IRAssistant is a software which allows you to execute macros in your PC with a remote controller or other device (for example with a joystick!). However, IRAssistant can be used without any special remote controller device because macros can also be executed through the customizable button panel. Button panel floats on the desktop over all open windows and the macros can be executed by pressing a button on the panel.

With IRAssistant you can control your MP3 player, DVD player, TV card, slide shows etc. You can launch applications and control them with an ordinary remote controller. You can even create macros which can be executed by pressing a remote control button! Macros can be grouped to button groups which will allow same remote control button behave in different way depending on which button group is currently activated. Usually universal remote controllers behave in the same way; you press the TV button and you are able to control your TV and after you press VCR button, you are able to control your VCR etc.

You don't need any separate plugins for applications to control them with IRAssistant, IRAssistant can control almost all Windows applications. However, if you want to use your favourite plugins in your applications, that's also possible! IRAssistant can deactivate itself (release COM-port) and allows the launched application to use the receiver. When the launched application is closed, IRAssistant will be activated again automatically!

IRAssistant runs on Microsoft Windows 95, 98, NT4 (service pack 4.0 needed) and 2000. The help files are in html format, so a web browser is needed to open the help files. A data source device (usually an infrared receiver) and a driver for the device is needed in order to use IRAssistant remotely. Check IRAssistant website for available drivers. If there's no available driver for your device, please contact and we'll see if the driver can be created. Usually the device is required in order to create the driver! If you are willing to create your own driver, ask for more information!

Now we can activate the button group and launch the desired application with the remote controller. If you want to use the play button to start playing the CD or MP3-file, add one macro to both button groups. Define the desired actions for both macros and attach the play button of your remote controller to both macros with learn command. Also general macros can be defined. General macro does not belong to any button group and these macros will function no matter which button group is currently activated.

Let's have an example. I want to be able to launch different players with one remote controller button. I'll create three macros, "Select app", "MP3-players" and "CD-players". Every macro must have the option "select executed command" checked. "Select app" macro will contain two macro commands, the first command will execute the macro "MP3-players" and the other command will execute macro "CD-players". "MP3-players" macro contains also two commands, the first one launches Winamp.exe and the other one launches Sonique.exe. The "CD-players" macro launches also two cd-player applications. I have to attach a remote controller button only to the "Select app" macro.

Now, what happens when I execute the macro "Select app" by pressing a remote controller button? A window, that shows two commands, will popup. By pressing the remote controller button I can select which command I want to execute. I select the command "MACRO:CD-players". A new window will popup that shows two cd-player applications. I select the first one. Now the cdplayer.exe application is started! All I had to do was to press one remote control button several times to select the desired application!

This feature will also give a possibility to type texts like in mobile phones. You can download a sample file from the IRAssistant download page to see how you can type texts with IRAssistant!

Command	Description
Activate IR-receiver / Deactivate IR-receiver	Activates the infrared receiver and waits for the commands from the remote controller. Deactivates the infrared receiver and stops receiving the commands orm the remote controller.
Settings...	Opens the settings dialog of IRAssistant.
Exit	Deactivates infrared receiver and exits IRAssistant.

Command	Description
Add button group...	Opens the button group dialog in which the group information can be added. After closing the dialog, the treeview is refreshed.
Add group macro...	Adds a macro to the selected button group. The menu item is enabled only when a button group or a group macro is currently selected in the tree view. Group macros will work only when the group is activated. Activating can be done by pressing the remote control group button (remember to use learn command for button group) or by a macro command.
Add general macro...	Adds a general macro. General macros will work whatever button group is currently activated.
Edit item...	Menu item will open a button group or macro dialog depending on the selection of the tree view.
Disable/enable item	Enables or disables the currently selected item. When a button group or macro is disabled, it won't be executed if the remote control button is pressed. Also, another button group or macro can have the same remote button attached at the same time, if the other one is disabled.
Hide/Show item	Hides selected macro. If macro is hidden, it's shown only when the option "Show hidden macros" is checked.
Cut	Deletes the selected macro and places it to the internal clipboard of IRAssistant.
Copy	Copies the selected macro to the internal clipboard of IRAssistant.
Paste	Adds the macro from the internal clipboard to the tree view. If a general macro is selected, the action will be pasted as a general macro. If a button group or a button group macro is selected, the macro will be pasted as a button group macro.
Delete	Deletes the selected button group or macro. The deleted item will not be placed to the clipboard.

