• Intro to AutoHotkey Intermediate AutoHotkey Intermediate Objects GUIs are Easy w/AutoHotkey Painlessly switch from V1 to V2

AutoHotkey Newsletter August 14th, 2023

AutoHotkey Newsletter

Howdy ,

Like most people that use AutoHotkey, my first uses of it were very simple things like HotStrings and Hotkeys.   I spent several years using AutoHotkey to just utilizing those until I decided to change job roles and moved into Information Technology.

The new job I was hired for  I was tasked to find a way to automate an incredibly mundane task (the job would turn over after ~1 year because it was ridiculously mundane, repetitive, and taxing.)

I began learning things like: Web Scraping, Web service APIs, Regular Expressions, simple GUI creation, Object Oriented Programming (OOP) and much more.  In this video I discuss some of the many cool uses of AutoHotkey.

Why you should learn AutoHotkey! Some most common uses of AutoHotkey

Why you should learn AutoHotkey! Some most common uses of AutoHotkey


It reminded me of this quick clip I saw in a Columbo episode.  Most people, when they first start with AutoHotkey, they are “Imitating a human“.  Probably because it just “makes sense” to us.

Are you using AutoHotkey wrong?
Are you using AutoHotkey wrong?

Most people don’t realized there are API (Application Program Interfaces) that allow them to “programmatically” control programs.  Imitating a human is (often) simple to code however it is not robust and fails a lot and doesn’t transfer to other systems.  You can get a deeper understanding of Human vs. API approach in this video.

APIs compared to Human Interfaces: How do you use AutoHotkey?
APIs compared to Human Interfaces: How do you use AutoHotkey?

In our AHK hero group we’re frequently helping people take their scripts that imitate human behaviors and adapt them to using an API approach.

Now on with the show…

Intro to AutoHotkey HotStrings with AutoHotkey Intermediate AutoHotkey Intermediate Objects GUIs are Easy w/AutoHotkey Make the switch to v2

Forcing an Expression in AHK v2

During this Automator team meeting Isaias was teaching Irfan and I how we can force an expression in v2.  It’s not “pretty” code, but it’ll ‘getter done’.  LOL

tatm:Forcing an Expression in AHK v2 to get around illegal chacter in JSON
tatm:Forcing an Expression in AHK v2 to get around illegal chacter in JSON


Using built-in AutoHotkey Functions

Unlike other languages, AutoHotkey has a LOT of built in functionality.  This video is an extract from Intro to AHK in v2.   Remember AutoHotkey functions are an AMAZING way to level-up your automation skills!

Using built-in Commands and Built in AHK v2
Using built-in Commands and Built in AHK v2


Me “Helping” AHK hero members 🤣

As many of you know, I’m not a programmer.  In fact, I love the fact that I’ve never gone down that path yet I’ve used AutoHotkey to do AMAZING things!

I’m smart enough to know hire very talented people like Isaias and Irfan to help solve the more complicated AHK Hero member’s problems.  This video a short excerpt from Galaxy Quest but it’s pretty close to how I feel on the Hero calls go.  If you’re not an AHK hero member, I highly recommend you consider joining.  Every week we have 3 hours of calls helping people with their tasks.  And we have a private Telegram group where people can get their problems solved during the week.  And you get 25% off our courses & client work!

Helping AHK Hero members
Helping AHK Hero members


📚 What we’re reading


🤖 AI / Chat GPT-3 News / Usage


⚡️Productivity tips:  Revisit current processes

Humans are horrible at re-thinking a problem.  Once we solve something we rarely re-think how it is being done.

Remember to review processes and look for ways to improve efficiency. Refining your workflows are great ways to save time and be more efficient!


🤣 A spot of Humor:  I forgot I created this page of AutoHotkey Jokes.    I’ve included a few below but be sure to check out the above page for more.

Q: What do you say to an AutoHotkey v1 user who wants to learn object-oriented programming?

A: Good luck with that!

Q: Why did the v1 user refuse to switch to v2?

A: Because they didn’t want to leave their comfort zone… which happened to be a time capsule.

Q: What do you call an AHK v1 script that uses GUIs?

A: A mess.

If you’re not using AHK v2 yet we have a great course to help you make the transition painless!


AHK Hero 🦸

Consider joining the 🦸AHK Hero club! Members receive 25% off courses, consultations, tutoring, done for you project work, etc.

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

  • Whatever Your Mind Can Conceive and Believe, It Can Achieve. Napoleon Hill
  • Work harder on yourself than you do on your job Jim Rohn
  • When experiencing errors with tools, typically you should blame the operator, not the tool. Joe Glines
  • Today is always the most productive day of your week. Mark Hunter
  • A nickel ain’t worth a dime anymore Yogi Berra

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 hereWe never share your email with anyone.  Ever!


