• Intro to AutoHotkey Intermediate AutoHotkey Intermediate Objects GUIs are Easy w/AutoHotkey Painlessly switch from V1 to V2
Home Office Automation AutoHotKey Archive by category "HotString" (Page 2)

Category: HotString

Although hotstrings are mainly used to expand abbreviations as you type them (auto-replace), they can also be used to launch any scripted action. In this respect, they are similar to hotkeys except that they are typically composed of more than one character (that is, a string).
https://autohotkey.com/docs/Hotstrings.htm

Maximize Your Productivity with AutoHotkey: Discover the Power of Hotkeys and Hotstrings

Hotkeys and Hotstrings

Both hotstrings and hotkeys in AutoHotkey are powerful tools that can be used to automate tasks on a Windows computer.

Hotkeys are keyboard shortcuts that can be used to trigger a specific action or script. For example, you can use a hotkey to launch a program, open a file, or execute a series of commands. Hotkeys can be created to trigger a specific action when a specific key or combination of keys is pressed.

Hotstrings are similar to hotkeys, but they are triggered by typing a specific string of characters. For example, you could create a hotstring that automatically expands a short abbreviation into a longer phrase or sentence. Hotstrings can be used to save time and reduce the risk of errors when typing repetitive or commonly-used phrases.

Overall, both hotkeys and hotstrings can be powerful tools for automating tasks on a Windows computer. The choice between using hotkeys or hotstrings will depend on the specific needs and requirements of your automation tasks.

The first course I created was on HotStrings.  I have hundreds of them and use them all the time!
In our Intro to AHK Course we dive into HotKeys which are equally powerful and huge time savers!
Hotkeys and Hotstrings Hotkeys and Hotstrings

AutoHotkey Tutorial for Beginners – Start automating your PC in 1 hour with this amazing tool

AutoHotkey Tutorial for Beginners

AutoHotkey Tutorial for Beginners

In this AutoHotkey Tutorial for Beginners I walk you through what you need to get started and help you write your first AutoHotkey script.  Below are some convenient links to the tools you’ll want starting out with AutoHotkey.

AutoHotkey Tutorial for Beginners: What you’ll learn

Table of Contents

1. Outline of video
2. Video
3. Programs to Install
4. Commands / Concepts covered
5. Resources
6. Reviews

Outline of video


Step #1:  Which version of AutoHotkey to use  @ 3:15
Step #2:  Which editor to use with AutoHotkey @4:36
Step #3:  Trigger Commands, Programs / Scripts / Websites by hitting key-combinations (Hotkeys) @11:07
Step #4:  Type a few letters and have them replaced with the long strings of text (Hotstrings) @26:29
Step #5:  Use a spell checker that will run on every Windows program @34:49
Step #6: Remap keys /key combinations @43:29
Step #7:  Send a Mouse Click to specified coordinates @47:12
Step #8:  Compile a script so you can give it to someone else to run on their computer @53:09
Step #9:  Information & Resources where to go when you need help @54:52 Continue reading

Find and click image / Send text to it

** Updated 05/2020** 

While FindText is still a great tool, I recommend you check out the tool I’ve created Automate my Task .  It has many more built-in features as well as allowing you to record multi-step processes, send text, use control clicks & more.

 

Find and click image with FindText()

I recently played with this great AutoHotkey function FindText().  The program is similar to AutoHotkey’s built-in ImageSearch functionality however it works more reliably and does not need a local file/copy of the image.  The name of the function is a bit misleading in that it really just helps you find and click images.

My first video below demonstrates most of the basic functionality of the tool.  The second video shows the usage of the functions that I wrote to help clicking, sending text, etc.

Here is my version of the FindText function which includes the functions I demonstrate in the second video.  If you’d like the hotstrings I used they are below also (mine are in my main AutoHotkey.ahk file)

 

Demonstration of custom AutoHotkey functions to find image and click it.

 

 

 

Autocorrect replace text- Use abbreviations to automate writing!

autocorrect replace text
HotStrings / Text Expansion

Autocorrect replace text

Hotstrings from AutoHotKey are an amazing time saver! If you’re not using them now, stop what you’re doing because they are very easy to use and save you a lot of time on a daily basis!

Learn how to create HotString with our Udemy HotStrings course

You’ve probably used Microsoft Word’s autocorrect to replace misspellings or perhaps the Copyright sign ©.   Imagine if, instead of replacing one word, you could replace three pre-defined letters with paragraphs of text!   Simply one of the best ways to crank-up your productivity in a very short time!

Another video I did demonstrating the usefulness of Hotstrings can be seen here where I demonstrate how I use it with SPSS to crank-out reports.

 

Ms-office – Word – Use AutoText Or Don’tIt’s Your Choice Tutorials

AutoCorrect’s “Replace text as you type” feature is great for fixing typos, but you can save much more time by creating AutoCorrect entries for text items that you …