Windows Registry

Embedding Google Maps in the IPFind.ahk GUI (AutoHotkey Web Trick)

Jack Dunning ActiveX, AutoHotkey, GUI (Graphical User Interface) Pop-ups, Regular Expressions (RegEx), Windows Registry ,

Write a Local File to Load HTML iFrame Embedding Code into the ActiveX Control

May 26, 2021, Alert: Wow! That was fast! Google has already disabled this iFrame map embedding technique…at least for Google Maps. Oh, well, I’ve already reverted to using the original IPFindMap.ahk script using OpenStreetMap.org (“Use ActiveX Control to Embed World Maps in AutoHotkey GUI” May 10, 2021). The technique remains valid. I’ll offer another iFrame embedding application soon—this time probably with a weather forecast.

Last time “Embed Google Maps in an AutoHotkey GUI (No API Required!)” I discussed how you can bypass much of the clutter on Web pages by embedding the map, video, or image in an HTML iFrame read directly into the AutoHotkey ActiveX GUI control from a local file. Sites offering this service often supply HTML code generators for copying the appropriate link. Sometimes, as in the case of Google Maps, you will only find the legacy code by searching the Web. (Google wants you to signup for the API.)

I don’t know how long this Google Map feature will work, but for now, it provides a reasonable solution for AutoHotkey users wanting to embed a simple map into an application.

This time, I modified the IPFindMap.ahk script to write the HTML iFrame code to a separate .html file, then use that filename as the destination URL for the AutoHotkey ActiveX GUI control. This allows AutoHotkey to load an interactive Google map for each IP address found in the selected text.

I appreciate this solution because the embedded Google map looks cleaner than the previous OpenStreetMap.org map and displays the foreign map names in English.

Continue reading →

Using Parts to Build a New AutoHotkey Script (HowLongInstant.ahk)

Jack Dunning AutoHotkey, Clipboard Routine, Dates and Time, Format() Function, Function Libraries, MsgBox Techniques, Parsing Data, Regular Expressions (RegEx), Script Structure, Switch/Case Command, Ternary Operator, Windows Registry , ,

While Many Users Find the Original GUI Based HowLong Script Valuable, Combining Snippets of Code Creates a New Instant HowLong Script

Last time in “Extracting Multiple Dates from Text Using AutoHotkey RegEx,” I wrote a Regular Expressions (RegEx) that copied the first and last date (in a variety of formats) found in a selection from a document or Web page. (I recently updated that RegEx to make it more robust.) That represented the first step in building an instant HowLongYearsMonthsDay.ahk script. The goal, as defined by the reader, included highlighting a section of text which bounds two dates, pressing a Hotkey combination, then immediately calculating and displaying the timespan—no delaying the process with an input GUI or clicking a calculate button. As with many new scripts, I took pieces of it from other scripts and integrated them to produce a new one.

The chunks I used to produce the new script included:

  1. The Standard Clipboard Routine for capturing the selected text.
  2. The RegEx for identifying and capturing the target dates. (Discussed in my last blog.)
  3. The DateConvert() function found in the DateStampConvert.ahk script for formatting the parsed dates as the standard TimeDate stamp (YYYYMMDD).
  4. The HowLong() function found in the HowLongYearsMonthsDays.ahk script for calculating the timespan between the two TimeDate stamp parameters.
  5. A MsgBox for instantly displaying the results.
Continue reading →

Finalizing an AutoHotkey Script

Jack Dunning AutoHotkey, AutoHotkey Resources, FileSelectFile, GoTo Command, GUI (Graphical User Interface) Pop-ups, Hotstring() Function, Menu Bars, Saving Files, Windows Registry, Windows scripting ,

While No One Actually Ever Completes an AutoHotkey Script, Some People Get Much Closer Than Others

Last June I started a series of blogs on “Finishing and Polishing AutoHotkey Scripts.” (Ironically, I never finished either the script or the series of blogs.) I wrote six articles aimed at making a script more flexible and user-friendly. Once I had added a menu bar to the GUI window, my chosen menu items provided a map to the ultimate finished product. In the course of that work, I introduced a number of methods for enhancing the program.

Continue reading →

Saving Default Data in the Windows Registry (Part Six: Finishing AutoHotkey GUI Scripts)

Jack Dunning AutoHotkey, DropDownList Control, FileSelectFile, GoSub Command, GUI (Graphical User Interface) Pop-ups, Windows Registry , , , ,

Many AutoHotkey Users Save Settings in an INI File…However, the Windows Registry May Offer More Security and Stability

We tend to feel nervous about working with the Windows Registry. After all, a wrong step could conceivably cause harm to the operating system setup. Yet when taking the appropriate steps, this built-in Windows database can offer us a number of benefits:

  1. The Windows Registry is always there.
  2. It’s not easy to accidentally delete a Windows Registry entry.
  3. The average computer user won’t know where to find these special data entries.
Continue reading →

New Intermediate Online AutoHotkey Course for Novices from “The Automator”

Jack Dunning AutoHotkey, AutoHotkey courses, Functions, Programming, Script Structure, Webinars, Windows Automation, Windows Registry, Windows scripting , ,

A New Udemy Course “Intermediate Autohotkey—Getting Past the Basics” from Joe Glines—Autohotkey Automation Guru

Not everyone learns in the same manner. Some of the best programmers I know taught themselves from scratch. They looked up the commands and figured out the rest themselves. They learn more advanced techniques by reviewing code written by other aficionados. While they do seek help for advanced topics, they don’t usually need beginning books or introductory courses. But, most people don’t fit into that category.