The-Automator

Joe, Isaias, Irfan, and staff


P.S. The majority of AutoHotkey users start-off imitating a human but realize it is a lousy approach. Learning programmatic ways to automate software with AutoHotkey will save you time and build much more reliable, sharable, scripts.  We highly recommend you click here and purchase one of our courses and begin the path to victory!

Remember all of our courses come with a 200% money back guarantee so you have nothing to lose!

August 24, 2023 AutoHotkey Newsletter

AutoHotkey Newsletter

As I mentioned a few times I’m reading (and loving) the amazing Atomic Habits book from James Clear.

Often we have “high aspirations” to obtain a new goal (Eat healthier, get in shape, learn AutoHotkey, etc.) but, when the goal is a big undertaking, we will find it easy to come up with excuses not to start now.

A great way to get around this is to adopt James Clear’s “Two-Minute” rule.

Instead of trying to achieve a large thing, aim your sights on something much smaller that can be achieved in under two minutes.  The amazing part is, you’ll often “be in the mood” to keep working towards the bigger goal after you’ve started.

With some practice you’ll find that nearly any habit can be scaled down into a two-minute version:

  • Read before bed each night ➡ Read 1 page
  • Do the dishes➡ wash 1 dish
  • Run three miles ➡ Tie my running shoes
  • Learn everything about VS code ➡ Learn how to select multi-lines in VS code

So “think small” and you’ll achieve your big goal like Learning AutoHotkey

Now on with the show…

Intro to AutoHotkey HotStrings with AutoHotkey Intermediate AutoHotkey Intermediate Objects GUIs are Easy w/AutoHotkey Make the switch to v2

How AI Will DISRUPT The World In 3 Years

Last week I watched an amazing video on how AI will disrupt the world within 3 years.  It’s a long video (nearly 3 hours) however I think it is one of the best videos I’ve seen discussing the upcoming disruptions we can expect.   I liked it so much I had Irfan watch the video and add hyperlinks to this page so people can easily see the examples they referred to.

I can’t stress how important it is that you watch at least the first hour of this video❗

How AI Will DISRUPT The Entire World In 3 Years (Prepare Now While Others Panic) | Emad Mostaque
How AI Will DISRUPT The Entire World In 3 Years (Prepare Now While Others Panic) | Emad Mostaque


Update to Chat GPT API

While we’re talking about AI, on a client project we were using the Chat GPT API and realized they had made drastic changes to the API.    We haven’t updated our public library yet however we did demonstrate some of the cool new functionality in this video.

Update to AutoHotkey GPT library
Update to AutoHotkey GPT library


15 minute Intro to AutoHotkey Tutorial

If you’re new to AutoHotkey, this video is a great place to learn some of the basics with AutoHotkey.  Isaias and I walk you through some of the most important and helpful things to know when you’re learning AutoHotkey

If you’re wanting more, our Intro to AutoHotkey course would be a great compliment to this tutorial.

Intro to AutoHotkey Version 2 | Learn to automate programs with AHK v2
Intro to AutoHotkey Version 2 | Learn to automate programs with AHK v2


Resetting the AutoHotkey Association on Windows

We’ve had several AHK Hero members run into problems where they go to double-click an AutoHotkey script and it opens up in their editor (instead of running the script).   For most people their default editor is SciTE4AutoHotkey but we’re not 100% certain what the cause is.  The “fix” is pretty easy (as long as you’re aware of it) which we document in this video.

Fixing Lost association of AutoHotkey executable
Fixing Lost association of AutoHotkey executable


AutoHotkey v1 API Syntax Writer

I’m going through our downloads adding summaries to the videos and transcripts to the download pages and remembered this great API syntax writer.   I discuss how it works in this video.  If you’re new to APIs, you can learn a lot about them from this page or check out the API Webinar.

AutoHotkey API Syntax writer
AutoHotkey API Syntax writer


📚 What we’re reading


🤖 AI / Chat GPT-3 News / Usage


⚡️Productivity tips: Ctrl + Shift + T

My son taught me this one yesterday.  😃

You can Reopen the most recently closed tab in your browser by hitting Control+Shift+T


🤣 A spot of Humor:  🤣🤣🤣

I was watching a great video on how to grow trees three times faster.   Then, at the end of the video, the video changed and turned into one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen!  Here a link to the full video (which makes the ending even funnier) but if you don’t have time, here is a 1-minute clip I made.   Be sure to watch out for us borrowing this approach in future videos!!!

How to plant a tree so that it grows 3 times faster. Root training method.
How to plant a tree so that it grows 3 times faster. Root training method.


