Thread: The ;target alias and you! (A Guide to Target Macros)

Originally Posted by Pdt_the_Confused

Actually the reason you cannot bind a skill to it to make it a true alias is to prevent exactly that. Using such functions is one of the easiest ways to create a bot. And this is something turbine has gone to lengths to prevent.

So please be careful in assigning things to your G15 (those that have them) and be content to just assign the alias.

Have seen many threads about G15 and all games allow them. I have several things assigned to mine such as Map etc.

I dont know how to explain in plain english how to do an alias but after MUCH trial and error I now hit 5 to say ..waves to player.. and 6 to say '..thanks player' . I hit G15 button to say I am mezzing mob and i hit 4 to say ' transferring power to player'
Figure out which quickslot bar you want to use and then hit options/QS bars to see which number you want to place the alias in (such as 37etc)
Then you type in chat that command IN ORDER TO ASSIGN IT TO A KEY. You don't have to do that ..you can just use the mouse to hit that quickslot space

Originally Posted by Gaelivor

I asked about linking macros (wave, cower, etc.) to keys. I was referred back to this thread.

But I do not undertand the original post at all.

The example has some macro that apparently results in the character saying text, telling his fellowship in the chatbox that he is about to res some bad guy.

In the example the macro is linked to slot #37.

But what do you actually type and where do you type it to make that #37 slot go off? I do not have a #37 button on my PC. All my number keys are linked to my main toolbar and all my keyes seem set up to default macros, including most Cntrl+Key keys.

From his example it sounds like you end up typing as much to make the macro go off as it would take to say "/fellowship: Hey everybody! I am about to Mez that big hairry one on the left!"

Can someone, in plain Westron, explain how I would set up a key command so something like Alt+b would result in my character doing the Bow macro?

Or if it does not work that way, what I CAN do so that I just hit a key or two to make my character bow to someone else without my having to hit Enter and type /bow.

Thanks!

I created a walkthrough some time ago on both aliases and shortcuts on our kinship site. You might find it more descriptive in just what you're looking for:
http://unitedraces.net/html/_alias.html

Nice! Thanks for sharing that.

An awesome thread people..Thanks for the various information first from the OP and from Magnarr. Knowledge can be deadly in the right hands

thank you very much

Originally Posted by Nightravyn

To create a new alias, type:
/alias add ;aliasname <alias commands>

Now for my mez alias, I want to let my group know what target I'm mezzing, so I type the following:
/alias add ;meztarget /f -=[ Mezzing ;target ]=-

So now I have the alias ;meztarget which when used will output -=[ Mezzing <name of what I have targetted> ]=- to the fellowship channel.

I'm not sure what I'm doing - I typed exactly what you said in the chat channel (in fact, I copied and pasted) - and keep getting a message saying it failed - that I need at least one semicolon and one character.

Can someone post exactly what I would need to type to create this alias? I don't understand how all the semicolons, etc. work

Thank you

Originally Posted by Alefa_Galgoran

I'm not sure what I'm doing - I typed exactly what you said in the chat channel (in fact, I copied and pasted) - and keep getting a message saying it failed - that I need at least one semicolon and one character.

Can someone post exactly what I would need to type to create this alias? I don't understand how all the semicolons, etc. work

Thank you

The first one you have quoted - /alias add ;aliasname is just the generic alias add language. You don't have to type that one out to do the OPs example. The ;aliasname part is whatever you want to bind it to. So it could be ;mez or ;fart or ;heal or whatever you want. Thats just the name of the alias, nothing more. So if you weren't going to bind it to a slot on your skill bar you would have to type out ;mez or ;fart or ;heal.

The OP added the /f to his specific example, so for you to try out that one, you have to be in a fellowship. To test it out, you also have to have something targeted or it will just say mezzing ;target.


So make sure if you want the same example the OP uses to first type this out:
/alias add ;mez /f -=[ mezzing ;target ]=- then click enter

Then type:
/shortcut 1 ;mez then click enter and you will see a new black skill with the word mez in it. So instead of a skill in your skill bar, you see the black box with mez in it.


