With Over 300 Blogs, You Might Find It Difficult to Dig Out the One You Need

I launched Jack’s AutoHotkey Blog in 2015. At that time, I had already published a number of AutoHotkey books but I wanted a way to stay in touch with new users and changes in AutoHotkey.

Previously, I had published AutoHotkey articles on the old ComputorEdge Magazine site. However, circumstances and expense forced me to take down the database-driven site. Hundreds of my AutoHotkey tips disappeared from the Web. I didn’t want to do it, but times change. (You can find many of those lost tips in the AutoHotkey books available at ComputorEdge E-Books and even more no-longer-published tips—as well as many more recent ideas—in the book A Motley Assortment of AutoHotkey Tips. The major advantage to using the e-books lies in their organization and searchable indexes.)

When I wrote the new articles for Jack’s AutoHotkey Blog, I avoided duplicating the techniques in previously published articles. While a few important techniques rear their heads on multiple occasions (e.g. the Standard AutoHotkey Windows Clipboard Routine), I concentrate on creating practical applications not previously discussed. My biggest fault lies in the fact that I never finish anything.

I have a number of excuses for my inability to see a script through to its completion:

1. Software is never finished!
   I could go on endlessly in an attempt to perfect my work … but that’s a lot of work.
2. Something else comes along capturing my attention and forcing me to take a new direction.
3. Once I get a script working, I lose interest.
   I’m a 95 percenter. After I figure out how to do it, the problem loses its allure.
4. It’s your job to finish the project.
   I rationalize my laziness by telling myself that I merely point the way in an effort to inspire new users to superior levels of ingenuity. The readers must take the techniques to the next stage. (Frankly, if I had taken the time to perfect my scripts, I don’t think I would have generated nearly so many brilliant tips.)

In fact, this last point has proved out true. Many of my starter scripts have progressed far beyond my initial efforts through the endeavors of other AutoHotkey users. For example, the QuickLinks.ahk and InstantHotstrings.ahk scripts have turned into much more sophisticated apps through the work of AutoHotkey forum users. For instance, see the AutoHotkey Forum post “Hotstrings.ahk, application for learning / managing of hotstrings” for a vivid example of a script upgrade. In some cases, I incorporate a number of the improvements while in others I stick with my original script.

Hard to Find Blogs

While I offer a ton of information for beginning and intermediate users on Jack’s AutoHotkey Blog, I confess that you may not find sifting through all the articles easy. Using the search box in the upper right-hand corner helps, but you need to use the most relevant keywords. At times, even I have difficulty locating a particular blog—although, I usually manage. (The “Table of Contents” and “Indexes” in the books offer much easier navigation.) I don’t think that most people use the built-in search box. The vast majority of readers find my blogs through Google searches. Depending upon the terms used, a browser search may produce results more to your liking.

I do make a point of referring to past blogs relevant to the article by adding reference links. You can generally find the subsequent articles by checking the shortcuts at the bottom of the page.

In an effort to make life a little easier for readers, I’ve started creating special pages for series of blogs on a particular topic and adding them to the AutoHotkey Topic and Series menu (found at the right end of the top menu bar). So far, I’ve included A Beginner’s Guide to Web Page Automation Using Chrome.ahk AutoHotkey Tools and Computer Graphics for AutoHotkey On-Screen Measurements. The articles listed in these pages offer themed AutoHotkey application development.

Each series page provides links to the pertinent blogs in chronological order. Rather than merely inserting the links, I’ve included introductions excerpted from the blogs to help people better understand the topic and whether or not it’s worth pursuing. You’ll discover specific AutoHotkey tips interspersed throughout the blogs as they related to the series.

I plan to continue to consolidate blogs into logical groups and add pages which hopefully make it easier for everyone to find information relevant to their AutoHotkey goals. I’ll continue to post whenever I add another series to the menu.