How to Make Macros in WoW
If you are not sure how to make macros in WoW, then this series of articles will teach you how, and give you a few sample macros that you can use.
First of all, a macro is simple a list of commands, all of which could also be typed in chat. For instance, if you wanted your character to sit, you could type “/sit” in chat, and instead of your character saying “/sit”, it will actually sit. There are many other such commands that behave this way, such as emotes, “/logout”, etc.
Macros give you an opportunity to store a few commands and run them all at once at the push of a button, or press of a key. But they are more than just a stored list of commands; macros can also use “conditions” to decide which commands to actually run, as well as sequences, random selection, and even termination of the macro under various conditions.
Also, macros will not automate the game for you. You still need to know when to run the macro, and it will not cause itself to run automatically under specified conditions. You will always need to run a macro by assigning it to a button and either clicking that button or pressing the key on your keyboard that is bound to that button.
Lastly, you cannot “chain” your macros; in other words you cannot use one macro to call another. However, Blizzard has relaxed some restrictions on the number of different commands you can use, so your macros can be relatively complex.
So, to create a macro you simply type “/macro” and hit Enter, and the macro screen will be displayed. If you have not made any macros yet you will see the default macro that Blizzard includes. Also, there are two tabs at the top, one for your currently selected character, and another for all characters (I believe this is for all characters on your current realm, and not your account, but I may be wrong).
On each of these tabs you will see (if they are there) buttons for each macro that is part of that tab’s collection of macros. If you click on one of the buttons you will see the text of that macro in the bottom of the macro screen. It is here where you will enter the text of your first macro.
Rather than edit one of the pre-made macros, you can create new ones. You can start this by pressing the button that says “New” (you probably guessed that). A new screen will pop up that prompts you to enter a name for the macro and to select a button that you will use to display on your action bar. Once you have done these, click the button to accept your choices and the New Macro screen will close, leaving you with the main macro window displaying your new, empty macro with its button.
To enter the text of your macro, just type in the bottom section. Each command you enter should be separated by a “/”, but I also find it easier to work with one command per line. The game will not care either way if the commands are on separate lines, but it makes it easier to tweak them later on.
So, now you can enter a command that you would normally type in chat. For instance, you could enter “/sit”. You do not need to save what you are typing, as the game does this for you on the fly. When you are done entering your text, simply click and drag the button for the macro (displayed at the top left) to a spot on your action bar, and then exit the macro screen.
Now to test your macro. Make sure your character is standing, then press the button where you dragged your macro button to. You character should now sit.
If that worked for you, then you have created your first macro! A useless one, of course, but it works for demonstration purposes.
If your macro did not work, then check the following:
- Does the button you assigned to your macro show the name or part of the name of the macro? Is it the same button picture? If not, then you did not actually manage to assign the macro to the button. Open the macro screen, and find your macro and click and drag it to the button on your action bar, and make sure it “sticks”. You may have another button already there, in which case you will need to “release” that one by clicking on somewhere inactive on the screen.
- Check the text of your macro. Does it have a slash in front of the “sit”? If not, then it will not be interpreted as a command. Make sure it says “/sit”.
- Did you enter the command under the new macro, or did it get entered in one of the pre-existing macros? Or did you drag the wrong macro to your action bar?
That’s all there is to creating macros. My next few posts will deal with some of the commonly used macros for Hunters.
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