To create a macro in Ability, use the Tools/Macro command. Macros can either be stored in a particular file (i.e. a Write document, spreadsheet or database) or in a globally accessible file. Global macros are available whenever you run that particular application (Write, Spreadsheet, Database) and can be found, for back up purposes, in the following locations:
c:\progam files\ability office\abwite.abd
c:\progam files\ability office\abspread.abd
c:\progam files\ability office\abdata.abd
The above assumes you installed Ability into the default location.
Some macros will be a series of steps requiring no user interaction - you just run it and it does the job in the same way each time. With others, you will need to get feed back from the operator. Ability allows sophisticated forms to be created that can deal with user input. The forms are activated by macros and can themselves contain scripting instructions to intelligently process the user selections.
Once the macro has been created, it can be run in one of five ways:
Directly from the menus using Tools/Macros
From the shortcut menu (set the "Quick Macro" attribute in the Tools/Macros dialog)
From a keyboard shortcut (set this under Tools/Customize)
From a button on the toolbar (also set using Tools/Customize)
Externally (as you start an application or from an external program)