Then join a fellowship, select something and click your shortcut slot 1.
Once it is in the 1 shortcut spot, you can click and drag it to whichever slot you want.

And remember, this isn't actually performing the skill, it's just typing out to your fellowship mates who you have targeted and plan to mez. You still have to click the actual mez skill seperately.


Also, I don't know for sure, but I actually wouldn't copy and paste. You might have to actually type it out. Sometimes a game chatbar won't be complement an internet post or something from a word doc, especially if some funky characters are used.

Great post. I have been trying to figure out how to implement a heal into this. In my rift group there are two of us minstrels and I would like to let the other one know when I am healing someone in his party. For some reason I just can't seem to get the hang of creating the alias for it.
So what I want to do is have the cast command built into the alias and let /ra know that i am healing my target. Any help would be most appreciated.

it seems to me that /alias add ;meztarget /f -=[ Mezzing ;target ]=- and then /shortcut 37 ;meztarget yields the exact same result as /shortcut 37 /f -=[ Mezzing ;target ]=- A bit annoying since I much rather have "mez" in my hotbar slot instead of /f-= in it.

So... what did I do wrong?

Originally Posted by Jalael

Great post. I have been trying to figure out how to implement a heal into this. In my rift group there are two of us minstrels and I would like to let the other one know when I am healing someone in his party. For some reason I just can't seem to get the hang of creating the alias for it.
So what I want to do is have the cast command built into the alias and let /ra know that i am healing my target. Any help would be most appreciated.

A) This would be damn annoying on any regular heal. I'd quickly /ignore you if you were in my group.
B) Macros cannot use abilities. You cannot cast a spell in a macro. Macros cannot use abilities. Macros can not use skills.

Can this same process also be used to change the name of a linked item into chat? I saw a guy in my kinship change the name of an item that he had linked and was wondering how to do that.

Originally Posted by someenigma

A) This would be damn annoying on any regular heal. I'd quickly /ignore you if you were in my group.
B) Macros cannot use abilities. You cannot cast a spell in a macro. Macros cannot use abilities. Macros can not use skills.

It is really helpful to avoid using the term "macro" in relation to systems built into LotRO. A macro system allows you execute a set of commands. They are essentially a way to execute a predeterimed series of key presses or commands with a single keypress or command. Aliases and Shortcuts in LotRO do not meet this standard.

An Alias is generally thought of as a way of creating a short name to execute a command. In the sense that you can only execute a single command at a time, this is correct. And in the sense that you generally use it on a line by itself, it works that way. However, that is not really what an Alias is. It reality, an Alias is merely an abbreviation for a series of characters. For instance, let us say that you create an alias as follows:

/alias add ;mez /f -= Mezzing ;target =-

If you then target an Enraged Tarkrip, and type ;mez in your chatbar and hit enter, a message will go to your fellowship saying:

-= Mezzing Enraged Tarkrip =-

However, if somebody asks you how you do that, and you type:

/t Bob I use an alias I named ;mez

Rather than seeing:

"You tell Bob: I use an alias I named ;mez"

You will see (assuming you are still targeting the Enraged Tarkrip):

"You tell Bob: I use an alias named /f -= Mezzing Enraged Tarkrip =-"

And Bob will sit there wondering why you would name an alias "/f -= Mezzing Enraged Tarkrip =-".

This is because an alias is more like the "Correct as you type" feature in a word processor than it is an actual substitute command. "Correct as you type" features examine what you type in and when it sees certain letter combinations, it automatically substitutes another set of characters. For example, if you type in " teh " as you type, many word processors will automatically correct it to " the ." Now, an alias does not do that as you type, but as soon as you hit Enter, the command processor will replace any aliases it finds in your text before it processes the command. So if the Alias is all that is in the command line, and the alias starts with a slash command, it mimics a shortened command. But in reality, the command processor is simply replacing the alias name with the alias text wherever it finds it in the command line, resulting in the behavior above.

