Managing Macros in Panels

BEGINNER
THIS IS A BEGINNER ARTICLE

Managing macros within MapTool panels is a simple but important concept to keep in mind for GMs who want to set up campaigns or frameworks.

Basic Operations

Clicking and dragging a macro into another macro group, token, or panel is the basic operation of macro management. If a macro is being dragged within the same panel, it will leave its original location and be moved to its new location. If a macro is dragged into a different panel that the one that it is in, the macro will instead be copied to its new location. Holding Ctrl (or Alt, if you're on Mac) will make any drag a copy, and holding Shift will make any drag a move, regardless of which macro group, token, or panel the macro is from/is dropped into.

Trusted Macros and the Campaign Panel

A Trusted Macro is a fancy term for a macro that players can run, but not edit (there are additional conditions, though). This can be set in the Options menu of any macro. New macros will be trusted by default if you have the "Default: Allow players to edit new macros" setting unchecked in Edit > Preferences > Application. Dragging a macro will preserve its trusted status, so putting a trusted macro onto a player's token will allow them to run it.

In a similar yet different sense, macros in the Campaign panel cannot be moved by players, nor can players move a macro into the Campaign window. They can, however, copy macros out of the Campaign panel as necessary.

Note: Players cannot view or interact in any way with macros in the GM window.