Month: September 2018

Counting Words with AutoHotkey (RegEx)

Jack Dunning AutoHotkey, Regular Expressions (RegEx) ,

How You Count Words Depends Upon How You Define a Word

AutoHotkey RegExWhile working on my new book, I finished up a chapter where, in response to a reader’s question, I demonstrated how you can count commas in a document with both the StringReplace command and the RegExReplace() function. The StringReplace command responds to the UseErrorLevel parameter to save the count while the RegExReplace() function automatically counts the number of matches for saving in an OutputCountVar variable. That gave me the idea to write a word count script using RegExReplace(). Continue reading →

Adjust Windows Registry Settings with the AutoHotkey RegRead and RegWrite Commands

Jack Dunning AutoHotkey, Intermediate Level, Windows Registry, Windows Utilities , ,

Sometimes a Simple Script Offers the Best Way to Learn More Advance Techniques in AutoHotkey

I’ve just posted a script written years ago by Robert Ryan (the person responsible for the very capable RegEx Tester) which displays hidden files by changing settings in your Windows Registry—a trick you can apply to many other Windows settings if you know where to find them.

UnHideFilesThe problem with setting folders or files to Hidden in their Properties window (right-click on selected folder or filename in Windows File Explorer and click Properties at the bottom of the menu) involves losing sight of them forever. Since the listing disappears from view, you can forget that it even exists. Windows offers a multi-step procedure for making all Hidden folders/files visible, but who can remember that? This simple UnHideFiles.ahk script saves the stress. Continue reading →

A Simple AutoHotkey RegEx Trick to Print a List

Jack Dunning AutoHotkey, Editing Tools, Regular Expressions (RegEx) ,

Sometimes I Find It Quicker to Use Ryan’s RegEx Tester to Make a Clean List

While working on my current book, I found that I needed a printed list to keep track of my progress. In many circumstances, computer-based lists work fine but sometimes I want a piece of paper which I can markup with checks, arrows, and extraneous comments. The paper sits on my desk as a working tool—never hiding behind an open window on the computer screen. It seems archaic but, for me, it’s just easier. My problem involved printing a clean list of chapters without a load of extras. Continue reading →

A New Hotstring Trick and Converting Dates in Documents into DateTime Stamps (Coming Soon!)

Jack Dunning AutoHotkey, Children's Educational Apps, Dates and Time, Hotstrings, Regular Expressions (RegEx) , , ,

Making a List of Future Blogs While Sequestered

ProgrammingRobotRight now, the massive book of motley AutoHotkey tips consumes the vast majority of my time. Therefore, I have less blogging time. However, I don’t want my lack of blogs to make anyone think I sit idle. In the course of the current task at hand, I’ve accumulated even more topics which I need to blog about: Continue reading →