Command	Description
Learn item...	Opens the learn dialog and attaches a remote control button (or command) with the selected item.
Batch learn...	Learn all unlearnt items. When learn dialog is opened the current item can be skipped by pressing ESC button.
Show learnt command...	Shows the command or commands that are attached to the item.
Remove learn	Removes the attached remote control button from the currently selected item.

All defined button groups and macros are shown in the tree view. Button groups are shown as a group -icon and macros are shown as a button -icon. Button group macros are located under the group and general macros are at the same level as the button groups.

One macro can be selected to be launched automatically when IRAssistant is started. The macro is NOT launched if the "Activate IRAssistant in startup" is not checked, so the macro is launched only if IRAssistant is activated in startup. The combo box is enabled only if the "Activate IRAssistant in startup" check box is checked. If you want some button group to be activated automatically when IRAssistant is started, define one general macro which activates the desired button group and make it selected in the combo.

When the option is checked, IRAssistant will be activated automatically when it is started. Depending on the settings, IRAssistant is minimized in activation. See the settings dialog for more information about minimization.

If this option is checked, also hidden macros will be displayed in the tree view. If the option is not checked, all the hidden macros are invisible.

The same options are available on both tab pages, except "On screen display in use" checkbox.

The list contains all IRAssistant drivers found from the IRAssistant program directory. Drivers can be downloaded from the IRAssistant website. If driver for your data source device is not available,, it could be possible to create a driver for your device! Select the desired driver from the list and configure it with "Configure..." button. The configuring dialog can vary between the drivers.

The name of the button group. This name will be shown in the tree view of the main window.

Select the macro to be run when the button group is activated. The macro is run also when button group is activated by a macro command.

If you want to create a new macro which will be run when the group is activated, press new button. When the macro dialog is closed with Ok button, the created macro will be automatically selected.

If you want to edit the selected macro, press edit button. The button will be disabled if no macro is selected.

If you want to attach a remote control button to the button group immediately, it can be done by pressing the learn button.

This dialog is used for adding a new or editing an existing macro. Macro can include one or more commands. When the macro is executed only one command from the list is executed or the commands are executed as a sequence depending on the selection of "Type of command execution".

The commands are sent to the specified target window. If you want different commands to be executed in different target windows, you should define several macros because each macro can have it's own target window. The macros can be chained, so one macro can execute a number of other macros!

It's also possible to create your own macro commands with plugins! More information and code samples can be found from IRAssistant web site https://irassistant.com/.

Name
The name of the macro. This name will be shown in the tree view of the main window.

Tree view
Select the desired macro command and press Add button. Depending on the selection a dialog may appear when add button is pressed.

Add
After having chosen a desired command you can add it to the commands list by pressing Add -button. Depending of the selection, a dialog may appear after pressing the add button. Fill the asked information and press OK. The command will appear as the last item in the Commands -listbox.

Delete
If you want to delete a command from the Commands -listbox, select the desired command and press Delete -button.

Arrow up/arrow down
To change the order of the commands in the Commands -listbox, select one command and then press either Arrow up or Arrow down -button to move it to the desired position.

In a sequence, no repeat
To execute all commands in a sequence, select this option. The commands can not be repeated and every time macro is executed, a button press time is waited before the macro is executed again.

