Jack’s AutoHotkey Blog

Jack Dunning AutoHotkey, Windows scripting, Windows Utilities , ,

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August 10, 2020

How to format long text sections (Quick and Dirty Multi-Line Text Formatting).

August 3, 2020

Measure distances on your computer screen. See Capturing Computer Screen Measurements (An AutoHotkey Tool).

July 27, 2020

Using the Windows Registry. See Saving Default Data in the Windows Registry (Part Six: Finishing AutoHotkey GUI Scripts).

July 20, 2020

Sometimes you may want to use a different filename extension. See Use Alternative Filename Extensions for Special Format Files (Part Five: Finishing AutoHotkey GUI Scripts).

July 13, 2020

The fourth part in the series about finishing the InstantHotstring.ahk script breaks the rules with GoTo statements: Use the GoTo Command to Traverse Long Subroutines (Part Four: Finishing AutoHotkey GUI Scripts).

July 6, 2020

The third part in the series about finishing the InstantHotstring.ahk script discusses detecting data modifications in GUI data, Sensing AutoHotkey Editing Changes for Instant Save (Part Three: Finishing AutoHotkey GUI Scripts).

June 29, 2020

In the second part of the series about finishing the InstantHotstring.ahk script, I look at special considerations for an instant save/update menu bar item, GUI Menu Bar “Save” Item Complications (Part Two: Finishing AutoHotkey GUI Scripts).

June 22, 2020

I’ve started a new series of blogs about finishing the InstantHotstring.ahk script. Part One: “Radically Improving AutoHotkey GUI Apps with Menu Bars“

June 15, 2020

Light Bulb!

AutoHotkey Tip of the Week: Alternative AutoHotkey Notices

June 8, 2020

Light Bulb!

AutoHotkey Tip of the Week: ToolTip Command Tricks 

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Quick and Dirty Multi-Line Text Formatting (AutoHotkey Tip)

Jack Dunning %Var%, AutoHotkey, Editing Tools, MsgBox Techniques, Tooltip Pop-ups, Windows scripting ,

Formatting Text for Various AutoHotkey Tools Can Get Tedious—Use AutoHotkey Section Continuation to Simplify the Work

In the MouseMeasure.ahk script (discussed last time), I added a pop-up window displaying instructions on how to use the app. I formatted the text with a number of new lines and tabs. Usually, this would have required careful placement of the special escape characters, but not this time.

When adding instructions to a MsgBox, we often resort to adding returns (`r), newlines (`n), and tabs (`t) to create the desired layout. While this works, it often produces perverse effects—especially when using individual line continuation techniques to wrap the code for display purposes. However, AutoHotkey offers an alternative type of code continuation which makes text formatting quick and easy— continuation sections (Method #2).

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Capturing Computer Screen Measurements (An AutoHotkey Tool)

Jack Dunning AutoHotkey, Graphic Images, GUI (Graphical User Interface) Pop-ups, Hotkeys, Hotstrings, Mouse Tricks, MsgBox Techniques, Tooltip Pop-ups, Windows Utilities , , , ,

Calibrate the MouseMeasure AutoHotkey Tool to Grab Calculated Lengths from Your Computer Monitor

Recently, a reader asked, “Do you think it is conceivable to create a screen ruler in AHK that can be calibrated to my native application ruler. The problem I have now is that I take tons of measurements off the screen and then I have to type that number back into a document. I would love to make a ruler that can basically calibrate with the native app ruler once and make the data from the AHK ruler transfer automatically to the clipboard or better yet straight to the document.”

I responded, “The application you’re looking at is quite conceivable. You can pick coordinates off the screen with the MouseGetPos command and save them. Then you can possibly use two clicks to calculate the difference between the two in pixels then convert it to your scale. There are a number of methods for sending data to documents. It is certainly within the realm of possibilities.”

I then searched the AutoHotkey board only to find that he had already posted the same Ruler question in the “Ask for Help” forum. Fortunately, AutoHotkey Forum user colt had already posted a response. With the heart of the work completed by colt, I decided to add an onscreen calibration method.

