So this post is a bit different from some of our others. Generally on the ARK Squared blog we discuss graphic design, web marketing, audio visual services and the like. But today we will actually look at a piece of software.
I recently had a need to automate a few repetitive tasks on my PC, really out of sheer laziness. One of the pieces of software often needs the same task repeated over and over again. Each cycle of this task requires close to 30 keystrokes, and I needed to repeat this process 120 times. So faced with 3600 monotonous keystrokes I went looking for a way to simplify the process. I came across Jitbit Macro Recorder, a simple and clean tool for automation.
I found using the recording function a great way to create a base macro, and it is very simple to edit the sequence of events. A great function included in this is the ability to build in repeats, including prompting the user for the number of repeats. I like the fact that once the script is running you can easily pause or quit the script with just a couple of keystrokes. The one thing with the repeats that I would like to see is that once the script is running it to count down the remaining repeats on the status bar.
Now, I know that I am not the best software reviewer, and I have not used many features including the great ability to create .exe files of the scripts (standalone programs that can be used on computers that do not have the software installed) but I have another, albeit selfish motives. I was intrigued by a note on the download page of the software. The developer is offering the $40 software for free to bloggers in exchange for any kind of review and a backlink to their website. The more I thought about this, the smarter I realized it was! Not only are you getting more people using your software, but more importantly you will be increasing your presence on search engines. One of the way that sites like Google rank your page is by finding out how “popular” you are on the world wide web. How many independent sources are referencing your company? Along the lines of one of our posts a few weeks ago, any press is good press, and having your site being discussed and linked to from other, and importantly – independent sites. It is easy for you to create all kinds of links off you own pages to yourself, but search engines like having “social justification” or a burden of proof that people are talking about you. Think along the line of trending topics on Twitter, the higher the trend, the more likely that you are going to have either heard of it, or read about it, or are interested in learning more about that topic. So, why not give away some of your product in exchange for a review? While all reviews may not be positive (in fact I think it is good if you have a few negative ones, I personally always read the bad reviews, and often determine that the review is being unreasonable, or perhaps they have a valid point for their situation, which is not applicable to mine) you get your name out there.
Now, back to the review of the software. I would be happy to do a more thorough review of the software, with screen shots, and perhaps videos etc, but I need some encouragement! Post a comment, ask a question, give me some feedback! Let me know what you would like to see! I will be using Jitbit Macro Recorder a lot in the next month or so to simplify my life , so far I really do love it, it just works! I hope to be able to provide a more thorough review as I think of more and more ways of using it.
So to pull it all together:
- If you are looking for a great, easy to use piece of software to automate task Jitbit Macro Recorder is the Bee’s Knees
- Want to build your search engine ranking? Ask others for reviews, links, Facebook likes, Twitter follows etc. The more you get yourself out there the better
- Free stuff is great! (Thanks Jitbit for the free software!)
- If you find this useful, let us know!
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Have you tried AHK ( http://www.autohotkey.com/ ), though?
Hi Caue,
I have, actually I have an old version running on a client’s machine to help automate a simple repetitive function. What AHK is missing though is the great GUI. For someone who does not create scripts on a super regular basis, having the ability to have the great GUI that Jitbit has is invaluable.
Also the ability to execute just a portion of the macro is very useful during development. On more complicated scripts, you may have the need to tweak just a small section. Say in your script you need to create document, open an application, load the document, edit it, save it and then move on. If the creation and opening portions are working fine, but the edit portion needs tweaking, you can simply run that portion of the script. Very useful.
The developer has made a number of updates since I originally posted this review, and from what I have seen they have been great. I do not need to use the application that regularly at the moment, so I am running a few versions ago I think, as it still serves my needs.
Thanks for the comment!
Adam.