QuickMove

Some applications listed in the Target application drop-down list in the Macro options toolbar have a QuickMove option. For instance, QuickBooks desktop has these two entries in the list:

Where available, QuickMove lets macros work more quickly. But it only works with certain types of calculations and certain arrangements of fields on the target form, so it must be used with care and cannot be used with all macros.

To understand QuickMove you must first understand the standard way a FullSpeed macro navigates among fields in an application.

It does that mostly by issuing the equivalent of Tab and Shift+Tab keystrokes. For example, to get from the first column on the current row of a form to the first column on the next row FullSpeed sends the number of Tab keystrokes necessary to accomplish that movement. If there are six columns in the form, then six Tabs will be sent. This approach is the "safe" (i.e., reliable) way to move among fields, because almost regardless of what field types are present a Tab or Shift-Tab will move into and out of those fields.

Now let's contrast that with how QuickMove works. With QuickMove enabled, to move from first column on the current row of a form to the first column on the next row FullSpeed would send just one keystroke: a down arrow. Obviously this is much faster than the multiple Tab keystrokes that would be sent with the standard approach to field navigation.

So why not use QuickMove all of the time? Because in many applications it only works for moving among certain types of fields. Usually, fields that let you select something from a drop-down list are incompatible with QuickMove.

You can test this yourself. Open an application where you want to use a FullSpeed macro, and open an invoice or other form in that application. Click on any field in the line items area of the invoice which has a drop-down list, then press a down arrow key on your keyboard. If the focus moves down to the next line of the form, then QuickMove will work in that field. But if pressing the down arrow only causes that field's drop-down list to drop down, then QuickMove will not work with that field.

Does this mean the target form must have no drop-down list fields to use QuickMove with it? Absolutely not! You just have to be certain that the macro will not be trying to move downward from one of those fields. (See the discussion below.)

For QuickMove to work in any application, it must be possible to move down to the next row of a form using the down arrow key. Some applications simply don't support moving that way. Xero is one of these: moving down to the next row of a Xero invoice requires a mouse click. A down arrow won't work.

If a macro may leave the line items area of a form to grab data from a header field for instance, you will not be able to use the QuickMove option with that macro. Why? Because the macro would likely "get lost" (lose track of the correct column location) if it tried to use up and down arrows to move into and out of the header area.

Rule #2: A macro cannot use QuickMove if it might try to move downward to the next row of a form, in a drop-down list field (column)

As mentioned above, in this situation a down arrow usually will not cause the focus to move down to the next row of the form; it will only display the drop-down list.

So how can you know whether a macro might try to move downward in a drop-down list field?

▪	One way is simply to try it. With QuickMove selected for the target application (in the Macro options toolbar), a couple test runs of a macro will show whether it will work properly with QuickMove.

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Another way is to set up the macro in a way that avoids drop-down list fields. For instance, a macro which just multiplies numbers from two adjacent columns and puts the result in a third column may only need to span the range of those three columns of the target application. If none of them are drop-down list fields, the macro should be able to work just fine with the QuickMove option set.

For instance, though Rule #1 says you can only use QuickMove with macros that work in the line items area of a target application, at times you may be able to use QuickMove in macros that run in a form's header area. It all depends on how the target application responds to the keystrokes FullSpeed sends when QuickMove is in effect.

The only way to know where QuickMove can and cannot be used is to try it. If you try it and it fails, there's no harm done. Just switch to the standard (non-QuickMove) option for that target application.