When Collecting Information from Various Sources, Send the Text Directly to an Unseen Text Editing Field
Last time in “Tricks for Tracking and Activating Target Process Windows“, I demonstrated a technique for tagging and tracking a window using its Unique ID. After tagging any window with one Hotkey combination, you can instantly recall it with another. While a pretty cool trick, the question of when would you ever use it arises. This time I offer a practical tool for gathering information from various digital sources (Web pages, documents, e-books, etc.) into one text editor window—without jumping back-and-forth while doing cut-and-paste operations. Continue reading →
When Implementing Various AutoHotkey Techniques Sometimes We Need to Find Our Way Back to the Proper Window
Most AutoHotkey applications don’t require complicatedtracking of process windows. Hotstrings, Hotkeys, and most other techniques do their work in the currently active window. Generally, menus and GUIs automatically return to the original on-top location once they close. However, occasionally circumstances force us to move to other apps or tools—deactivating the current window—before returning to the original target. AutoHotkey offers a couple of techniques for getting back to the right spot on our Windows Desktop.
For example, the MousePrecise.ahk app (for precision movement of the mouse cursor) allows users to temporarily enable the mouse accuracy tool in new windows with either a Hotkey combination or a right-click selection fromthe Windows System Tray icon menu. Since the Hotkey doesn’t change window focus, it works fine, but the act of selecting an item from the System Tray icon menu deactivates the original window. Therefore, before AutoHotkey can include the new app in the active group, it must refocus on that process window and capture its title.Continue reading →
Save Confusion and Annoying Missteps by Creating Child Dialogs
I began working on the promised formatted date to DateTime Stamp conversion blog when I received this question from a reader:
Hi, Jack,
I’ve created a series of pop-up boxes to help me in doing telephone-service. I have two problems, both with InputBox:
How can I put a comma in the prompt section? I tried things like \, and [,] but none work. I’m sure there must be a solution, but I can’t find it in browsing through your books.
It is possible to include an “always on top” control for the display of an InputBox? It does not seem to work to put ”WinSet, AlwaysOnTop, ON, A” before or after an Inputbox entry. Is there some way to make an Inputbox display automatically stay on top?
ExStyle Settings Help to Polish AutoHotkey Window Manipulation Scripts, Plus a Couple of Tricks
Each window in Microsoft Windows includes style settings (Style and ExStyle) which control its appearance and action. You can view these settings with the CheckStyles.ahk script discussed in the blog “The WinSet, ExStyle Command for Mouse-Click Transparent Windows (Intermediate AutoHotkey Tip).” If you build AutoHotkey window manipulation tools, then you’ll find CheckStyles.ahk indispensable both as a quick reference and a tester. The CheckStyles.ahk script displays the settings for any window under the mouse cursor. Continue reading →
While studying the behavior of Label names in AutoHotkey scripts, I came up with the CheeseBurgerRecipe.ahk script which automatically moves to the next Hotkey recipe step with no additional code by dropping pass the next Label name directly into its subroutine. I didn’t expect to find another use for this technique so soon, but when I encountered the problem of losing track of invisible windows, this technique offered a quick fix. Continue reading →
Handy Window Transparency Wheel Using Macro Replacement Quickly Peeks Under a Window without Moving It, Plus the Difference Between % Var and %Var% Made Easy
The AutoHotkey online documentation goes into great detail about the traditional method for retrieving values from variables (%Var%) and the force expression evaluation method (% Var). It can take the new AutoHotkey user a little while to comprehend the differences between the two. In an effort to clarify the variations and help beginners to understand when to use which method, I offer an alternative way to view the operations. For the traditional method, I prefer using the terms macro substitution or variable name replacement. Once, you understand how it works, differentiating when and how to use each technique becomes easy.
The value-added trick comes when creating variables containing new variables on-the-fly by combining the two methods (i.e. forcing an expression % which contain a %Var% variable name replacement). The first step involves replacing the variable with its value, the new variable name (%Var%). The second step requires the forced evaluation of the new variable (% VarValue) as part of an expression.
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Volume Wheel
A while back I installed a volume control operated by the mouse scroll wheel. Simply hover over the Windows Task Bar and scroll the mouse wheel up or down to adjust the PC speaker volume level higher or lower, respectively. A progress bar (shown at right) pops up displaying the changing volume level. I’ve added this convenient tool to my standard AutoHotkey script and use it all the time.
Transparency Menu
At a later date, while playing with window visibility, I set up a menu for changing the transparency level for the active window (shown at left). At the end of that blog, I suggested, “If you want to get really fancy, then you might use the mouse wheel to set the transparency (or opaqueness) level.” I’ve done just that with my new SeeThruWinWheel.ahk script. Now, by holding down the CTRL key while scrolling the mouse wheel, the window under the mouse cursor becomes less opaque (WheelDown) or more opaque (WheelUp). In the course of writing this short script, I implemented a number of AutoHotkey tricks worth discussing. Continue reading →
After Always-On-Top and Translucent Windows, Use the WinSet Command to Make a Mouse-Click Transparent Help Window, Plus a Discussion of the Mysterious (and Confusing) Microsoft Window Styles/ExStyles (WS_XXX and WS_EX_XXX)
When Setting a Window to Always-On-Top Make It See-through for Peeking Underneath
My last blog discussed a simple one-line script for forcing any Windows window always-on-top. The Hotkey works great and instantly toggles the feature on and off. However, at times when an window permanently sits over all other windows, it gets in the way of viewing the pages underneath. The AutoHotkey WinSet command allows us to change the transparency of that window so we can see right through it. Continue reading →
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