Similarly, a Shortcut associates the text with a quickslot so that whenever you press that slot, the text of the shortcut is entered into the active chatbar followed by Enter. So if your shortcut says, "/f Going AFK for a minute," your fellowship will receive a message from you telling them you are going AFK. However, if you don't put a "/f" or other channel at the start, that same message will go to whatever channel your chat bar is currently set to (kin, fellowship, say, etc.). That is, it simply types whatever you enter as the shortcut in the chatbar and presses enter for you.

By contrast, a true macro system, allows you to string commands together, often, including commands that let you execute skills. Some even allow you to incorporate pauses and loops. This allows you to automate a series of commands in a specific order. The LotRO Alias and Shortcut features cannot do multiple commands, to my knowledge, and you certainly cannot execute skills with them or do any of the other traditional macro functions. Thus, Aliases and Shortcuts have no real correlation to macros, so it is best to completely avoid using the term Macro in relation to anything built into LotRO. There really is no macroing ability in LotRO.

Originally Posted by elderlygamer

Very helpful info, thank you. I have used limited shortcuts before but never knew about using ;target. I appreciate your taking the time to post that info.

What he said... awesome

Originally Posted by Voxin

It is really helpful to avoid using the term "macro" in relation to systems built into LotRO. A macro system allows you execute a set of commands. They are essentially a way to execute a predeterimed series of key presses or commands with a single keypress or command. Aliases and Shortcuts in LotRO do not meet this standard.

(EDIT)

By contrast, a true macro system, allows you to string commands together, often, including commands that let you execute skills. Some even allow you to incorporate pauses and loops. This allows you to automate a series of commands in a specific order. The LotRO Alias and Shortcut features cannot do multiple commands, to my knowledge, and you certainly cannot execute skills with them or do any of the other traditional macro functions. Thus, Aliases and Shortcuts have no real correlation to macros, so it is best to completely avoid using the term Macro in relation to anything built into LotRO. There really is no macroing ability in LotRO.

Actually, you CAN execute more than one command using /alias. This is done by combining two or more aliases into one alias, or even combining a chat command such as a specific channel with an emote command and then adding another alias such as ;target. Even though you cannot execute skills, movement, or other actions (other than animated emotes), there is also the ability to use /invite, /follow, /friend add, and ignore add along with the ;target alias and text. Therefore, using /alias & /shortcut in any of these types of procedures does in fact meet the 'criteria' to refer to the result as a macro.

Originally Posted by Adder

Actually, you CAN execute more than one command using /alias. This is done by combining two or more aliases into one alias, or even combining a chat command such as a specific channel with an emote command and then adding another alias such as ;target.

Can you describe how this is possible? As far as I am aware, you may only execute one command per line, plus additional arbitrary text, *except* for the special alias ;target. It seems impossible to have a chat command and an emote all in one line, regardless of alias stacking.

For example:
/alias ;sayhi /say Hi
/alias ;dowave /wave
/alias ;hiandwave ;sayhi ;dowave

Using ;hiandwave in the above example will *not* make your guy say "Hi" and also do the wave emote. Instead you will get:

You say, 'Hi /wave'

So yes, you can combine multiple aliases into one, and each is expanded, but only the first command element on the line is executed. This is because, apart from the ;target and ;loc special aliases, the alias system works by pre-expanding all alias content *before* executing the line. So it is impossible to stack multiple commands into one line.

Prove me wrong, please, as I would love to be able to combine a /follow and a /tell ;target "I'm following you" into one alias or shortcut

always great when someone says something can be done but does not demonstrate it...so now we are left wondering..

Thanks for doing this. I printed it and am going to "attempt" to surpass my incompetence with /alias when I log on!

Originally Posted by Alias86

Can you describe how this is possible? As far as I am aware, you may only execute one command per line, plus additional arbitrary text, *except* for the special alias ;target. It seems impossible to have a chat command and an emote all in one line, regardless of alias stacking.

