Final Writer has a number of pre-written macros. If you want any more, however, you'll have to learn the lingo...Of the three packages, Wordworth is the only one which doesn't support macros of some kind, which is strange considering how powerful they can be. Final Writer has an ARexx port and over 200 of its own commands, while Protext sticks with its built-in commands and an automatic macro recorder.
It's possible to use Protext's ARexx port and any of the built-in commands to create ARexx-based macros, but with an automatic recorder and command mode on hand you'd have to be a masochist to go any further.
Protext's hotkey-based macros are for pre-set strings of text, such as the user's name and address, and they make it easy to build up a glossary of commonly-used phrases. By using the appropriate ASCII code, however, you can include the Escape key at the start of a macro, thus opening Command mode and giving access to much more power.
The Exec command can be used when in Command mode to launch any script which has already been defined using stored commands. These are available for use within documents and always begin on a fresh line with the > symbol. When Protext sees this, it knows that what follows is a command which can perform actions ranging from turning proportional spacing on and off to complex mail merge routines.
Exec files can be built up containing nothing but stored commands. For example, a macro which always comes in handy is one to scan an ASCII file and replace all single carriage return characters with a space, thus removing them from the ends of lines.
Final Writer's ARexx commands are potentially as powerful, but less user-friendly. Any Final Writer owner with ARexx knowledge should be capable of programming macros to perform pretty stunning operations such as drawing shapes using the polygon drawing tools. Using scripts in this way ensures that the shape is always the same size and in the same position.
Wordworth has a menu-driven librarian command which does the same job as Protext's macro recorder, but Digita have made a deliberate decision to steer away from macros and keep everything on menus and in dialogue boxes. This way, all of Wordworth's features are easy to access.
