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AHK News 2025-10-09- 269 Newsletters❗

AutoHotkey Newsletter

Howdy %Name%,

Last week’s newsletter was about remembering what it was like starting-out with AutoHotkey.

When I was publishing the newsletter it got me wondering how many AHK Newsletters I’ve done.

Since I keep all of the past ones it was pretty easy to do a search and realize my first Newsletter was sent in July of 2020. 

I know there were two weeks that I missed which means as of today I’ve sent about 269 AHK Newsletters

Some of you might think it is hard to think of new things to write about however I find it incredibly easy.   Probably because I’m still constantly learning what to automate!

How about you❓ Do you ever think you’ll run out of “things to automate“❓

Thank you for being a subscriber/viewer❗

Now on with the show…

Learn how to Master VSCode Make the switch to v2 Intro to AutoHotkey Intermediate AutoHotkey Intermediate ObjectsGUIs are Easy w/AutoHotkey Access all our Courses; Quit when you want

DoingItManually

Sadly the above is closer to the truth than you would think❗ I had 3 bosses at Texas Instruments that literally told me “not to automate” things.

Customizing VS Code

During a Hero call last weekend, Ray wanted to tweak his VS Code settings.  

Isaias walked through some of the (seemingly endless) settings in VS code.

I also chimed in with how I’d changed the backgrounds of my inactive tabs.  I extracted the video so you can check it out here.

Customizing your VSCode settings
Customizing your VSCode settings

️Don’t need a Ferrari❓

We often joke that VS Code is the Ferrari of editors.  If you’re a developer coding in AutoHotkey v2 VS code is definitely the right choice however many of us (myself included) don’t need a Ferrari.

Our choice used to be SciTE4AutoHotkey however it has some odd bug in it that changes your AutoHotkey install settings that we can’t track down.  

We use AHK Toolkit a lot however it’s missing some core features (Line numbers, IntelliSense, Autocomplete, Dark mode, assignable hotkeys etc.)

So we’re creating our own (basic) editor for people that don’t need all the bells-and-whistles that VS Code offers.  

We’re planning on naming it AHK Script Maker and I’m hoping to have an early version out next week.

If you’d like an early look at it  you can check it out in this video.

What are your “must have” features %Name%❓

Creating a new AHK editor
Creating a new AHK editor

Deeper Dive into Semantic Versioning

We’ve covered Semantic Versioning before however Isaias learned some new information about metadata so, during a Hero call, we walked through Semantic Versioning again.

Additional info on Semantic Versioning
Additional info on Semantic Versioning

Improving People’s Lives: Story #66

Our Video Sandwich tool was built for me to use however I have several friends that have YouTube channels and will be borrowing it as well.  

Over the years I’ve loved automating my own work but a true joy is being able to give it to others and save them time as well! 

Do you share your scripts with others❓

If so, you might check out this video where we walk through the list on this page about why scripts break when you share them with others.

What we’re reading

AI News that you Need to Know

⚡️Productivity tips: Gmail hacks

During a Hero call we discussed some fun Gmail hacks

Fun gmail hacks
Fun gmail hacks

A spot of Humor: Put to metal

Last week I shared this gem of an Insufferable brat going mental.

This guy took part of it and created a great song!

“GIVE HIM A TICKET!” GOES METAL

give him a ticket

What we utomated this week with AutoHotkey #105

In this week’s video we’re diving into some really cool updates including our brand new AutoHotkey editor that actually plays nice with your scripts (unlike some other options), plus I’ll show you how AI helped us make one of our tools run ridiculously faster.

We’ve also been cranking on a bunch of media tools and our AI OCR that can do way more than just read text—you’ll want to see what’s possible with custom prompts!

105 What we Automated with AutoHotkey #105
105 What we Automated with AutoHotkey #105

Clients say…

They always deliver more value than promised—  AJ Wilcox

Cartoon superhero mascot in green costume beside the bold text AHK Hero on a yellow background AHK Hero

Consider joining the AHK Hero club! Members receive 25% off courses, consultations, tutoring, done for you project work, etc.    Currently we have over 472 hours of recordings teaching AutoHotkey that is exclusive to AHK Hero members❗

During this Friday’s call we’re planning to discuss:

They also have access to exclusive & pre-released content and 3 hours a week where we help people with their AHK issues (the Saturday calls are geared towards people new to AutoHotkey.)

️ Quotable quotes

  • Whatever Your Mind Can Conceive; We can create it for you! — Joe Glines
  • Decisions without actions are worthless — Dan Kennedy
  • Failure is not the opposite of success; It’s a part of it!

AHK Newsletter⏩SHARE WITH A FRIEND⏩

Do you know someone that would benefit from learning useful automation tips like the gems in today’s issue?  Take a second and forward this newsletter and bask in the glow of their undying gratitude.  Was this email forwarded to you?