For example:
/alias ;sayhi /say Hi
/alias ;dowave /wave
/alias ;hiandwave ;sayhi ;dowave

Using ;hiandwave in the above example will *not* make your guy say "Hi" and also do the wave emote. Instead you will get:

You say, 'Hi /wave'

So yes, you can combine multiple aliases into one, and each is expanded, but only the first command element on the line is executed. This is because, apart from the ;target and ;loc special aliases, the alias system works by pre-expanding all alias content *before* executing the line. So it is impossible to stack multiple commands into one line.

Prove me wrong, please, as I would love to be able to combine a /follow and a /tell ;target "I'm following you" into one alias or shortcut

Originally Posted by BTiger

always great when someone says something can be done but does not demonstrate it...so now we are left wondering..

I apologize for not replying to Alias86. I was (and am) involved in a bunch of other stuff and just didn't get back to this. I do not make a habit of letting threads hang like this, but if I don't reply to something immediately, nine times out of ten, I'll forget it (out of sight, out of mind syndrome ).

When I originally posted that back in July, I was working on my Emotes Compendium (the Lorebook version is broken atm ) and there were a few combos that I had been using that appeared to give the results that I wanted. Sitting here typing this though, I can't for the life of me remember what they were, but when I log into the game a bit later tonight, I will attempt to recreate those aliases and will post a reply here tomorrow.

That's the best that I can do right now.

Originally Posted by Adder

Actually, you CAN execute more than one command using /alias. This is done by combining two or more aliases into one alias, or even combining a chat command such as a specific channel with an emote command and then adding another alias such as ;target. Even though you cannot execute skills, movement, or other actions (other than animated emotes), there is also the ability to use /invite, /follow, /friend add, and ignore add along with the ;target alias and text. Therefore, using /alias & /shortcut in any of these types of procedures does in fact meet the 'criteria' to refer to the result as a macro.

The problem is that you are misdefining the term "command." An alias is not a command. It is nothing more than a text substitution place holder, and that is the the whole point. When you use an alias, the command interpreter simply replaces the placeholer (the alias name) with the text you saved for the alias. It then executes the resulting text string as a single command. It does not execute each alias as a separate command, as would be required with a macro. To see the difference do the following in-game:
Create two aliases (substituting the name of the character you are on for "your-character's-name"):

/alias add ;testalias1 /t your-character's-name Going on follow
/alias add ;testalias2 /follow

Now target someone. Next, type ;testalias1 and hit enter. Then type ;testalias2 and hit enter. What happens?
What should happen is that you will send yourself a tell saying, "Going on follow" after hitting enter the first time, and then you will start following your target after hitting enter the second time. When you do this, it would, indeed, appear as if an alias acts like a command.

Now, stop following the person and create a third alias:
/alias add ;testalias3 ;testalias1 ;testalias2

Now target someone and type ;testalias3 followed by enter. If an alias were a macro, then the same thing would happen. You would send yourself the tell, then you would start following whomever you have targeted. Is that what happens? No.

What happens is that you will send yourself a tell saying, "Going on follow /follow" and you will not actually follow anyone. This will also be the result of typing ;testalias1 /follow. This is because an alias is not a command or a macro. It is merely a placeholder to tell the command interpreter to substitute whatever text is stored in an alias when it sees an alias name it has stored. The resulting text string is then what the command interpreter processes. It does not execute the alias as a separate command. Thus, doing either of these things is exactly the same thing as simply typing /t your-character's-name Going on follow /follow. And the result of that is to send yourself a tell with everthing that comes after your character's name.

Similarly, ;Loc and ;target are not commands. They are simply two system (i.e., predefined) aliases. However, instead of holding static text, they hold variable text depending on where you are located (;loc) or what you have targeted (;target). So they are not truly commands. They are simply variables that follow the same function as a user created alias, a placehoder for text that is concatenated with whatever other text is on the command line, and it is the resulting text string that is executed.

