Getting started: Running a Script

Let us run the script created in the previous section (Creating a script). The scripts reads names and addresses from an XML file and saves them in an Excel sheet. 

Running a script

Running a script is the fast way to execute all script actions. To do this, choose Script|Run or click the Run button. During a run the program is locked, so no changes can be made to the script. You can interrupt a script by clicking the Stop button during a run. Try running the script now. Look up the Excel file that was placed in "c:\addresses.xls" and open it. You will see that the script has put the addresses from the xml file into the Excel sheet.

Stepping a script

A very useful method to see how a script does its job is using the stepping mode. This allows you to execute script actions one by one and at the same time watch the content change in the sources and variables of the script. Activate the first script line by clicking on it. Then, press the Step button until you reach the forth action, Copy Text from Source. With each step you take, the variables and sources in the Variables & Sources window will get updated. When you reach the Copy Text action, you will see that the Name variable is filled with the correct content, "John". Continue stepping, and you will see the address get filled as well.

Using viewers

You can also use viewers to see what is going on with thee content of a source, like a data grid. From the View menu, open Show Grid Viewer. A window opens, displaying an empty grid. Try stepping through the script again now and watch the datagrid fill itself.