Keyboard macros or definitions allow short sequences of keystrokes to substitute long sequences of commands, and can automate repetitive tasks. They can be created either by using an application's built-in macro features, or by means of a separate macro program.
During the 1980s, macro programs -- originally SmartKey, then Superkey, KeyWorks, Prokey -- were very popular, first as a means to automatically format screenplays, then for a variety of business tasks. Since the 1990s, keyboard macros are built into most popular applications, such as word processors and spreadsheets, but are more difficult to use than the older macro programs, and require knowledge of programming.
Keyboard macros have in more recent times come to life as a method of exploiting the economy of MMORPGs. By tirelessly performing a boring, repetitive, but low risk action, a player running a macro can earnd a large amount of money. This effect is even larger when a macro-using player operates multiple accounts simultaneously, or operates the accounts for a large amount of time each day. As this money is generated without human intervention, it can dramatically upset the economy of the game by causing runaway inflation. For this reason, use of macros is universally a violation of the TOS or EULA, and administrators of MMORPGs fight a continual war to identify and punish macro users.