AHK Hero 🦸‍♂️

Consider joining the 🦸‍♀️AHK Hero club! Members receive 25% off courses, consultations, tutoring, done for you project work, etc.  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 call is geared towards people new to AutoHotkey.)


🗣️ 💭 Quotable quotes

  • Good leaders don’t make excuses. Instead, they figure out a way to get things done Jocko Willink
  • I’m not going to buy my kids an encyclopedia. Let them walk to school like I did Yogi Berra
  • It’s better to get started in the wrong direction than not get started; We can fix the direction, we can’t fix not getting started. Norm Schwarzkopf
  • When experiencing errors with tools, typically you should blame the operator, not the tool. Joe Glines

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 hereWe never share your email with anyone.  Ever!


The-Automator

Joe, Isaias, Irfan, and staff


P.S. The intro is a great and simple tip to make sure you perform your habit.  It’s one of the reasons why most of the videos in our AHK Courses are short and to-the-point.  We know you’re busy!  Purchase a course now and plan to watch 1 video a day (but I’ll bet you get through more!)

AutoHotkey Newsletter 2023-07-17

AutoHotkey Newsletter

Can responsibility help keep you alive?

Yes, it can!

In one classic study conducted by Ellen Langer at Harvard University residents in a nursing home were given a house plant.   Half were asked to look after it while the other half were told that the staff would take look after it.

Six months later only 15% of those asked to take care of the plant had passed whereas 50% of those that where told the staff would be responsible had died.

So having responsibilities can have drastic ramifications on your life expectancy.

I don’t think it is a stretch to say this is not a binary relationship.  Thus the more responsibilities you have, the more reasons you have to keep going.

And since learning AutoHotkey drastically increases your ability to get things done, you are more likely to live a longer life!   😊

Now on with the show…

Intro to AutoHotkey HotStrings with AutoHotkey Intermediate AutoHotkey Intermediate Objects GUIs are Easy w/AutoHotkey Make the switch to v2

Anniversary sale / 40% off all courses

Perhaps you missed the email the other day but I sent out a link to getting 40% off any of our courses (for the first 16 people).  It’s my 16th wedding anniversary and I wanted to celebrate it by letting people get a solid discount to our courses.  I discussed the email and how to learn more about the courses in this video

AutoHotkey Course / Anniversary Sale- Save 40%
AutoHotkey Course Anniversary Sale- Save 40%


Basics of using a Variable in AutoHotkey V2

I’ve been working on an on-boarding email drip campaign for people that are new to AutoHotkey.  Since we are now recommending v2, I decided to extract this video from our amazing Intro to AutoHotkey in v2 course showing the basics of using a variable with AutoHotkey.  As mentioned above, if you act fast, you should be able to get 40% off on the course!

How to use Variables in AutoHotkey v2 Extract from Intro to AHK in v2
How to use Variables in AutoHotkey v2 Extract from Intro to AHK in v2


Remind yourself all the amazing built-in AutoHotkey variables

If you’re like me, it is easy to forget all of the built-in AutoHotkey variables.  That’s where these scripts come in really handy!  We have an easy v1 or v2 script for listing all the variables, and their current values.  In this video I also show how easy it is to filter the variables based on search criteria!  This is a “must have” script; be sure to grab it!

How to Search and Examining Built-in Variables in AutoHotkey
How to Search and Examining Built-in Variables in AutoHotkey


Using AutoHotkey w/o Installing it

It’s easy to forget that people aren’t aware they don’t, necessarily, have to install AutoHotkey in order to use it.  In this video Isaias and I discuss some other great tips that make it easier to use AutoHotkey when you don’t install it.

Using AutoHotkey without installing it
Using AutoHotkey without installing it


📚 What we’re reading


🤖 AI / Chat GPT-3 News / Usage


⚡️Productivity tips: F11

In many programs you can easily toggle full screen view by pressing F11


🤣 A spot of Humor: I know what I’m doing this weekend!


AHK Hero 🦸‍♂️

Consider joining the 🦸‍♀️AHK Hero club! Members receive 25% off courses, consultations, tutoring, done for you project work, etc.  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 call is geared towards people new to AutoHotkey.)


🗣️ 💭 Quotable quotes

  • Give me 6 hours to chop down a tree and I’ll spend the first 4 sharpening the axe Abraham Lincoln
  • As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another Proverbs 27:17
  • What you plant now, you will harvest later Og Mandino
  • You wouldn’t have won if we’d beaten you Yogi Berra

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 hereWe never share your email with anyone.  Ever!


The-Automator

Joe, Isaias, Irfan, and staff


P.S. The other day I sent out an email with links to 40% off of our courses (for the next 3 people).  Currently there is still time to save so act now before the discounts are used up!  You can see the offers here.