Sign up for this Newsletter here.  We never share your email with anyone.  Ever!

The-Automator

Joe, Isaias, Irfan and staff

P.S. I find it hard to believe I’ve been publishing this newsletter for over 5 years.  

What’s more amazing is, every day, I find something else to automate!  

Are you the same %Name%❓

Consider joining the AHK Hero club where you can be with others like you.

 

2025-09-11 Being ‘the Idea Guy’ is my super power

Tag: 2025-09-22-ideaGuy      Subj: Being ‘the Idea Guy’ is my super power

AutoHotkey Newsletter

Howdy %Name%,

I created this amazing podcast with NotebookLM based off of The Magic of Thinking Big: The True Secret of Success by David Schwartz.

I found the podcast to be incredibly thought provoking❗

It helped me understand why I had such an “easy time” succeeding.

According to David Schwartz, some of the main things that drive success are:

  • Believing in Yourself
  • Not Giving Up
  • Being Creative

Anyone who knows me knows how I strive in all three of the above.

I think this is also why I love AutoHotkey!

AutoHotkey makes it “easy” to create tools to implement the ideas I have.

How about you %name%❓

Are you a Creative Genius⁉️

Does AHK empower you to be successful⁉️

If not, join our AHK hero club and tap into many of us that thrive on a challenge.

Now on with the show…

Learn how to Master VSCode Make the switch to v2 Intro to AutoHotkey Intermediate AutoHotkey Intermediate ObjectsGUIs are Easy w/AutoHotkey Access all our Courses; Quit when you want

FileOfExcuses

Finding Files by topic: AI is so cool…

Can’t remember the exact name of your file but remember what it was “about”?

A while back I was playing with AI and had it write this “Fuzzy matching” file tool.   It allows you to filter your files based on the “topic” which is one reason why we say “AI is the ultimate fuzzy matching tool”.

You can check it out in this video.

AI Fuzzy Match – File Search
AI Fuzzy Match - File Search

Adding Color to a Status bar

During the AHK Hero call last weekend Isaias showed Hero members how to add color to a status bar.  This was really cool so I extracted it here.

Just another great example of what you’re missing by not being a member!

How to get Color in Statusbar
How to put Color in Statusbar

Adding Hotkeys for tools in MS Office

I was reading an article discussing how to create hotkeys for frequently used tools in MS Word, PowerPoint, Excel, etc.   I realized, with a little AutoHotkey love, it could be much easier for users to remember.  Check out what I did in this video.

Creating Hotkeys for Actions in MS Office
Creating Hotkeys for Actions in MS Office

New Functionality coming in V2.1

We’ve discussed Fat Arrows in v2 before but what if you want a loop❓   In this video Isaias shows us how, in v2.1 we’ll be able to have even more functionality.

One New Functionality in AutoHotkey v2.1
One New Functionality in AutoHotkey v2.1

Improving People’s Lives: Story #62

A client of ours wrote me saying how he wanted to create transcriptions from Audio / Video files.  I mentioned it is possible to get transcripts from our Transcribe & Summarize tool however it takes a couple of steps to get them. 

I had Irfan borrow a lot of code from Transcribe & Summarize but create a new tool named Transcriber.

The new tool allows you to drag multiple media files to it and, automatically, create transcriptions, saved as text files, in the same folder as the files dragged to it.

What we’re reading

AI News that you Need to Know

⚡️Productivity tips:   You need to be bord!

You Need to Be Bored. Here’s Why.
You Need to Be Bored. Here's Why.

A spot of Humor:  More accurate than I care to admit

Developer VS Tester 
Developer VS Tester | Developers Memes | Testers Memes | Developers fun | Tester Fun | War | Funny

What we utomated this week with AutoHotkey #101

In this video, I walk through a bunch of AutoHotkey solutions I’ve worked on over the last week , showing off how versatile scripting can be for solving real-world problems.

I demo everything from automatically adjusting screen settings and manipulating calculator controls to formatting Facebook posts and managing window positions – basically giving viewers a behind-the-scenes look at how I use AutoHotkey to automate tasks that would otherwise be tedious or repetitive.