Macros are entirely different. A macro executes a series of commands, treating each command as a separate, indepdent action. LotRO does not have a macro system, and aliases do not remotely fit the definition of a macro.

Originally Posted by Voxin

The problem is that you are misdefining the term "command."
....
Macros are entirely different. A macro executes a series of commands, treating each command as a separate, indepdent action. LotRO does not have a macro system, and aliases do not remotely fit the definition of a macro.

Well-said.

Also, I've learned a ton from all of this, thank you folks very much!

Originally Posted by Perth

Couldn't you accomplish the same thing by "/shortcut 37 /f Mezzing ;target"?

I am using one that I made for RP purposes that was simply "/shortcut 38 /em quickly nods in greeting to ;target", which, when pressed, actually emotes "Perth quickly nods in greeting to Nightravyn". I still get many question about a /nod command though .

Cheers.

Yes customizing the animations are quite fun! Especially with /rude as a Warg that I have just learned. I rolled. Sorry, been gone a long time.

Without filtering through this entire discusssion...

Anyone know what the shortcut would be to /follow my enemy? sure would be nice to have when I am fighting those orc/gobbies archers that run away to peg at me.

Originally Posted by laform17

Without filtering through this entire discusssion...

Anyone know what the shortcut would be to /follow my enemy? sure would be nice to have when I am fighting those orc/gobbies archers that run away to peg at me.

Try this:

allias ;follow /follow
shortcut 1 /Follow

Now whoever you have on target and you want to follow, all you need to do is click on that shortcut /Follow.

What works even better is the Auto Move to Target option in Combat Options. No need to click the /follow button

Originally Posted by Dixie_Ladye

This is great, thanks.

Someone asked if you can bind this to G15. The only way I have found is to first bind it to a key and then bind that key to G15

You can record a text string to a G15 button that would include both a link to hot button as well as an alias string.

Originally Posted by sir-rinthian

What works even better is the Auto Move to Target option in Combat Options. No need to click the /follow button

That does work, but I've known it to occasionally backfire because there is not much control over it.

Once I had that option on when fighting Helchgam (this was a long time ago), and targeted one of the tentacles in front of me. My character then proceeded to rush forward and pull a swan dive into the water because the tentacle was not on the shore itself .

Does anyone know how to insert an item from the inventory as the target? So that it shows up a little more clearly in the chat box?

How about setting up a macro with different colored text, such as the ;target.
example:
Creepname: Rezzing: --[ Targetsname ]--

I see these all the time creepside. I notice that the colors seem to match item label colors, like when you drag an item to the chat. That's probably not a coincidence, but when I tried to make a macro with an item in it, the whole item name is treated like one character and the text cannot be changed.
The question is, how do you make a macro with different colored arbitrary text in it?

Answer: You can no longer do colored macros other than having standard item links in them. It used to be done by dragging an item into a /shortcut definition, then editing the text of the item, but that was fixed so you can no longer edit the item text. So all the colored macros apparently were created before the fix was made.

Great very useful thanks.
+rep

I had to reload the normal LOTRO, my drive had to be rebuilt, In downloading (the normal game, which I may add took over 12 hours) something happened and a message came back saying my files needed to be repaired. Using TDM I tried to hit repair but it would not start. It just kept saying pending? Please answer using my email Thank you

Originally Posted by strangebaggins3

Answer: You can no longer do colored macros other than having standard item links in them. It used to be done by dragging an item into a /shortcut definition, then editing the text of the item, but that was fixed so you can no longer edit the item text. So all the colored macros apparently were created before the fix was made.

Actually, there still is a way to do this.

Originally Posted by IMAWIN

Actually, there still is a way to do this.

Using #RGB code? Some other method for setting color in chat environments?
Inquiring minds would like to know.

Merry Christmas and Enjoy this gift!

I too have been trying to figure out the item link targeting and here's the solution:

Step 1: Create an alias with an item link in it (i.e. "/alias ;mzt /F Mezzing [Flower Petals]! Do NOT Attack!"). Simply type everything out and ctrl-rightclick or drag the item you want to use where ever you want the target to be in the text.