In a sequence, repeat allowed
To repeat the macro without the button press delay when remote control button is pressed, check this option. The option is usually used with mouse movement commands but can also be used in other commands e.g. in volume control. If the option is not checked, the actions will be repeated with the delay specified in the Button press delay -setting in the Settings -dialog. Remember to select this option if you want the mouse cursor movements be continuous!

One command, select
This option is only enabled if more than one command is added to the list. When the option is checked, only one command from the list will be executed. A window (that will contain the commands) will popup on the screen and the command can be selected by pressing a remote controller button. Notice that you can also chain the macros! See the chapter "Creating selection menus" for more information!

One command, loop
This option is only enabled if more than one command is added to the list. When the option is checked, only one command from the list will be executed at a time. If there's e.g two commands in the list (x and y), the command x is executed when the button is pressed for the first time. Next time when the button is pressed, y is executed. Again, next time the x is executed etc.

Current foreground window
If this option is selected, the macro commands are sent to the window which is on the foreground at the time of the command execution. Notice that the foreground window may change during the macro execution so it could be possible that the commands are executed in different target windows!

Specify
When this option is selected, the target window for the macro can be defined. If the specified target window is not found at the time of execution, the commands are not sent to any window. If there are no executable or window caption defined, the target window is the current foreground window.

Executable
Set the name of the executable you want to be the target for the macro. Don't specify the path, just the name of the executable (e.g. CDPLAYER.EXE). If only the executable is specified, the macro commands are sent to the main window of the application. If also the window caption is specified, both the name of the executable and the window caption must match!
The executable is set automatically if the macro belongs to a group and an application is specified to be launched in the group activation.

Set...
To ease the target selection, press set button. A dialog will open which will show all windows that are currently visible. Select the window you want to be the target for the macro.

Window caption
Set the caption of the target window. The caption may also be a part of the target window caption. If you want to send the macro commands to the Notepad, you can e.g. specify the caption as "tepa". So, the first window which caption includes "tepa" will be the target for the macro. If you want to be sure that the target application will be Notepad, you can also mention the name of the executable as "NOTEPAD.EXE" but the name of the executable can also be empty.

Return to previous foreground window after execution
If you want the previous foreground window to be set back to the foreground after the macro is executed, check the option. So, no matter what the target window of the macro is, the window which was on the foreground before that macro was executed, is set back to the foreground after execution.

Dont bring target window to the foreground in execution
This option does not work with all commands and is mostly used with SendMessage command. If you want to send a message to the target window with the SendMessage command without bringing the target window to the foreground, check this option.

Learn...
If you want to attach a remote control button to the macro immediately, it can be done by pressing the learn button.

Macro is disabled
If you want to disable this macro, check this option. Macro can be enabled and disabled also from the Tools -menu of the main window.

Macro is hidden
Check this option if you want to hide the macro from the main window. The macro will then be displayed only if the option "Show hidden macros" is checked in the main window.

On screen display
This option is enabled only if the On Screen Display is enabled. If you want to prevent the on screen display for the macro, uncheck the option.

If you want to edit the selected macro, press edit button. The button will be disabled if no macro is selected.

If you want to attach a remote control button to the button group immediately, it can be done by pressing the learn button.

Target window
The target window. If there's no target window specified for the macro, this field is empty. This field cannot be edited.

Relative to
Select the target for the mouse click. "Target window" cannot be selected if there's no target window specified for the macro. If you want the mouse click always to be executed in the same location of the target window, select "target window". If you want the mouse click always to be executed in the same location of the screen, select "Whole screen" 

Coordinates
These fields shows the coordinates of the click. If you change the "relative to" setting, you can see that the coordinates will change. The coordinates can also be edited manually.

Double click
Check this option if you want the click to be a double click. If the option is not checked, the click will be a normal click. 

Mouse button
Select the desired mouse button which execute the click.

Action type
Select the type of mouse the operation. If you use "button down" type, remember also to add a "button up" command to the macro! With the action types you can emulate drag∓drop.

