Windows Clipboard

Why AutoHotkey for Writers, Bloggers, and Editors?

Jack Dunning AutoHotkey, Beginning, Editing Tools, Grammar Checking, Web Pages, Windows Clipboard , , , ,

If You Write or Edit For a Living (or Fun) and Use a Windows Computer (Most People Do), Then You Should Use the Free AutoHotkey Software

I’m starting this series I call “Why AutoHotkey?” to illustrate the many reasons for Windows users to install and learn AutoHotkey.

Since I spend most of my time writing, it only makes sense that I start off with why wordsmiths should use AutoHotkey on their Windows computers. There exists a ton of tools for bloggers and editors which include built-in spell checkers and grammar checkers. AutoHotkey does not replace any of these but rather augments them with those extras which add an edge when writing. Best of all AutoHotkey works anywhere and everywhere on a Windows computer. Continue reading →

AutoHotkey Quick Reference Script (Part Two)

Jack Dunning AutoHotkey, Intermediate Level, Reference, Regular Expressions (RegEx), Web Pages, Windows Clipboard , , , , ,

The AutoHotkey.com built-in Index Reappears—Now to Build a Reference Tool!

autohotkeybooks160x600As I ventured in a new direction toward creating AutoHotkey reference scripts, I once again tested the previously discovered hidden AutoHotkey.com index (which had vanished). It re-emerged!

This left me in a quandary. Do I continue in my new direction or take up the original quick reference tool I began building with this AutoHotkey.com secret capability? Since the hidden index offers so much power, I decided to continue on my first course. (The possibility that the feature may disappear again looms over my work, but any Web site can change.) Continue reading →

Build Your Own AutoHotkey Command Reference Tool (An AutoHotkey Secret)

Jack Dunning AutoHotkey, Intermediate Level, Web Pages, Windows Clipboard, Windows scripting , , , ,

November 1, 2016: Just as I was marching off in another direction, one more check of the AutoHotkey.com site surprised me. The hidden indexing feature discussed in this blog started working again. Go figure! Will it last? Who knows? But for now, this blog is valid again. I’ll now be able to introduce the AutoHotkey Quick Reference tool I had started working on. 

October 26, 2016: I don’t know if it’s temporary or permanent, nor do I know why, but much of the AutoHotkey Web site index capability (if not all) discussed in this blog has been disabled. I don’t know the rationale for the change or if it may return, but it was a great aid to anyone doing AutoHotkey scripting while it lasted. (One week for me from my point of discovery to its disappearance.) Stranger things have happened. Needless to say, I’m back to browser searches for AutoHotkey URLs.

Learn a Hidden AutoHotkey Trick for Quickly Accessing AutoHotkey Online Command Information

Occasionally (completely by accident), I come across surprising, eye-opening tips. In my last blog, I used an AutoHotkey script to access an online thesaurus by merely highlighting robotsecretcartoona word and hitting the assigned Hotkey. I began checking other Web sites for how easily I could run a similar site search. Naturally, since I include links to the Web reference commands in virtually every blog I write, I checked out AutoHotkey.com. In the process, I uncovered a remarkable secret. Continue reading →

Make Instant Web Page Searches Your Online Thesaurus (Intermediate AutoHotkey Tip)

Jack Dunning AutoHotkey, Hotkeys, Intermediate Level, Web Pages, Windows Clipboard, Windows scripting , , ,

Expand Your Vocabulary with This Quick and Dirty AutoHotkey Tip Or Modify This Script for Any Web Page Search

This week in ComputorEdge Software Showcase I reviewed Visual Thesaurus which offers a clever way to search for and understand English synonyms. Anyone who does a great deal of writing (or merely wants to self-educate) needs a good thesaurus. While the vocabulary enhancement androidprotestcartoonsoftware fascinated me and I certainly found it uniquely useful, it appeared to be insulated from the usual AutoHotkey techniques. (Other than by first saving the result to a PDF, I found no easy technique for copying a word to the clipboard. Plus, when opening, the app does not accept preloading a search term.) Beyond launching the program with a Hotkey, I didn’t see a simple method for automating the program with AutoHotkey. Other Web thesaurus sites make it easier to launch replacement word searches. Continue reading →

Peek Inside Windows Clipboard (Beginning AutoHotkey Tip)

Jack Dunning AutoHotkey, Beginning, Windows Clipboard , ,

A Quick, Easy Way to View Windows Clipboard Contents

There are some great AutoHotkey Clipboard scripts. In particular, the free ClipJump, written in AutoHotkey and maintained by Avi Aryan, represents a major upgrade in practical Clipboard-like apps. People now use ClipJump to replace no longer supported third-party programs. But not everyone needs that much clipboard. What if you only want to take a peek at your clipboard’s contents? Continue reading →

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)

Continue reading →

AutoHotkey StringSplit Command and ErrorLevel Tricks for Swapping Words (Beginning Hotkeys Part 10)

Jack Dunning AutoHotkey, Editing Tools, Hotkeys, Regular Expressions (RegEx), Windows Clipboard, Windows scripting , , , , ,

Techniques for Swapping Words Using the StringSplit AutoHotkey Command; ErrorLevel for Producing Alternative Results; a Glance at a Regular Expression (RegEx) for Swapping Words

In the last blog, we looked at a quick Hotkey for swapping mistyped letters in any Windows document or text editing field. Just place the text cursor between the two letters and hit ALT+R. The characters reverse positions. This time the technique is expanded and refined for swapping two words.

Continue reading →

AutoHotkey Windows Clipboard Techniques for Swapping Letters (Beginning Hotkeys Part 9)

Jack Dunning AutoHotkey, Clipboard Routine, Editing Tools, Hotkeys, Windows Clipboard, Windows scripting , , ,

Delving into Windows Clipboard Hotkey Tricks for Switching Mistyped Letters in Any Document or Text Editor…Plus, a Discussion of the “Standard AutoHotkey Windows Clipboard Routine”

Note: January 29, 2017—Over time, I’ve come to realize that AutoHotkey scripts should employ a number of different “best practices” in Clipboard manipulation routines. The code includes ClipboardAll,  ClipWait 0, and IfErrorLevel.  This blog discusses those techniques in detail. I now refer to this AutoHotkey Clipboard setup as “the standard AutoHotkey Clipboard routine.”

I’m taking yet another diversion from the Hotkey command to dig into something just as important (if not more so) when discussing Hotkeys—the action code contained in and initiated by the keyboard combination. Highlighting Hotkeys without looking into the embedded routines is like studying eggshells without learning the nature of the egg. While the various techniques for implementing Hotkeys are significant, looking at the specific AutoHotkey action routine inside may be even more crucial. Continue reading →