Kaleidoscope/docs/plugins/DynamicMacros.md

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DynamicMacros

Dynamic macros are similar to Macros, but unlike them, they can be re-defined without compiling and flashing new firmware: one can change dynamic macros via Focus, using a tool like Chrysalis.

Dynamic macros come with certain limitations, however: unlike the built-in macros, dynamic ones do not support running custom code, they can only play back a sequence of events (keys, mousekeys, etc), and do so whenever one presses the dynamic macro key.

You can define up to 32 dynamic macros, there is no limit on their length, except the amount of storage available on the keyboard.

Using the plugin

To use the plugin, we need to include the header, tell the firmware to use the plugin, and reserve storage space for the macros. This is best illustrated with an example:

#include <Kaleidoscope.h>
#include <Kaleidoscope-EEPROMSettings.h>
#include <Kaleidoscope-FocusSerial.h>
#include <Kaleidoscope-DynamicMacros.h>

KALEIDOSCOPE_INIT_PLUGINS(
  EEPROMSettings,
  Focus,
  DynamicMacros
);

void setup() {
  Kaleidoscope.setup();

  DynamicMacros.reserve_storage(128);
}

Keymap markup

DM(id)

Places a dynamic macro key on the keymap, with the id number (0 to 31) as identifier. Pressing the key will immediately run the associated dynamic macro.

Plugin methods

The plugin provides a DynamicMacros object, with the following methods and properties available:

.reserve_storage(size)

Reserves size bytes of storage for dynamic macros. This must be called from the setup() method of your sketch, otherwise dynamic macros will not function.

.play(macro_id)

Plays back a macro, specified by macro_id.

MACRO steps

The plugin supports the same macro steps as the Macros plugin, please refer to the documentation therein.

Focus commands

The plugin provides two Focus commands: macros.map and macros.trigger.

macros.map [macros...]

Without arguments, displays all the stored macros. Each macro is terminated by an end marker (MACRO_ACTION_END), and the last macro is followed by an additional marker. The plugin will send back the entire dynamic macro storage space, even the data after the final marker.

With arguments, it replaces the current set of dynamic macros with the newly given ones. Macros are terminated by an end marker, and the last macro must be terminated by an additional one.

In both cases, the data sent or expected is a sequence of 8-bit values, a memory dump.

macros.trigger macro_id

Runs the dynamic macro associated with macro_id immediately. This can be used to test macros without having to place them on the keymap.

Dependencies