File name and path
Specify the file you want to launch. If you want to browse files, press "..." button.

Parameters
Specify the possible parameters for the file.

Deactivate IRAssistant when application is launched
If the specified application uses the same COM with IRAssistant, the port can be closed by IRAssistant before the application is launched. This way the specified application can use the same COM port with IRAssistant. When the application is closed, IRAssistant will be activated again automatically. For example if you want to use both IRAssistant and Winamp (with remote control plugin) at the same time, check this option. So, the infrared receiver is used by IRAssistant when Winamp is not running, and when Winamp is launched, the infrared receiver is used by Winamp.

Allow only one instance running at a time
If only one instance of the specified application is allowed to be run at a time, check the option. E.g. if the CD player is already running the and the "Launch file" command is executed, IRAssistant first looks if there's an instance already running. If another instance is not allowed, another instance is ut the current instance of CD player is still brought to the foreground.

Learn command is used to teach IRAssistant to activate a button group or a macro with the desired button or button sequence of a remote control. If you want a specific button sequence to launch the macro or button group, set the number of buttons to the field. The text in the bottom ("Learn button x/x") of the dialog will show which button is currently caught. When the dialog informs to press a button from the remote controller, keep the button pressed. When all buttons are learnt, the dialog will close automatically. If the progress bar does not proceed even if the button is pressed down for a long time, press the button several times. If the remote control button does not repeat, the macros cannot be repeated either. In that case IRAssistant can still be used, but as mentioned before, macros cannot be repeated and mouse cursor emulation won't work properly.

The list shows the received commands. Change the values from the settings dialog to get the desired command sequence. Some remotes will send the same first code every time, whatever button is pressed. In that case "Skip first commands" setting should be 1 in order for the first code to be ignored. The type of the codes depends on the used driver.

Different remote controls may behave in different ways. Some remotes will send several codes depending on the style of pressing the button. If you press the button quickly, it will send one code, but if you keep on pressing the button, it will keep on sending another code that indicates that the command is repeated. That is why in the learning process the button should be pressed down for awhile. Some remotes may even send two different codes in different times. If you press the button first time, it will send 100. Next time the button is pressed it will send 200. The following time it will send 100 again. In this case the learning process should be done in two steps. Press button once until the progress bar reaches 50%. Then press the button another time until the progress bar reaches the end. Now both the codes are caught. It's important that IRAssistant knows every code that can be sent by pressing a specified button. This way IRAssistant can behave in the right way when a button is pressed.

Number of buttons
Select the number of buttons in the button sequence.

IRAssistant can also be used with the button panel without any remote controller devices. With the buttons you can execute the macros you have defined. The panel can be customized: buttons can be added and deleted, the button sizes and positions can be changed. Also the panel position and size can be changed and even the background picture of the panel can be set. The button panel is always on the top of all windows. When right mouse button is clicked over the button panel (not on any button) the panel menu is displayed. When right mouse button is clicked on any button, the button menu is displayed. The panel size and button sizes and positions can be changed only is design mode. Design mode can be enabled on the panel menu. The panel position can be changed even if the design mode is not enabled. The macros can not be executed in the design mode. Notice that it's always possible to execute macros with the button panel, even if the macros are disabled or IRAssistant is not activated!

Add button Button can be added only in design mode. The button is added to the upper left corner of the panel. Panel properties The panel background picture must be Windows BMP type. Design mode Design mode can be enabled and disabled. The menu item is checked when the design mode is enabled. The size of the panel as well as the sizes and positions of the buttons can be changed in the design mode. Close Closes the button panel.

Delete button Deletes the button. Button properties Opens the properties of the button. Either caption or picture can be defined. When the picture is defined, the lower left hand pixel of the picture is reserved for the transparent color. The picture must be Windows BMP type. The selected macro or button group is executed when the button is clicked.