Atari XL - Manual (Page 40)

The Last Word 3.0 Reference Manual
7-40
7.2 RUNNING MACROS
Macros are executed in one of three ways:

Pressing <ESCAPE>, then the key the macro is attached to.

Holding down <Option> then pressing the keystroke the macro is attached to.

Pressing the key combination the macro is attached to.
An important change has been implemented in LW 3.0 regarding macros. In response
to requests from several users to be able to enter <CTRL+KEY> characters into the
editor without pressing <CTRL+Escape> first, keystrokes are now scanned against
macro definitions BEFORE they are scanned against the list of internal commands.
This means you can now write a macro which totally supersedes a built-in command.
You can, for example, attach a macro to the <CTRL+L> keystroke, and this macro will
override the “Load” command. Note that the load command will be completely lost
unless you implement a way of calling the <CTRL+L> command in another way. The
only way you can now override a macro which replaces an internal command and get
the internal command back from the keyboard is by holding down <Option> while
typing the command keystroke.
There is one other special macro keystroke:
<Start>
Pressed on its own will run the <#> macro, should one exist. This
is another throwback to TextPro. However, in LW, use of the Start
key has been augmented. Holding down <Start> while pressing
another key combination will by-pass macro scanning. This
means you can selectively run the underlying built-in command,
even if its keystroke has been “stolen” by a macro definition.
The way <Escape> triggers macros is one of the reasons <CTRL+ESCAPE> or
<SHIFT+ESCAPE> is necessary to enter control characters in the editor and input
dialogues. Another reason is that I wanted to make <ESCAPE> an abort key at all
other times.
7.2.1 AUTORUN MACROS
LW has two kinds of “autorun” macros: The Startup macro and the Autoexec macro.
The
Startup macro is attached to the “@” key and is only run when LW first loads:
therefore, the “&” needs to be defined in LW.MAC.
The second kind of autorun macro is the autoexec macro, which is should be defined
on the “&” key. This macro is run when a macro is loaded during an editing session
with the <SHIFT+CTRL+M> command. Note that the autoexec macro will not be run
in LW.MAC when it is loaded at startup (the startup macro is run instead); if LW.MAC
is re-loaded later in an editing session, however, the autoexec macro (&) will be run
instead of the startup macro.