable to WinExplorer-folders MacroGroups guarantee a better overview.

Functions: Add, Remove, Move Up, Move Down


MacroGroup Content

This window shows the content of a MacroGroup. A MacroGroup may contain only two types of elements: Macro and MacroGroup.
While MacroGroups guarantee a better overview it is sometimes better to get all macros at once. This option deactivates the MacroGroup-window and lists all defined macros in the MacroGroup-Content-window. It is still possible to edit macros whereas the "Add"-option becomes disabled.

Functions:
Add MacroGroup or Macro:
Right-click into the window and open the "Add"-submenue. A dialog pops up then and asks you to name the element. It is important to use a new name (no other element of the same type may have that name) otherwise the dialog wouldn't close. (Of course it is possible to cancel).

Remove MG/Macro, Move Up MG/Macro, Move Down MG/Macro, Copy/Cut/Paste Macro


Macro-Content

This is the inside of a macro. Select a macro in the MacroGroup-Content - window and you'll see it's components here. You can only insert into two elements: MacroRoot and ELEMENT-REF. To do so click one of these elements and open the context-menue.

Because it is circumstantial to right-click, open the submenu and search for the element to insert, a buttonBar was introduced. The bar contains the most frequently used insert-elements: ELEMENT-REF, ATTRIBUTE-REF and GMT-LINK


Attribute Table For Definition-Elements

The table shows all possible attributes of an element. They are determined by the gmt-macros-dtd and can not be changed. Their values can be set though. Only attributes which are assigned to a value will appear in the file later. So, if you like to change an attribute's value double-click the "Value"-Column in the proper row. Depending on the loaded dtd a comboBox sometimes appears instead of a normal text-editing-field. That means the dtd ensures a correct syntax by restricting your choices.


Groups

The Groups view shows the hierachical structure of all groups defined in structure-def section of the current macro file. When a group is selected, the content of this group is shown in the Group Content view below. Available actions: "Add Group", "Remove Group", "Move Up"/"Move Down"


Group Content

The order of elements in the Group Content determines the look of the document.

For the same reason as in the Macro-Content there is a buttonBar with the two most frequently used insert-elements: MACRO-REF and GROUP

Another remarkable thing in this window is the "Show Macro" menuItem in the contextMenu of a MACRO-REF. When clicked the referenced macro gets selected. So, this feature enables fast macro access.


Attribute Table For Structure-Elements

Has the same functionality as the Attribute Table For Definition-Elements.