iMacros Help

What is iMacros?

iMacros is a browser based application for macro recording, editing and playback for web automation and testing. It is provided as a free extension for the Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome web browsers. Demo macros are included with the browser extension. The vendor of iMacros is the Progress Software Corporation. iMacros adds record and replay functionality similar to that found in web testing and form filler software. iMacros is designed to automate repetitious tasks on the web. If there's an activity you have to do repeatedly, just record it in iMacros. The next time you need to do it, the entire macro will run at the click of a button. Unlike some other form filling tools, iMacros does not send any data back to the vendor. All data is only stored on your local PC.

How to install iMacros for Firefox

  1. Download iMacros Add-on for Firefox.
  2. Install iMacros as Firefox Add-on.
  3. Restart the browser.
  4. You will find the new iMacros icon in the navigation bar.
  5. Press the iMacros button and it opens in separate browser frame.
  6. iMacros for Firefox does not store its macros as text files. The reason for this is that web extensions can not access the file system.
  7. Instead macros are stored as bookmarklets inside the regular browser bookmarking system.
  8. Go to our help item "How to use iMacros browser extension".

How to install iMacros for Chrome

  1. In Google Chrome, go to Settings - Extensions and install the iMacros extension for Chrome.
  2. Restart the browser.
  3. You will find the new iMacros icon next to the navigation field.
  4. Press the iMacros button and it opens in a pop-up window.
  5. iMacros for Chrome does not store its macros as text files. The reason for this is that web extensions can not access the file system.
  6. Instead macros are stored as bookmarklets inside the regular browser bookmarking system.
  7. Go to our help item "How to use iMacros browser extension".

How to use iMacros browser extension

After you installed the iMacros extension in your browser you will see the iMacros icon next to the navigation field. Clicking on the button opens the iMacros sidebar or pop-up window. First we recommend that you look at a few demo macros which are included in the iMacros bookmark folder that appears after installation.

After this start recording your own first macro. To get started, a simple website like the Netzdemo wiki is good. To record, open the iMacros panel and click record. Then perform some actions like surfing, clicking or downloading. When you are done recording, click the stop icon either in the panel or in the browser toolbar. The iMacros icon changes to a stop button with line counter during recording and replay. You can then playback the macro or view/edit the macro code.

To start recording a macro, select one of the following methods:

  1. Click the "Record" button on the iMacros sidebar
  2. Press Ctrl+F5.
Now simply perform whatever tasks you wish to record, such as surfing to websites or filling out forms. After you have finished recording press "Stop". The current recording is automatically saved with the Default Macro Name.

To replay a macro, first select the macro in the macro list and then choose one of the following methods:

  1. Click the "Play" button or on the sidebar.
  2. Simply double-click the macro in the list.
  3. Press the F5 key.
During playback, a blue frame shows you which parts of the web page are being manipulated. To play a recorded sequence multiple times, fill in the maximum number of times to repeat the macro and press the "Play" button.

iMacros for Chrome and iMacros for Firefox do not store its macros as text files. The macros are as bookmarklets inside the regular browser bookmarking system. You can easily copy existing macro files to a bookmark:

  1. Open the existing macro file in any text editor
  2. Copy its contents to the clipboard (Strg-C)
  3. In the iMacros sidebar editor, select any of the macros
  4. Go to the tab "Manage" and click on "Edit Macro"
  5. Paste (Strg-V) the content over an existing macro
  6. Use SaveAs to save with a new name.
  7. If you do not have any bookmark macro, start recording to create one.

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