Is there a mod that automatically turn on my autoattack when I use a special, even if I don't have the rage for it? (I could have sworn the default UI did this once upon a time).

There used to be an excellent mod that automatically switched on auto-attack when you switched targets, were attacked, etc- but it was broken in 2.0

I've done as above poster says, and simply made

/startattack
/cast 'some skill'

macros for my warrior and rogue.

Pressing 't' turns on autoattack by default for what it's worth.

Clarification: Pressing 't' TOGGLES autoattack.

It's sometimes difficult to pull off a right click when you're in the thick of things in melee. Lots of units tend to be around at times making precision clicking difficult.

I just did the /startattack, /cast Stormstrike macro on my shaman. That way I'd start attacking even if it was on cooldown (or if I didn't have enough mana to cast it somehow).

I've had almost all of my abilities set up this way for quite a while. I highly recommend adding "#show none" at the top of each macro. My framerate improved drastically when I changed them all from "#showtooltip <whatever>" to "#show none".

Of course, this means you dont want to put the macros directly on bars -- #show none means you wont get any cooldowns, range coloring, or anything else like that. I bind keys to the macros with spellbinder, and for abilities where I need to see cooldowns or range, I just drag the ability straight from the spellbook onto a button with no keybindings.

Also, "/startattack [harm,exists,nodead]" instead of just "/startattack" reduces error spam. The ability cast will provide all the error spam you could possibly want, no need to double it up.

On every character I have:

Shows your weapon icon, pressing it will turn on autoattack. Pretty simple.

edit: I guess its on my "General Macros" list, I should say, but same difference.

I use a "3 in 1" button macro.

/cast [harm] Sinister Strike
/startattack
/dismount
/use [noharm] Reins of the Cobalt War Talbuk

If targeting nothing, or targeting a friendly, you will mount up. If you are on a mount, you will be dismounted. However, if targeting an enemy, you will start auto attacking as well as Sinister Striking (spamming the key won't toggle auto attack, no damage loss). This can be replaced with Backstab, Bloodthirst or whatever you primarily attack with.

I have my flying mount on the next key over, which is also my primary finisher (SnD) and can be anything as well.

/cast [harm] Slice and Dice
/dismount
/use [noharm] Swift Green Gryphon

A bit simpler since there is no auto attack start.

Change the ability/mount and you've got what you were asking for plus a mount key.

The one problem with that is, if for some reason, you hit the button/hotkey when auto-attack is already on, you would end up turning it off. Also, if you have it on a hidden action bar, the blinking isn't an issue. I guess having it set to #show none would achieve the same effect if you had it on a visible action bar as well.

T will also toggle autoattack *and* target someone (like tab) if you have no current target. It took me 2 years to figure this out... so many times spent mashing tab to get a target...

Just make sure you replace them for PvP if you're a button masher.