Continue reading →

How to Use the Windows Registry to Save Data Table Records

Jack Dunning AutoHotkey, GUI (Graphical User Interface) Pop-ups, INI Files, Intermediate Level, Loops, Saving Files, Windows Registry , , , ,

Saving To-Do List Data Items in the Windows Registry Allows Interactive Realtime Updates from the GUI ListView Control

ToDoListReg

The GUI ListView control acts like a data table (i.e. interactive rows and columns). The ListView control includes a number of functions for adding, inserting, modifying and deleting rows and columns,—plus, even more functions for sorting and selecting rows, as well as, retrieving data. I’ve used the AutoHotkey ListView control for a to-do list (shown at right), an address book,  a calorie counting app and listings of icon images embedded in files. (I consider all of these apps educational tools or starting points for AutoHotkey scripting—not final products.)

The AutoHotkey ListView control operates in the same manner as Windows File Explorer—automatically sorting on clicked column headers with editing available in the first field of the selected row on a second click. When included in a GUI (Graphical User Interface), the control adds a great deal of flexibility to any data table display, but it does not automatically save the data. You must write that code yourself. Continue reading →

Username and Password Protection in AutoHotkey

Jack Dunning AutoHotkey, GUI (Graphical User Interface) Pop-ups, InputBox, Passwords, Windows Registry , , , , ,

While You Won’t Find Absolute Password Protection, There Are a Number of Techniques Available to Help Hide Your Secrets

Computer security is one of the major issues of these times. How do we protect our data? Even after all of the latest innovations in cybersecurity, we hear about hacks of major sites and institutions. With all the ways we use today’s computers, we want to feel as safe as possible.

Caution: Human error (e.g. opening the wrong attachment, not changing passwords, etc.) offers the number one opportunity for the bad guys to invade your privacy. If someone gains access to your computer, then you have virtually no protection. Some people either don’t add a password to their Windows computer or allow autologin when the machine boots up. That’s a mistake! Always require password login to access your Windows computer. Otherwise, you make it too easy for people who stumble upon your computer—either in your office or cyberspace. Continue reading →

E-mail the Daily Horoscope to Yourself (AutoHotkey Trick)

Jack Dunning AutoHotkey, E-mail, Web Pages, Windows Registry , , , ,

Combining the Daily Horoscope from the Web with this AutoHotkey E-mail Sending Technique Makes It Possible to Deliver the Prescription to Anyone

In recent blogs, I discussed how to extract data from a Web page (“Quick and Dirty Web Data Extraction Script“) and send an e-mail directly from an AutoHotkey script (“How to Send E-mail Directly from an AutoHotkey Script“). This time I put them both together to demonstrate how to deliver a daily horoscope to yourself (or a friend).

HoroscopeEmail.pngE-mail—the oldest and most universal method for reaching people—offers a major advantage over text messages and other digital forms of communications (e.g. Twitter, Facebook). Most people own at least one e-mail address which they can access from any of their computers (PC, Mac, or Linux), any smartphone (iPhone or Android), or tablet. To send an e-mail, you don’t need to know a phone number or the type of device. E-mail servers push the message directly to the target addressee. Plus, using AutoHotkey, you can automate the periodic sending of an e-mail. Continue reading →

Save AutoHotkey Script Settings in Your Windows Registry

Jack Dunning AutoHotkey, Dates and Time, If statements, Intermediate Level, Menu, System Tray, Windows Registry, Windows scripting , , ,

While You Can Use an External File to Save Your Script Defaults, You Can Also Call-on the Windows Registry to Store App Settings

In most cases, I’ve used a separate file (text or INI) to save settings. While this works well, it requires the creation and tracking of that independent file. For the script to read the settings, it must know where to locate that file. But, if you want to save script settings without the baggage of that extra file, then consider using your Windows Registry.

You’ll find a few advantages to maintaining your script settings in the Windows Registry:

  1. Unlike a separate settings file, you don’t need to keep track of the Windows Registry’s location—it never moves. Regardless of where you locate your AutoHotkey script on your computer, you will always find its settings in the exact same place.
  2. You won’t accidentally lose your settings by manually deleting what may seem like an extra file in Windows File Explorer.
  3. Your settings remain semi-hidden from public view in a semi-permanent form.

This approach to storing your script defaults deep inside the recesses of Windows adds an air of mystery to your apps—especially if you compile them into EXE files. 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 →