Master Macros

In contrast to simple Analysis Macros, you must explicitly specify the recording of Master Macros (logs of entire analysis sessions). To do this:

Ribbon bar. Select the Tools tab, click Macro and from the menu, select Start Recording Log of Analyses (Master Macro).

Classic menus. From the Tools - Macro submenu, select Start Recording Log of Analyses (Master Macro).

After you start the Master Macro recording, the floating Record toolbar is displayed to remind you that a log is currently being recorded.

From this point, all analyses and most data file operations are recorded. None of the analyses performed prior to starting the recording will be part of the Master Macro. The analyses and chosen results options (e.g., to produce spreadsheets and graphs) are recorded in sequence. Thus, if you are simultaneously running multiple analyses, for example if you computed Basic Statistics and at the same time performed some Multiple Regression analyses, the actions taken will be recorded in sequence. As a result, when you play back the Master Macro, you could get first a results spreadsheet computed from Basic Statistics followed by a summary table computed in Multiple Regression followed by a series of histograms computed via the Basic Statistics options, etc.

To stop the recording, click the Stop button on the Record toolbar; at this point, all recorded Visual Basic syntax (specifying all analyses that were performed during the recording session) will be transferred to a Visual Basic editor window. The Master Macro can then be further edited, saved, or run as is to duplicate the exact sequence of analyses that was performed during recording.

The purpose of the Master Macro is to permit you to create a complete log of all operations.