Sams Teach Yourself Emacs in 24 Hours		ContentsIndex
Hour 13: Macros		Previous HourNext Hour
Sections in this Hour: Writing a Simple Macro Making Macros that Ask for Permission to Continue Summary Repeating Macros Further Interaction with the Macro Q&A Saving a Macro for Later Sessions Editing a Macro Exercises		Previous SectionNext Section

Q&A

Q Tell me honestly: Do you often use macros yourself? Can you give me an estimate on how much time it saves you?

A Yes, I use macros several times every hour I'm in front of my computer. Most of the macros do very simple things that save me only 5-10 keystrokes, but I also create macros that can take up to half-an-hour to develop. The latter macros are those that edit large parts of files and must, therefore, be tested more intensely than those that do simple editing on the line.

How much time I save by using macros depends on the kind of work I'm doing. If I'm writing text, I use macros less frequently, and thus save less time. (The writing job is not monotonous enough to make macros very useful). If I, on the other hand, am maintaining documents (C files, HTML documents, or simple text files), the macros can save 10-50% of my time compared to if I didn't have macros.

Sams Teach Yourself Emacs in 24 Hours		ContentsIndex
Hour 13: Macros		Previous HourNext Hour
Sections in this Hour: Writing a Simple Macro Making Macros that Ask for Permission to Continue Summary Repeating Macros Further Interaction with the Macro Q&A Saving a Macro for Later Sessions Editing a Macro Exercises		Previous SectionNext Section

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