A Comprehensive Guide to IBM WebSphere Host Publisher Version 3.5

Chapter 9. Conditional macros 275

9.1.1 Recording conditional macros

The general procedure for recording conditional macros can be summarized as

follows:

1. Record one path through the macro. This will be the main path in your

application.

2. Put the connection in a different state, then replay the macro and cause the

alternate condition to occur. Another way to cause an alternate condition is to

specify a different value for an input prompt.

3. Host Access will report that a unexpected screen was encountered and

display the Macro Play Error window. Click Record an alternate path in the

Macro Play Error window.

4. Record the keystrokes you take to move from the new screen back to the

main path of the macro, then stop recording. You might have several screens

to define before you return to the macro. One way to get back to the main path

is to highlight the last step in the conditional path and then click Jump to

defined screen on the toolbar (see Figure 9-2). In the window that appears,

select the name of the screen in the main path you want to use as the

destination for the jump. You must have already defined the screen before you

can select it to be the destination of a jump.

Figure 9-2 Host Access toolbar

Note that you can have several conditions for one step of a macro; for example,

one screen might have several screens associated with it in the macro tree. Each

screen that you define has actions associated with it. When you play your macro

and Host Access encounters one of the possible screens you specify, it performs

the actions associated with that screen.

In the macro tree, the actions and the next screens associated with a screen are

indented under the screen’s entry.