iMacros

iMacros
Original author(s) iOpus
Stable release 9.00 / February 26, 2013[1]
Operating system Windows XP or later[2]
Platform IA-32 and x86-64[2]
Available in English + 10 other languages
Type Form filler
Scripting
Server monitoring
Software testing
Web scraping
License Proprietary commercial software[3]
Website www.iopus.com/iMacros/
iMacros for Chrome
Stable release 6.01 / December 6, 2012[4]
Platform Google Chrome
License Open-source software[4]
iMacros for Firefox
Stable release 8.8.8 / December 16, 2014[5]
Platform Mozilla Firefox
License Open-source software[3]
iMacros for Internet Explorer
Stable release 9.00 / February 26, 2013[1]
Platform Internet Explorer
License Freeware[3]

iMacros is an extension for the Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, and Internet Explorer web browsers which adds record and replay functionality similar to that found in web testing and form filler software.[6] The macros can be combined and controlled via JavaScript. Demo macros and JavaScript code examples are included with the software. iMacros was developed by iOpus. First released in 2001, iMacros was the first macro recorder tool specifically designed and optimized for web browsers[7] and form filling.[8]

iMacros for Firefox and Chrome offers a feature known as social scripting.[9] It allows users to share macros and scripts in a way that is similar to how they share bookmarks on the many social bookmarking websites. After creating a new macro, users can click just once to share it with their friends as a link, either by distributing the link via email and social bookmarking websites, or by embedding it in a website or blog for public access. Technically, this is accomplished by embedding the imacro and the controlling JavaScript inside a plain text link.[10]

Along with the freeware version, iMacros is available as a proprietary commercial application,[3] with additional features and support for web scripting, web scraping, internet server monitoring, and web testing. In addition to working with HTML pages, the commercial editions can automate Adobe Flash, Adobe Flex, Silverlight, and Java applets by using Directscreen and image recognition technology. The freeware version of iMacros contains no control flow statements and with a few minor exceptions,[11] complex or conditional code requires scripting available only in the commercial version.

Advanced versions also contain a command-line interface and an application programming interface (API) to automate more complicated tasks and integrate with other programs or scripts. The iMacros API is called the Scripting Interface. The Scripting Interface of the iMacros Scripting Edition is designed as a Component Object Model (COM) object and allows the user to remotely control (script) the iMacros Browser, Internet Explorer, and Firefox from any Windows programming or scripting language.

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Version History". iMacros Online Documentation. iOpus. 2012-03-19. Retrieved 2012-04-24.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "System requirements". iMacros | Web Browser Scripting, Data Extraction and Web Testing. iOpus Inc. Retrieved 9 January 2010.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 "iMacros Feature Comparison - Free and Business Editions". iMacros website. iOpus. Retrieved 9 January 2011.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "iMacros for Chrome § Version History". iMacros for Chrome Online Documentation. iOpus. 2012-04-24. Retrieved 2012-04-24.
  5. ↑ "Versions". addons.mozilla.org. Mozilla Foundation. Retrieved 2012-04-24.
  6. ↑ Firefox 3 Hacks, O'Reilly, 2008, ISBN 978-4-87311-375-3
  7. ↑ Goebel, Max et all. Digging the Wild Web. An Interactive Tool. Web information systems engineering - WISE 2007: 8th International Conference
  8. ↑ Huben, Jan, Domain Independent Automatic Form Filling. Web Engineering: 10th International Conference, ICWE 2010, Vienna, Austria
  9. ↑ "Firefox Extensions and Tools: Using iMacros and Zotero". Library Technology Conference 2009. March 19, 2009. Retrieved 2011-01-18.
  10. ↑ "Automatic Google Search". Embedded sample imacro.
  11. ↑ "iMacros Macro or Script". iMacros wiki website. iOpus. Retrieved 17 March 2014.

External links