WoW:Macro FAQ
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Macros
How do I write a Macro?
- See the Macros page.
How do I write a Macro to do XXXX?
- Check the Most Used Macros to see if someone has already done something like this. Check the question below "What can't a macro do?" to see if its going to be impossible. If neither of these help, try asking on the World of Warcraft UI & Macros Forum.
What can't a macro do?
- A Macro cannot:
- Use more than 255 characters
- Call another macro (with the addon "Supermacro" it is now easy to run other macros in your macro)
- Cast a spell/ability without you pressing a button
- Cast more than one spell/ability per button press, unless using an ability that isn't affected by global cooldown, like feign death or judgement.
- Wait or pause before activating a spell/ability
- Target another player's pet automatically (you can only automatically target your own pet)
- Output anything to file other than saved variables
So what can a macro do?
- You can call any script command (/script ScriptFunction), any standard WoW /command such as /say or /attack, and any additional /commands made available by the AddOns you've installed, for example if you install Cosmos you can use the Cosmos Slash Commands. If you need to write a long macro, write it as an AddOn in a lua file and bind it to a slash command, just like the Cosmos ones. See the section on Lua and XML for more details.
What's the real deal with pauses?
- You can't use a pause before a spell or ability. However... you can kinda do pauses in certain ways. Firstly, the Cosmos slash commands includes a /in option. This will NOT work with spells or abilities, but works fine with chat commands. For example: "/in 5 /say Heal on the way!". You can also use certain script commands based on time, such as the movement commands. See the World of Warcraft API for more on those.