Step 2: Attach that alias to a shortcut (i.e. "/alias shortcut ;mzt 1")

Step 3: Export your ui layout (i.e. "/ui layout save main"). Main can be any name you want to give it.

Step 4: Alt-tab or Exit the game and Edit the file that was exported
(i.e. "C:/Users/[UserName]/Documents/The Lord of the Rings Online/ui/layouts/main.layout").
You can use any standard text editor like Notepad.

Step 5: Find the line that contains your alias and replace the text inside the [] with ;target (in this case I searched "Flower Petals"). It should be right near the top - be sure not to edit any of the code..only the bracketed text. Save and exit.

Step 6: Return to the game and reload the layout (i.e. "/ui layout load main")

If everything was done correctly, you can type "/alias list" and you should see something similar to:
Listing user-defined aliases...
alias [;mzt] == [/F Mezzing [;target]! Do NOT Attack!]
Now the shortcut you created will work just as it should.

Hope this helps those people out there that were having issues!

On a side note: Those of you that are familiar with XML should find the file fairly easy to read as that is how it is stored..and it uses the <examine> class to link items. You could, in theory, link any item whether you owned it or not just by knowing the correct IIDDID: code. Also, you don't really have to do the shortcut thing...but, it makes it easier to test.

P.S. Topic is a bit old but, it's a Sticky. So, replying shouldn't be considered necro-posting ^^

Originally Posted by KamiZZ

Merry Christmas and Enjoy this gift!

I too have been trying to figure out the item link targeting and here's the solution:

Step 1: Create an alias with an item link in it (i.e. "/alias ;mzt /F Mezzing [Flower Petals]! Do NOT Attack!"). Simply type everything out and ctrl-rightclick or drag the item you want to use where ever you want the target to be in the text.

Step 2: Attach that alias to a shortcut (i.e. "/alias shortcut ;mzt 1")

Step 3: Export your ui layout (i.e. "/ui layout save main"). Main can be any name you want to give it.

Step 4: Alt-tab or Exit the game and Edit the file that was exported
(i.e. "C:/Users/[UserName]/Documents/The Lord of the Rings Online/ui/layouts/main.layout").
You can use any standard text editor like Notepad.

Step 5: Find the line that contains your alias and replace the text inside the [] with ;target (in this case I searched "Flower Petals"). It should be right near the top - be sure not to edit any of the code..only the bracketed text. Save and exit.

Step 6: Return to the game and reload the layout (i.e. "/ui layout load main")

If everything was done correctly, you can type "/alias list" and you should see something similar to:
Listing user-defined aliases...
alias [;mzt] == [/F Mezzing [;target]! Do NOT Attack!]
Now the shortcut you created will work just as it should.

Hope this helps those people out there that were having issues!

On a side note: Those of you that are familiar with XML should find the file fairly easy to read as that is how it is stored..and it uses the <examine> class to link items. You could, in theory, link any item whether you owned it or not just by knowing the correct IIDDID: code. Also, you don't really have to do the shortcut thing...but, it makes it easier to test.

P.S. Topic is a bit old but, it's a Sticky. So, replying shouldn't be considered necro-posting ^^

Yep, simple way is to just link the item you want, and save it as an alias. Then save the ui layout, go and edit it and load it. Then just make a new alias to whatever you want and include the saved/edited alias as a part of that alias.

I tried to give an exact and basic example so that people would not get confused

is there a possibilty to link names of fellowship to a ;target like command ?

that would be super handy for telling the conjunction order for people !

Hey all,

is it possible to create a target macro/alias for the following?

/target <petname>
/cast Beacon of Hope
/targetlasttarget

Basically I'd like an auto-target+heal-pet macro. I have to use this skill 600 times for the class deed to be completed and find it such an incredible hassle

Why the heck did I have to subscribe to this thread when I subscribed in the past?