My macro is not recording the selection of text.
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I have several URLs in a single text file that look like this:
https://crapwebsite.com/?blah blah blah…random series of letters & numbersu2=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fitm%2FASICS-Mens-Hypergel-Yu-Running-Shoes-1021A065%2F114495561241
I recorded a very simple macro but it’s not recording the very 1st step where I select all of the text.
Step 1: Ctrl + A (in order to select all the text)
Step 2: Plugins menu > MIME tools > URL decode
Step 3: do some more stuff with the URL string.I have no problems with Step 2 & 3. How can I get Notepad++ to record my first step? For some reason it’s not recording the selection of text procedure.
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@JustinJudo said in My macro is not recording the selection of text.:
Step 1: Ctrl + A (in order to select all the text)
That records into a macro just fine for me in Notepad++ 7.9.1.
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@Alan-Kilborn You’re right Alan. After reading your comment, I decided to create a test macro that only contains 1 step only. Ctrl + A to select all of the text in the file. It works just fine. I can see all of the text has been selected. So now this begs the question, what the hell is going on with Notepad++ between steps 1 & 2? This is very odd. I ran my original macro again - it doesn’t do a single darn thing. :(
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OK after some troubleshooting, now I see the real issue here is that the macro utility does not record any user actions taken though the ‘Plugins’ menu:
Plugins > MIME tools > URL decode.
Any idea on how I can get Notepad++ to record step 2?
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It’s actualy the Plugins > MIME Tools > URL Decode that isn’t recording. You can see this by exiting and re-loading Notepad++, then opening
%AppData%\Notepad++\shortcuts.xmland looking for whatever you named your macro.This is because it’s a plugin entry, with a non-fixed menuCommandID, so the macro-recorder doesn’t record that action, since if you install a new plugin, the next time Notepad++ runs, the URL Decode action might have a different ID.
If you know what your URL Decode ID is, you can manually edit the
shortcuts.xmlto include that action.- Install NPP UI Spy plugin via Plugins Admin
- Use the UI Spy to see your URL Decode Command ID:
mine is22031 - Exit Notepad++ completely (close all Notepad++ instances). Restart Notepad++
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%AppData%\Notepad++\shortcuts.xml, add<Action type="2" message="0" wParam="22031" lParam="0" sParam="" />– but use whatever ID your URL Decode uses right now - Save. Exit Notepad++ completely. Reload Notepad++.
- Now your macro should do both. You can look at
%AppData%\Notepad++\shortcuts.xmlto see the command is still there. For me, I have
edit: If you ever install a new plugin, that command ID may change, and you may have to update your macro
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@PeterJones Peter I appreciate the reply and I did as you instructed but it’s still not working. Here is what I have found:
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the command ID for the plugin in question is 22011.
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Closed Notepad++ application
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Located the shortcuts.xml file in my user profile and modified it accordingly. (Or maybe I’ve screwed up somewhere?!
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Your filename ends in
.txt. Notepad++ won’t recognize that as a config file. Did you just do that temporarily to open with MS Notepad?Becase the macro I posted worked for me. It took URL-encoded text, selected all, and replaced it with the decoded version.
I suggest you try to edit
%AppData%\Notepad++\shortcuts.xml, and add in exactly the macro I showed, except with your wParam value. After you save the config file in the right location with the right name, you need to exit all copies of Notepad++ and then reload Notepad++ for the change to take effect.If it’s still not working, do a screenshot within Notepad++, showing the right
shortcuts.xmlopen with the macro shown, and showing ?-menu’s Debug Info, like:
And, for good measure, show Macro menu, too… just to prove that UrlEncodeAll macro is really seen.
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Your filename ends in
.txt. Notepad++ won’t recognize that as a config file. Did you just do that temporarily to open with MS Notepad?Yes I did, but I changed the file extension back to the original xml extension after editing the file accordingly.
I suggest you try to edit %AppData%\Notepad++\shortcuts.xml, and add in exactly the macro I showed, except with your wParam value.
I’ll try that and report back. Thanks.
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Ah! finally figured out the problem. Through some trial & error I figured out that I had inadvertently deleted a much needed line in my original macro and it was causing all the issues I had. Luckily I had made a backup copy of my shortcuts.xml file onto another drive.
Started over and followed your instructions for yet a 3rd time. As the old saying goes, 3rd times is the charm.
I appreciate the help on this Peter. I’m all set now.
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I’m updating this post with the screenshot of the correctly modified shortcuts.xml file in case someone does a search on this issue in the future. This way he or she will have a reference for how to do this correctly without wasting too much time.