Pythagorean Theorem

Pythagoras gave every high school math student a reason to remember his name. He provided the method for calculating the hypotenuse of a right triangle. For most people, the formula fell into the toolbox of things-I’ll-never-do-again. But for anyone who wants to measure distances on a computer screen, the Pythagorean Theorem returns with a vengeance.

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Saving Default Data in the Windows Registry (Part Six: Finishing AutoHotkey GUI Scripts)

Jack Dunning AutoHotkey, DropDownList Control, FileSelectFile, GoSub Command, GUI (Graphical User Interface) Pop-ups, Windows Registry , , , ,

Many AutoHotkey Users Save Settings in an INI File…However, the Windows Registry May Offer More Security and Stability

We tend to feel nervous about working with the Windows Registry. After all, a wrong step could conceivably cause harm to the operating system setup. Yet when taking the appropriate steps, this built-in Windows database can offer us a number of benefits:

  1. The Windows Registry is always there.
  2. It’s not easy to accidentally delete a Windows Registry entry.
  3. The average computer user won’t know where to find these special data entries.
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Use Alternative Filename Extensions for Special Format Files (Part Five: Finishing AutoHotkey GUI Scripts)

Jack Dunning AutoHotkey, Data Files, FileSelectFile, Hotstrings, Menu Bars, Progress Bar, Saving Files, Windows scripting , , ,

While Changing the Saved Filename Extension in the InstantHotstring.ahk Script Helps Protect Original AutoHotkey Files, the Technique Offers Additional Benefits…Plus, a No-Wait Progress Bar for Instant-Saves

Over the course of the past few blogs, I added protection to files containing AutoHotkey code by both including a one-line file header and changing the saved filename extension to .hsf. These steps have resolved my concern about overwriting any AutoHotkey scripts—from which I may have extracted Hotstrings and loaded them into the “under-construction” InstantHotstringMenuBar.ahk app. At times, I thought that adding the two techniques might be overkill but now I’ve come to realize that using an alternative extension provides benefits that may prove even more useful than my initial attempt at protecting .ahk files.

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Use the GoTo Command to Traverse Long Subroutines (Part Four: Finishing AutoHotkey GUI Scripts)

Jack Dunning AutoHotkey, FileSelectFile, GoTo Command, GUI (Graphical User Interface) Pop-ups, Hotstrings, Loops, Menu Bars, Saving Files, Script Structure, Windows scripting , , ,

Sometimes the GoTo Command Makes Life Easier without Creating Perverse Effects

This next portion of the InstantHotstring.ahk menubar implementation did not go as I had expected. I thought that I would break up the routine launched by the Save Hotstrings button into separate subroutines or functions, then call each as appropriate for the corresponding Save/Append Hotstrings menu items (as seen in the image). I didn’t look forward to it because I knew it could get a little confusing. Some items would require multiple subroutine calls while others would need to just run—depending upon the menu selections made by the user.

I didn’t want to write redundant subroutines, but separating the various features of the complete routine required more than merely adding Return commands to encapsulate the code. I finally ask myself, “Why not insert AutoHotkey Labels into the main Save routine and use the GoTo command to jump my way through the decision points?”

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Sensing AutoHotkey Editing Changes for Instant Save (Part Three: Finishing AutoHotkey GUI Scripts)

Jack Dunning AutoHotkey, Data Files, FileSelectFile, GUI (Graphical User Interface) Pop-ups, Hotstrings, Menu Bars, Saving Files, Windows scripting , ,

By Detecting Modifications in Edit Data We Know When to Activate Instant-Save Routines

Any change too active Hotstrings appends an asterisk (*) to the current open filename and enables the Save option.

In the last blog (“GUI Menu Bar “Save” Item Complications (Part Two: Finishing AutoHotkey GUI Scripts)“), I discussed the need to add a special header to a unique type of data file—InstantHotstring generated Hotstrings. This header helps to differentiate between AutoHotkey .ahk files—which you may not want to overwrite—and files generated by the InstantHotstring.ahk script.

When adding a Save option (instant-save using the CTRL+S key combination) to the menu bar, many Windows apps concatenate an asterisk (*) to the file name in the title bar—alerting the user to changes. In this blog, I add a similar change-detecting feature which both displays the appended asterisk and enables an instant-save routine.

