Month: October 2017

Using Associative Arrays to Solve the Instant Hotkey Data Recall Problem (AutoHotkey Technique)

Jack Dunning %Var%, Arrays, AutoHotkey, Forcing Expressions, GUI (Graphical User Interface) Pop-ups, Intermediate Level, Windows scripting , ,

While Many Other Approaches Work (Sort of), AutoHotkey Associative Arrays Provides a Simple Solution

Elegant Solution

Refinement and simplicity are implied, rather than fussiness, or ostentation. An elegant solution, often referred to in relation to problems in disciplines such as mathematics, engineering, and programming, is one in which the maximum desired effect is achieved with the smallest or simplest effort.

In the last few blogs, I figured out a number of solutions for returning the insertion text via Hotkey combinations for multiple GUIs in the InstantHotkey.ahk script. Many of these approaches worked, yet I continued searching for a more elegant answer. Now, I present my best solution (so far) which includes the use of an AutoHotkey associative array. Continue reading →

Matching Instant Hotkeys with a Loop (AutoHotkey Tip)

Jack Dunning %Var%, AutoHotkey, Forcing Expressions, Hotkeys, Intermediate Level, Labels, Windows scripting ,

Sometimes You’ll Find a Loop a Simpler Way to Match Things

ProgrammingRobot

“…stuck in an infinite loop. Like I just said, it’s so depressing to get stuck in an infinite loop. Like I just said, it’s…”

If you’re new to AutoHotkey with little or no scripting experience, then this blog may venture too far into the weeds. I don’t like to put off new users because the journey into Windows scripting is well worthwhile. Most find it easy to get started with AutoHotkey with many simple-to-implement tools. However, it takes a little time to understand the nuances of the more advanced techniques. I recommend that AutoHotkey noobies start with the basics such as found in the “Introduction to AutoHotkey: A Review and Guide for Beginners” page. You’ll obtain immediate, rewarding results with basic AutoHotkey. Then, as your comfort with scripting increases, introduce yourself to more of AutoHotkey’s power with some of the slightly elevated topics.

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In the last blog, by writing the IH_VarText(Var) function, I created a clever (even if I do say so myself) yet uneasy technique for linking the Instant Hotkey combination to the insertion text by converting the key combination (full of illegal variable characters) to a legal two-deep variable. While this worked, in most cases, it left a number of holes in the subroutine. Unless I added a trap line for every possible illegal key (e.g. the semicolon ” ; “ key, the slash ” / ” key, the hyphen ” ‘ ” key, etc), errors might occur. I needed to make a change. Continue reading →

Two-Deep Variables for Tracking Data (AutoHotkey Trick)

Jack Dunning %Var%, AutoHotkey, AutoHotkey GUIs, Forcing Expressions, Hotkeys, Intermediate Level, Windows scripting , , ,

When You Find No Obvious Way to Link Specific Data to an Object or Another Value, You Might Try Saving It to a Variable within a Variable

Sometimes you encounter a scripting situation where saving data to just any random variable doesn’t do the job. While creating variables and storing values is simple enough, you may find it difficult to recall those values at the right time. It’s important to know you’re getting the right data when you want it. Maybe using the value of a variable as a variable name (two-deep) will give you what you need. Continue reading →

Create Multiple GUI Pop-Ups in a Single Script (AutoHotkey Scripting)

Jack Dunning %Var%, AutoHotkey, AutoHotkey GUIs, GUI (Graphical User Interface) Pop-ups, Intermediate Level, Menu, System Tray, Windows scripting , ,

This AutoHotkey GUI (Graphical User Interface) Trick Builds New GUIs (Graphical User Interfaces) On-the-Fly and in the Same Script without Conflicts

Library Benefits

I originally wrote the InstantHotkey.ahk script as a practical demonstration of how to use the Hotkey GUI control. The script’s major downside involves the need to run a new instance of the app for each new Hotkey combination/insertion text pair. Adding the #SingleInstance Off directive solved the problem of loading the same script multiple times, but the System Tray clogged with icons after initiating a number of Instant Hotkeys simultaneously. (I couldn’t just eliminate the System Tray icons (#NoTrayIcon or Menu, Tray, NoIcon) because I could quickly lose track of the various Hotkeys. Plus, eliminating tray icons presents other dangers.)

I combined the script with my master AutoHotkey script by including a Hotkey and the Run command (^!h::Run, InstantHotkey.exe). This avoided the problem of multiple conflicting GUIs in the same script—although it did nothing about the System Tray icon overload.

My recent work inspired me to solve the problem by uniquely naming the GUIs. In the course of writing the new script, I added a number of other useful techniques which I plan to cover in future blogs. Stayed tuned! You might find a few of them quite helpful. Continue reading →

How to Write Easy-Merge AutoHotkey Scripts (Technique Example)

Jack Dunning AutoHotkey, AutoHotkey GUIs, GoSub Command, Labels, Script Structure, Windows scripting ,

These Steps Make Integrating Your Script Into Combo Apps Simple

In my last blog, “Encapsulate AutoHotkey Code for Multi-Script Integration and Portability (Scripting Techniques)“, I explained how to hermetically seal the auto-execute section of a script, then make variable and code object names unique—thereby reducing the risk of conflict within other scripts when building combo apps. By doing this, the script turns into a robust entity easily added to any other .ahk script while continuing to stand on its own as an independent app. As the example for this blog, I’ve rewritten the ScreenDimmer.ahk script. ScreenDimmer(I explain in detail how ScreenDimmer.ahk works in the e-book AutoHotkey Applications—which offers numerous AutoHotkey tips and tricks while reviewing all of the available AutoHotkey GUI (Graphical User Interface) pop-up controls with practical demonstrations of how to use each.) Continue reading →

Encapsulate AutoHotkey Code for Multi-Script Integration and Portability (Scripting Techniques)

Jack Dunning AutoHotkey, GoSub Command, Labels, Menus, Windows scripting , ,

Run Your AutoHotkey Scripts as Standalone Apps or Add Them Unaltered to Master Scripts by Creating Hermetically Sealed Auto-Execute Modules

If you’re anything like me, you’ve written a number of scripts which you use regularly. You can run each app separately assuring that they don’t conflict but that tends to load the Windows System Tray with too many icons—making it a little difficult to track all of them.

Cover 250 BorderOn the other hand, combining the scripts into a single file presents problems of its own. Any script which contains its own auto-execute section must run this part of the code when it first loads. Simply using the #Include directive won’t do the job. Place it in the top of the file and the other script modules, such as Hotkeys, Hotstrings, and Label subroutines, stop the processing of the original auto-execute section. Yet, if you place the #Include at the bottom, AutoHotkey never sees or runs the new auto-execute section. The novice scriptwriter often solves the problem by breaking apart the script and separately adding the auto-execute section to the top of the master file while locating all the other code modules toward the end of the file.

Continue reading →