The M&C/VLC software uses parameter messages to transport equipment settings from the software's operator interface to the physical piece of equipment. Recording a macro simply means recording these messages to a file. Playing a macro sending again the messages from the recorded file.
Editing macros
A recorded message sequence is stored as a plain text file. This makes it easy to rework a recorded macro or even to write a macro from scratch. In a macro file all empty lines or comment lines (starting with a "#" character) are ignored. The other lines either contain equipment settings or macro directives .
Coding of equipment settings
In a macro, equipment settings always appear in the form
<message identifier> <value>
The message identifier consists of the name of the device which shall receive this setting followed by a dot and the parameter name to set. MOD-2.tx.on for example addresses the parameter 'tx.on' at the device named 'MOD-2'. A list of the parameter names recognized by the device types can be found at section ' Device Driver Index '. The device name in the macro may be an asterisk ('*') to indicate that this message shall be sent to all devices.
Macros vs. Device Presets
Macros and device presets both help you to automate extensive equipment settings. They work, however, completely differently:
To be sure that a device with all it's parameters is set to a certain state by a macro, you may apply a preset to the device while you record the macro. The macro will contain all settings from the preset.