Switches

AutoHotkey Tip of the Week: Windows Trick for Adding Embedded Folder Icons to QuickLinks Menus

Jack Dunning Arrays, AutoHotkey, GoTo Command, Icons, Menus, Parsing Data, Regular Expressions (RegEx), Switch/Case Command, Windows Automation, Windows scripting, Windows shortcuts, Windows Utilities , , , , , ,

This Technique Accesses Icons Embedded in Windows Folders for Inserting into Pop-up Menus—Plus, the New Combined Switch/Case Statement QuickLinks QL_GetIcon() Function

I completely rewrote the functions from the last blog for adding icons to the menus in the QuickLinks.ahk script combining the two into a shorter prioritized list using Switch/Case statements. In the process—after investigating how to read icons embedded in Windows folder/directory listings—I discovered an interesting Windows secret. It turns out that this procedure requires a totally different Windows maneuver than that used for reading Windows Shortcut file icons.

The Windows Desktop.ini File

UnHideFiles
Ryan’s UnHideFiles.ahk script makes Windows Registry changes to hide and unhide files.

When you embed an icon into a Windows folder (right-click on the folder name in Windows File Explorer, select Properties and the Customize tap, then click Change Icon… and browse for icons), rather than saving the icon path and icon number in the folder itself—as Windows does for shortcut files—it creates a special hidden file named desktop.ini in that same folder. With Windows set to Show Hidden Files, folder and drives in the View tab of the Folder Options window, you can view the hidden desktop.ini file in that folder. (Tip: You can use Ryan’s UnHideFiles.ahk script to hide and unhide files and folders.) Continue reading →

AutoHotkey Tip of the Week: A Look at the New Switch/Case Command

Jack Dunning AutoHotkey, Dates and Time, If statements, Regular Expressions (RegEx), Script Structure, Switch/Case Command, Windows scripting , , , , , ,

In the DateStampConvert.ahk Script, Rather than Using a Series of If-Else Statements (or the Ternary Operator), the New Switch Command Sets Up Case Statements for Alternative Results—Plus, Easily Add Conversions for Spanish, German, French, and Italian Date Formats

Over a year ago, I used a cascading series of the ternary operators to convert English text month names into their numeric values within a single function (“Use the Ternary Operator to Create Conditional Case Statements or Switches“). The ternary operator shortcut acts as If-Else statements in abbreviated form.

DateConvertSend
In the DateStampConvert.ahk script, a technique similar to Switch/Case statements converts the name of a month into its corresponding numeric value.

Continue reading →

AutoHotkey Tip of the Week: Toggling Features On and Off

Jack Dunning AutoHotkey, Hotstring() Function, Menus, Toggling Variables, Windows scripting , , , ,

While You’ll Find AutoHotkey Offers Many Methods for Turning Things On and Off, This Technique Makes It Easy

ToDoListINIOver the years I’ve used a number of different approaches to changing the state of buttons, checkmarks, and various other aspects of AutoHotkey app. But, as recommended by numerous sources, I prefer a simple variable reset to the opposite state (on/true/1 or off/false/0). The code comes in shorthand form using the logical-not (!) operator:

Toggle := !Toggle

When used in an expression, this form for the logical-not (!) operator switches off to on and on to off. Continue reading →