iMacros on New Tabs

by **tiago raposa** on Thu Dec 04, 2008 3:22 pm

Hi. I'm new using iMacros and i have one question: Is it possible put an imacro opening a new tab and do the job on this new tab? Even if I already have some tabs opened and don't want run imacro on any of that?

Thanks in advance.

by **Tech Support** on Fri Dec 05, 2008 9:14 am

This macro does this:

Code: Select all: VERSION BUILD=6111205 RECORDER=FX TAB OPEN TAB T=2 URL GOTO=http://www.iopus.com/

by **tiago raposa** on Fri Dec 05, 2008 4:35 pm

working very well. thank you very much

by **tpullano** on Tue Jan 13, 2009 8:47 am

This doesn't work for me...my macro never seems to run in the new tab.

I usually have multiple tabs open, it could be 2 or 3 or 4, etc. The TAB OPEN works fine and creates a new untitled tab (like Ctr-T in FF), but what do I put in the TAB T=? position. It seems whatever I put it overwrites one of my open tabs, or if the number is too high, the macro crashed saying it cannot find the tab.

I am running the Tab Mix Plus extension and would rather not give it up if that is the problem.

by **Hello 71** on Wed Jan 14, 2009 4:53 pm

I think it is because you are using the wrong number. TAB T=2 (as far as I know) means the second tab from the first iMacros tab, not the first tab.

by **tpullano** on Wed Jan 14, 2009 7:01 pm

No, it just doesn't want to use the new tab I create.

Let me try to explain further. I always have many tabs open. So I need to create a new tab, which by default gets created to the right of the other open tabs. Then go into that new tab and open a certain url, which will then login etc. etc...

I don't want to clear all the tabs I have open already (iMAcros asks, but I say no) or overwrite them. I just want to create a new tab, load my url, and act on it, and maintain the tabs I have open. iMacros assumes my starting tab is the tab I have highlighted at the time (it could be any one of the many I have open). It creates the new "untitled" tab to the right of all these, but then how do I get to that new untitled tab? Code below:

Code: Select all: VERSION BUILD=6111228 RECORDER=FX TAB OPEN (Opens a new tab correctly) URL GOTO=http://www.myurl.com/ (whatever URL) TAB T=1 (not sure what goes here - tried 1, 2, 5 etc.) TAG POS=1 TYPE=INPUT:SUBMIT FORM=NAME:login ATTR=NAME:submit&&VALUE:Login (logs in) TAG POS=1 TYPE=A ATTR=TXT:Categories/Products TAG POS=1 TYPE=B ATTR=TXT:ACCESSORIES

by **additional001** on Wed Jan 14, 2009 9:37 pm

Ok I see what you are trying to do now

Your TAB T= line is in the wrong place. Tech Support pretty much gave you the right answer

Code: Select all: 'Current TAB 'Opens a new tab correctly TAB OPEN 'Switch to TAB 2 at this point and execute code there. TAB T=2 URL GOTO=http://www.myurl.com/ TAG POS=1 TYPE=INPUT:SUBMIT FORM=NAME:login ATTR=NAME:submit&&VALUE:Login (logs in) TAG POS=1 TYPE=A ATTR=TXT:Categories/Products TAG POS=1 TYPE=B ATTR=TXT:ACCESSORIES ' If needed close the TAB 'TAB CLOSE 'if needed return to original tab 'TAB T=1 'If needed execute more code here

by **tpullano** on Wed Jan 14, 2009 9:55 pm

Thank you sir...that did the trick

by **evlev** on Thu Jan 15, 2009 4:22 am

Thanks for the thread, been trying to solve this one too.
Afraid the suggested solution only works sometimes:

additional001 wrote:Re: iMacros on New Tabs

Post by additional001 on Thu Jan 15, 2009 7:37 am
Code: Select all
TAB OPEN TAB T=2 URL GOTO=http://www.myurl.com/

"TAB T=2" will work if the current tab is the rightmost tab.
If the current tab is the leftmost of 5 tabs, on Firefox the new tab will be enumerated 6, not 2.