What we Automated with AutoHotkey #101
What we Automated with AutoHotkey #101

Clients say…

The content is great in general and often questions can actually help and improve interest in AutoHotKey. —  Rodrigo Costa

Cartoon superhero mascot in green costume beside the bold text AHK Hero on a yellow background AHK Hero

Consider joining the AHK Hero club! Members receive 25% off courses, consultations, tutoring, done for you project work, etc.    Currently we have over 460 hours of recordings teaching AutoHotkey that is exclusive to AHK Hero members❗

During this Friday’s call we’re planning to discuss:

  • Help AHK Hero Members with their Questions & Code
  • Demo OpenRouter Class
  • Convert Newsletter tool to v2
  • Creating scripts that don’t break when shared with others
  • Demo Recording Audio with Windows RT
  • Demo Transcriber
  • UIA – reliably connecting to an element
  • Review Names for Concatenator
  • Object Oriented Programming- getting a reference to an element & reusing it
  • Update to Clipster– Pasting Files
  • Updates to Recently Modified Files that will save me a ton of time!
  • Hotkey Loop & MsgBox issue

They also have access to exclusive & pre-released content and a 3 hours a week where we help people with their AHK issues (the Saturday calls are geared towards people new to AutoHotkey.)

️ Quotable quotes

  • The best way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing — Walt Disney
  • Great achievement is usually born of great sacrifice and is never the result of selfishness — Napoleon Hill
  • A creative man is motivated by the desire to achieve , not by the desire to beat others — Ayn Rand

AHK Newsletter⏩SHARE WITH A FRIEND⏩

Do you know someone that would benefit from learning useful automation tips like the gems in today’s issue?  Take a second and forward this newsletter and bask in the glow of their undying gratitude.  Was this email forwarded to you?

Sign up for this Newsletter here.  We never share your email with anyone.  Ever!

The-Automator

Joe, Isaias, Irfan and staff

P.S. Don’t forget that being creative is something that can be developed.   It’s one of the fun things people realize in the AHK Hero club.  Over time people start getting inspired (and inspiring others)

 

Most common “gotchas” when starting-out with AutoHotkey

When diving into AutoHotkey, beginners often encounter a few common pitfalls. Recognizing these can significantly smooth out the learning process. Here’s a breakdown of the top mistakes:

  1. Neglecting the AHK Documentation:
    • AutoHotkey has excellent, comprehensive documentation. Many beginners try to learn through scattered online examples, which can lead to confusion.
    • Mistake: Not thoroughly reading and understanding the official AutoHotkey documentation.
    • Solution: Prioritize familiarizing yourself with the core concepts and syntax from the official source.  Of course, you also could learn oodles from our AHK Courses
  2. Trying to Imitate a Human instead of using an API approach
    • Most people start off with AutoHotkey sending keystrokes and mouse clicks
    • Mistake: AutoHotkey has built-in ways to automate programs far superior and are much more reliable. This is especially important if you plan to use it on more than 1 comptuer!
    • Solution:Schedule a call with a Pro that can quickly let you know which is the best way to automate your specific program
  3. Trying to Automate an entire process at the start
    • Many people get carried away thinking they can easily automate 100% of a process.
    • Mistake: Automating an entire process takes a lot of time!
    • Solution: Identify the “pain points” and automate those (to start). The next time through, automate a bit more…
  4. Not Using Comments:
    • As scripts grow in complexity, it becomes difficult to remember what each section does.
    • Mistake: Writing scripts without clear and concise comments.
    • Solution: Always add comments to explain the purpose of different code sections. This will make your scripts easier to maintain and debug.  (I guarantee you’ll thank me later❗)
  5. Misuse of Hotkeys and Hotstrings:
    • Choosing hotkeys that conflict with existing system shortcuts or creating hotstrings that trigger unintentionally.
    • Mistake: Using common key combinations or creating hotstrings that are too short.
    • Solution: Select unique and less frequently used hotkey combinations. Test hotstrings thoroughly to avoid unintended triggers. Binding them to a program, by making them context sensitive, can greatly reduce this issue!  We cover Hotkeys & HotStrings in Intro to AHK
  6. Not Understanding How to do basic Debugging:
    • When a script doesn’t work as expected, beginners often struggle to identify the cause.
    • Mistake: Not utilizing MsgBox or other debugging techniques to track variable values and script execution.
    • Solution: Learn to use debugging tools and techniques to identify and fix errors.
  7. Working in a “bubble“:
    • When people try and learn AutoHotkey on their own they often waste an incredible amount of time.
    • Mistake: Not finding a “coding buddy” / expert to ask questions to.
    • Solution: If you don’t know anyone, the AHK Hero Club is an excellent way to get help from AHK Experts!
  8. Working with AHK v1 instead of AHK v2:
    • A lot of people are using AHK v1 because there are so many examples
    • Mistake: AutoHotkey v1 is depricated.  There are no updates being done and new funcionality is not being added.  For all intents and purposes AHK v1 is dead.
    • Solution: AHK v2 solves many of the issues AHK v1 had.  It was in development for over 10 years and now is the official version.  If you wan to use AI to help write V2 Code, I definitely recommend Claude or Deepseek.   We have an excellent AHK v1 to v2 course.

By being aware of these common mistakes, you can significantly improve your AutoHotkey learning experience.