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GUI Menu Bar “Save” Item Complications (Part Two: Finishing AutoHotkey GUI Scripts)

Jack Dunning AutoHotkey, FileSelectFile, GUI (Graphical User Interface) Pop-ups, Menu Bars, Windows scripting , ,

Most Menu Bars Include Both “Save” and “Save as…” Options in the File Menu—Each Requires Special Considerations

As I mentioned last time, the act of adding a menu bar to a GUI can force the rethinking of many routines in the script. This time the consideration of the Save option(s) compelled me to reconcile potential problems when attempting to run the Save routine in the expected manner. First, knowing the actions activated by the Save Hotstrings button in the InstantHotstring.ahk script provides an understanding of the items required in the GUI menu bar.

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Radically Improving AutoHotkey GUI Apps with Menu Bars

Jack Dunning AutoHotkey, AutoHotkey GUIs, GUI (Graphical User Interface) Pop-ups, Menu Bars, Script Structure, Windows scripting , , ,

While GUI Menu Bars Make Your AutoHotkey Apps More User-Friendly, the Benefits from Adding One to Your Script Go Far Beyond the Obvious

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This blog represents the first in a series that revisits the InstantHotstring.ahk script introduced and developed in previous posts—starting with “Create Instant Hotstrings Using the AutoHotkey Hotstring() Function.” In this new endeavor, I add a GUI menu bar which significantly alters my view of the app. The benefits of implementing a GUI menu bar greatly exceed its functional use.

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I consider most of my scripts demonstrations of how to implement AutoHotkey possibilities—not completed applications. I rarely go back to do all the little things that will make a script a finished product—in two senses of the word: virtually completed and fine-tuned. Many of my favorites (QuickLinks.ahk, MousePrecise.ahk, SynonymLookup.ahk, AutoCorrect.ahk, ChangeVolume.ahk, etc.) don’t require much additional work—if any—although, a script rarely achieves perfection. Most of my scripts use menus, Hotkeys, or Hotstrings while running in the background—not requiring extra visual bells and whistles. However, once you base an AutoHotkey script on a GUI (Graphical User Interface) pop-up window, the need for additional finishing touches increases—especially if it opens and saves files.

One of the best methods for finishing an AutoHotkey GUI app involves adding a menu bar. (You might also argue that the writing of a GUI script should start with a menu bar. It creates a road map to the finished product.) On the surface, a GUI menu bar makes the app more user friendly, but, more importantly, the process forces you to rethink the design and structure of your script.

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AutoHotkey Tip of the Week: Alternative AutoHotkey Notices

Jack Dunning AutoHotkey, Menu, System Tray, Tooltip Pop-ups, TrayTip Message , ,

In Addition to the ToolTip Command, AutoHotkey Offers Other Useful—Although Less Flexible—Message Commands

In my last blog, I suggested several different ways to use the ToolTip command. This time I take a quick look at a couple of other methods for passing information to users. While less flexible than the many of the other informational techniques, the Menu, Tray, Tip command and the TrayTip command each serve a useful purpose:

  1. System Tray Icon ToolTip for adding information about individual running AutoHotkey scripts.
  2. Alternative TrayTip Command for brief Windows notices about script activity.

Depending upon the situation, you may find either of these techniques a useful alternative to ToolTips, SplashText, SplashImages, Progress bars, or the Message Box.

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AutoHotkey Tip of the Week: ToolTip Command Tricks

Jack Dunning AutoHotkey, OnMessage Function, Tooltip Pop-ups, Window Spy, Windows scripting ,

See What You Can Do with the AutoHotkey ToolTip Pop-up!

AutoHotkey AutoHotkey Library Deal!

The ToolTip command acts as a conduit for communication between an AutoHotkey script and its user. Similar in function to other visual information tools (the SplashText command, discussed in a previous blog,  and the Progress/SplashImage command used in the InstantHotstring.ahk script), the more compact ToolTip follows the mouse cursor by default, rather than planting itself in the middle of the screen. You can use the tiny pop-up window in several different ways:

  1. Action Complete ToolTip
  2. Toggle Status Tooltip
  3. Reminder ToolTip
  4. Realtime Informational ToolTip
  5. Instructional ToolTip
  6. Multiple ToolTips
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