Is there some way to skip to the last tab?
something like "TAB T=LAST" or "TAB T=NUMTABS"
or just do it all "TAB T= TAB OPEN GOTO http://www.myurl.com/" :)

IE has an option to open new tabs adjacent the current tab instead of last tab, which could help here.
Thing is, I can't find how to do this in Firefox.

Thanks

by **tpullano** on Thu Jan 15, 2009 12:28 pm

evlev....

Thanks, and you're right. I just tested having focus on the right most tab. Doesn't work if the focus is on another tab farther left...

Hmmmm...any thought son this and evlev's suggestions?

by **additional001** on Thu Jan 15, 2009 6:00 pm

evlev wrote:Is there some way to skip to the last tab?
something like "TAB T=LAST" or "TAB T=NUMTABS"

Not without using an outside scripting language such as JavaScript or VBS.

or just do it all "TAB T= TAB OPEN GOTO http://www.myurl.com/"

That would be a no.

What is the purpose of these other tabs open? If they are not being opened and manipulated in conjunction with the script.. why not just use Two firefoxes. One for running the script in so that TAG numbers are preserved and one for browsing? I know it may not be the most desired method to solve the problem... but its what everyone else has to do.

by **tpullano** on Thu Jan 15, 2009 6:39 pm

?? What is the purpose of a browser that features multiple tabs? To have multiple tabs open....

I am constantly on many sites at once, and use the Firefox or Tab Plus extension save feature to bring them back up when I re-open firefox. Just want to be able to auto-login to a site, do my thing, then close it and keep my other tabs in tact to work on.

If anyone is using firefox with just one tab open, or none at all...why use it? And why would I want to expose my laptop to another 170K of memory use by opening another instances of firefox, just to run a macro to log into a site. Aren't macros supposed to save keystrokes?

iMacros is a great tool, and this doesn't seem like an outlandish request, but I really think if this cannot be accomplished, for me, it does not make much sense....any other macros recorders for firefox I can try?

by **josephconlin** on Fri Jan 16, 2009 4:00 pm

I like both of evlev's tab suggestions. Perhaps iOpus can consider them as an enhancement, but they don't exist right now that I know of.

In the meantime, I see two workarounds, both of which have already been suggested.
1) Open a new window that doesn't have your tabs that you want preserved and run your macro there (this way you wouldn't need to open a new tab in the macro either).
2) Click on the right-most tab in your current window before running your macro so that the TAB T=2 command would put you on the unused new tab.

Typing those out makes me think of a third workaround.
3) Hit Ctrl-T (which for me opens a new empty tab and takes me to it, but I don't have your extensions), then do #1 in the tab rather than a new window.

Based on your comments, I think you might prefer #2 or #3 workaround to #1 workaround. Hopefully the tab suggestions in this thread will be implemented someday, though.

by **additional001** on Fri Jan 16, 2009 4:24 pm

I'm not 100% sure, but I think you guys are barking up the wrong tree. When you are creating a plug-in or an extension it is by its nature that! You are working with another program that has its own limitations and mannerisms. FireFox has its own way of handling tabs.. there may be nothing iMacros can do to change that and that might be why this kind of limitation exsists.

by **josephconlin** on Fri Jan 23, 2009 4:42 pm

additional001 wrote:I'm not 100% sure, but I think you guys are barking up the wrong tree. When you are creating a plug-in or an extension it is by its nature that! You are working with another program that has its own limitations and mannerisms. FireFox has its own way of handling tabs.. there may be nothing iMacros can do to change that and that might be why this kind of limitation exsists.

I accept that there could be technical reasons that make these enhancements impossible, or at least too much work for the benefit gained. However, we've had no word from iOpus that such is the case, and until we hear that, I'd still like to think that they are at least considering looking for a way to implement these suggestions.