Dont ask for macros in this topic please, this is a 'how to' forum.
- Step 1: Help -> AC Tool Help
- Check out the help menu in AC Tool, there are lots of explanations of what things mean (objects probably dont mean what you think, for example) and how they can be used.
- If you want to write scripts and have existing comprehension of macros or programming, just jump right in and look at the Help -> AC Tool Help menu item.
Step 2: Read the help - This is the most important step! do not forget this one!
Step 3: Help -> AC Tool Help -> Introduction - If you are new to macros, this is definately something you should read twice. all the basic information about actools is here. you will learn how to use constants, and very importantly, how to leave comments, or notes in your code. the finest macros are generally the ones with the most comments (not always, but usually!)
Step 4: Help -> AC Tool Help -> General Information - If you are playing Asheron's Call, read the Companion Help - otherwise skip it (I do not know that it is used for other games, I play FFXI and it isnt used for it).
- Read the sections on Special Keys, Special Variables, and Standard Screen Constants.
- If you need to know how to have your macros interact with the game by looking at the screen, read the Object Primer. You will have to look through it a few times to get it unless you have a decent grasp on programming and graphics. Its not too complicated, and has a little bit of a learning curve. There are tools in AC Tool for working with the screen, and it makes it very easy to code for. (I do not really write much code using this, you will need to ask someone else for assistance with questions)
- Regular Expressions. Thats like saying 'Jumbo Shrimp', 'Military Intelligence', 'Head Butt' or 'Microsoft Works'. These things look almost, but not quite entirely unlike anything regular. Regular expressions are the most fantastic way to filter results and search for stuff. Once you learn what they do and how to use them, you will want to master them. If you are a true Jedi, you already have.
Step 5: Dataset Primer - datasets are a little advanced, and are likely not needed for many macros. Search for the cgSpellTome macro for an example of what they do. Datasets are lists that work more like a spreadsheet of sorts (but not really...) to hold data. Very powerful. If you have a strong understanding of programming this will be very easy to understand. Check it out anyway but move on to the next step if you dont understand it and dont waste any time. You can come back to this later anyway, the help menu works more than once.
Step 6: Help -> AC Tool Help -> AC Tool Commands - This is by far the most useful and incomplete section of the entire help file! Read this often! There is an example code snippet for damn near every function
- If you still have a question, you can post a topic (please use a different name than 'Please help!' or 'WoW macro' or 'I need a skillup bot'. Everyone will ignore you or tell you to look it up yourself, or more likely, flame your ass and brand you n00b forever.
- When posting a request for help, give any code samples inside BB Code (see the link on the left) to use 'CODE' formatting, and make sure to beautify your macro to make it easy to read. Keep it short, dont post 100 lines of code or more. Include the trouble section of code only, and if you want to provide your whole macro - attach it as a file and post only the problem code.
- Do not ask for someone to write code for you. Nobody here is a paid programmer for you, and requests will be flamed in most cases. Be polite, and dont beg. Newbie members begging for someone to write code for them that have not contributed to the community will likely have a very bad experience on the forums.
Step 7: Peruse the forums for macros! - take a look around the forums for macros for the game you are interested in writing code for. notate their structure, what they do, how they send data to the game, and how they retreive data from the game. download a few examples and see if you can improve them.
- if you have a question about a macro, you can post it in the forum you downloaded the macro from. not all macros are currently supported, but you may get answers from other forum patrons who understand the code or use the macro in question.
- this cannot be stressed enough: while it is OK to ask questions and request help, if you have not looked for the answers yourself, and have provided no evidence of having done so - you will likely not get the answer you are looking for. nobody is paid to help you here - we do it out of the kindness of our hearts.
- requesting help without listing evidence of having tried to help yourself before asking.... usually gets ya flamed severely. if you truly want a positive answer, include information regarding what you already know about the problem you have, and make sure to provide enough info that someone actually can answer you. "my macro doesnt work, whats wrong?" is NOT descriptive. "My FFXI macro doesnt target properly, and when it finally does it crashes. I read the ffxi_info forum, and still i dont understand why it hangs up on '$info_target_name'. can anyone help?" is a very good request for help that would likely be honored by many people, with tons of answers and advice too. try to include a small code snippet from the section of code in question (no long code in posts please... everyone hates it, attach your file to the post if its more than 20-40 lines... use good judgement)
- If you need help please describe what you think your problem is, and wait for a response. Dont beg, please. Use proper english when asking for help.
Thanks for the pic, DaMOB
