Hotkeys

Adding Actions to Windows System Tray Icon Menu (Intermediate AutoHotkey Tip)

Jack Dunning AutoHotkey, Hotkeys, Intermediate Level, Menu, System Tray , , ,

Adding Hard-to-Remember Hotkeys to the AutoHotkey System Tray Icon Makes Sense—Plus, How to Best Activate the Last Window

I’ve put my MousePrecise AutoHotkey script on my own list of favorites. I like the mouse cursor accuracy it adds to any of my graphic applications. I find it particularly useful when selecting a portion of an image for cropping or moving.

However, I recently ran into an issue where the script stopped working in Paint.NET (more details on the source of the problem later in this blog). I tried reloading the script, but to no avail. I decided to use the Hotkey I implemented for adding the window class to the group (GroupAdd command). Humm…I couldn’t recall the key combination. This lapse of memory forced me to open the script and dig through the code. Continue reading →

Windows Programming Made Easy (Why AutoHotkey?)

Jack Dunning AutoHotkey, Beginning, Hotkeys, Hotstrings, Programming, Windows scripting , , , , ,

Never Programmed Before? You’ll Find No Better Language for Learning Than AutoHotkey!

Note: A free scripting language for Window computers, AutoHotkey provides simple techniques for controlling and adding power to your PC. Since today (and into the foreseeable future) Windows PCs continue to represent 90% of the desktop and laptop computers, knowing how to write simple AutoHotkey scripts adds significant experience to anyone’s résumé. Do it for fun and profit! Continue reading →

Peek Inside Windows Clipboard, Part 2 (Intermediate AutoHotkey OnClipboardChange Tip)

Jack Dunning AutoHotkey, Hotstrings, Intermediate Level, Windows Clipboard, Windows scripting, Windows Utilities , , ,

An AutoHotkey OnClipboardChange Script for Running the Most Appropriate of Two Different Clipboard Peeking Apps

Last time, I discussed viewing the contents of Windows Clipboard using either the AutoHotkey Clipboard variable or an old Microsoft Clipbook Viewer (clipbrd.exe). While the AutoHotkey MsgBox command script offers superior results whenever copied files sit in the clipboard (e.g. a text list of the paths to each file), the ClipBook Viewer better displays bitmap image files. Rather than setting up different Hotkeys for each approach, wouldn’t a script which picks the best approach for the specific data type found in the clipboard help optimize viewing process? Ideally, the AutoHotkey app would use the Clipboard variable whenever the Windows Clipboard contains text and open the ClipBook Viewer whenever the clipboard holds an image. First, we must identify the type of data found in the clipboard. Continue reading →

Make a Window Transparent with the WinSet Command (Beginning AutoHotkey Tip)

Jack Dunning AutoHotkey, Beginning, Hotkeys, Window Manipulation, Windows scripting , ,

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 →

The New Edition of the Free “AutoHotkey Tricks You Ought to Do with Windows” Book

Jack Dunning AutoHotkey, Beginning, Cool Scripts, Hotkeys, Hotstrings, Windows scripting, Windows Utilities , , , , ,

The Amazon Experiment Ends with This Third Edition (June 20, 2019, Now Fifth Edition)—The E-Book AutoHotkey Tricks You Ought to Do with Windows Free from Now On!

Continue reading →

Tips for Smoothing Out AutoHotkey Scripts with #If, Tooltip, and Quick Release Hotkeys (Beginning Hotkeys Part 19)

Jack Dunning #Directives, AutoHotkey, Beginning, Hotkeys, Tooltip Pop-ups, Windows scripting , , , , ,

Enhancing the MousePrecise.ahk AutoHotkey Script with the #If Directive, the Tooltip Command, and a Quick Release Hotkey

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AutoHotkey Solutions for Windows Clipboard Limitations (AutoHotkey Clipboard Tips)

Jack Dunning #Directives, AutoHotkey, Cool Scripts, Editing Tools, Hotkeys, Windows Clipboard, Windows scripting , , , , , ,

Sometimes It’s Just Easier To Set Up a Temporary Hotkey for Inserting Text in Documents, Web Pages, or Forms, Plus a Quick Reminder of a Couple of Cool Clipboard-like AutoHotkey Apps (ClipJump and PhraseOMatic)

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Force an Expression (%) in AutoHotkey for More Powerful Commands (Beginning Hotkeys Part 17)

Jack Dunning AutoHotkey, Forcing Expressions, Hotkeys, Scan Codes, Windows scripting , , , , ,

Learn the Secret of Adding Power and Flexibility to AutoHotkey Commands—Use Forced Expressions to Tailor Almost Anything

Four years ago I wrote my first AutoHotkey article as part of a Windows column for ComputorEdge Magazine. (One of my readers introduced me to AutoHotkey.) The more I dug into the scripting language, the more I understood how, with very little effort, it could help virtually any Windows user. I took the path of studying the AutoHotkey online documentation, searching AutoHotkey forums for ideas and techniques, testing various ways to write the code, then chronicling my insights in what eventually became first a number of articles and blogs, then (mostly beginning) books. Continue reading →

AutoHotkey Script for Precision Hotkey Mouse Movement in Windows Graphics Programs—Continued (Beginning Hotkeys Part 16)

Jack Dunning AutoHotkey, Beginning, Graphic Editing Tools, Hotkeys, Mouse Tricks, Scan Codes , , , ,

This Short AutoHotkey App Adds Pixel Level Precision to Mouse Cursor Movement in Any Windows Graphics Program.

This time we add more cursor directions by implementing numeric keypad Hotkey Scan Codes, plus a feature for temporarily adding these micro cursor hotkeys to any new graphics app.

Continue reading →