Macro Express

So as a big reader of the NY Times online and a huge fan of David Pogue, I try to check out at least some of the products that he reviews on his blog or videos. Today's product is Macro Express for PC. You can find it at www.macroexpress.com. As David Pogue describes it, it is a product that simplifies your computer experience.
I decided to give this one a try. Download from the site was very fast and I was up-and-running in no time. You even get a free 30 day trial. You can also purchase the program for $39.95. I decided to give it a test ride for 30 days.
Once I opened the program, I was totally hooked. It's incredibly simple to use and really does make your life a lot easier on the computer. Mundane tasks such as opening Internet Explorer to look at my Google Mail account are simplified to a shocking "Alt-G" command. Entering my workouts for my coach to see at Workout Log also get simplified to "Alt-W".
Then there are the other features such as "Ctrl-Shift-S" which is a command I created for shutting down my computer with one simple command. No more going to the start menu!!!
Here's some other cool macros I created:
- Maximize/Minimize Window
- Quit program
- Start various other programs
- Insert my name automatically (so cool for emails and documents)
- Insert today's date automatically
I know there is hotkeys already built into Windows to do some of these functions but it's still so much fun to create your own hotkeys and this program makes it super easy.
Probably the coolest part of this program is the Quick Wizards option that has pre-defined macros which you can customize for your own use. This really simplifies the whole way of creating the macros.
Of course, there is also the option to record your own macro which comes in really hand for more advanced macros such as opening a program and inserting a frequently used template or starting Powerpoint and automatically opening a particular slide master.
Anyway, a big thumbs up to David Pogue for highlighting this awesome program and of course to the team that created Macro Express. I highly recommend this one.