Month: September 2017

Using Unique Icons for Specific Windows Shortcuts (AutoHotkey Menu Tip)

Jack Dunning AutoHotkey, Icons, Menus , , ,

Draw Icons for AutoHotkey Menus Directly from Windows Shortcuts

I talked extensively in an earlier blog about adding icons to the menus in the QuickLinks.ahk script by using the FileGetShortcut command. This AutoHotkey command digs out data such as the target program from the shortcut. At the time, I didn’t attempt to use the captured icon data (OutIcon and OutIconNum—icon location and number respectively) because, in most cases, the variables came up blank. Even using the standard context menu creation option (New⇒Shortcut) often did not save the icon data for viewing with GetFileShortcut. Frankly, that would have made the process too easy.

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Add Secret Windows Tools (God Mode) to QuickLinks Menu (AutoHotkey Tip)

Jack Dunning AutoHotkey, Cool Scripts, Intermediate Level, Menus, Windows scripting, Windows Utilities , , ,

This Windows Trick Works in Vista, Windows 7, 8, and 10

I first wrote about this hidden Windows technique years ago. You can find many references to it by searching the Web for the term “Windows God Mode” but I don’t know how many people make regular use of this feature. Continue reading →

New Version of QuickLinks AutoHotkey Script

Jack Dunning AutoHotkey, Cool Scripts, Icons, Menus, Windows Utilities , ,

Many Changes to QuickLinks.ahk Previously Discussed, Plus a Few New Features Not Yet Covered! Now Available for Download!

I’ve finally posted the latest version of QuickLinks.ahk which includes all of the discussions from the past few weeks—plus a couple more features and fixes which I plan to talk about in the near future. Continue reading →

Finding Windows Icons for AutoHotkey Menus (Quick Tip)

Jack Dunning AutoHotkey, Icons, Intermediate Level, Menus, Windows Utilities , , ,

A Useful AutoHotkey Script for Quickly Identifying Icons Embedded in Other Windows Files

In the last blog, I demonstrated how to add icons to the QuickLinks.ahk menus. The use of the tiny graphics makes it easier to pick out particular menu options. But, you need to know where to look for icons. Once found, you can easily add an icon to your menus directly from a Windows file (e.g. EXE, DLL, etc) without creating new image files. Continue reading →

Spice Up AutoHotkey Menus with Icons (AutoHotkey Tip)

Jack Dunning AutoHotkey, Icons, Intermediate Level, Menus , , ,

Using the Right Images Make Your AutoHotkey Menus Both Prettier and More Useful

It’s easy enough to put together a plain vanilla AutoHotkey pop-up menu without any icons. The sample QuickLinks script creates a menu from favorites Windows shortcuts in the QuickLinks folder. However, a stripped down menu looks pretty boring and makes individual items harder to find. Continue reading →

How AutoHotkey Reads Scripts (AutoHotkey Script Structure)

Jack Dunning #Directives, AutoHotkey, AutoHotkey GUIs, Beginning, Hotkeys, Labels, Programming, Script Structure, Windows scripting , , ,

Understanding the Layout of an AutoHotkey Script Helps When Writing and Debugging Applications

The Problem with AutoHotkey Script Design

If you’re anything like me, then you probably jump straight into writing a script without reading the online documentation. Experienced programmers don’t have much problem with this, although even they occasionally find themselves scratching their heads about a particular piece of code which seemingly gets ignored by AutoHotkey. Continue reading →