AHK News 2025-04-03 Why Smart People Never Build Their Own Tools

AutoHotkey Newsletter

Howdy,

Let’s get real. Time is your most precious asset .

Far too many people (especially those who are smart, capable, and resourceful) fall into the trap of thinking they should do everything themselves.

But just because you can doesn’t mean you should.

Whether you’re an entrepreneur, team leader, or a tech-savvy professional, there’s a moment when you have to ask yourself:

What is the return on your time?

Imagine spending 20, 50, even 100 hours building out an automation or tool that kinda works, but lacks reliability, flexibility, or scalability.

That’s time you could have spent doing what you do best — or simply living your life.

Now imagine this: you hire the-Automator.

In a fraction of the time it would take you to cobble something together, you get a powerful, efficient, battle-tested solution built by experts who live and breathe automation.

Not only does it do what you wanted—it goes beyond that.

More features, better performance, cleaner code, and better User Interface.

You get the benefit of hundreds of hours of experience condensed into a tool that makes your life easier right now .

That’s not an expense; that’s high-yield leverage

Think about it—most people get excited over a 10–14% return on their investments.

But what’s the ROI on reclaiming your time, reducing your stress, and getting tools that elevate your performance or business?

It’s massive.
And it’s immediate.

Trying to do it all yourself means constantly juggling roles, context-switching, and usually building inferior tools that cost more in the long run.

Instead, hire AHK Gurus who already have the skills, tools, and systems to bring your ideas to life faster and better than you could on your own.

Leverage us. That’s what smart people do .

The-Automator doesn’t just save you time.
We multiply your impact.

So let go of that “I’ll just do it myself” mentality.
✅ Reclaim your time.
✅ Hire smart.
✅ Build better.
✅ Grow faster.

We’re here to help.  You can check out my calendar here

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

lifeHackingBaby

World’s Best Clipboard Editor

Last Friday Jean Lalonde joined our AHK Hero call and gave us an amazing walkthrough of his latest tool Quick Clipboard Editor. 

If you’re a Power user then you’ll LOVE this tool!   I extracted the tutorial which you can see here.

It will have you rethinking how you work and wondering how you lived without a clipboard editor!

What’s a Clipboard Editor—and Why Is Everyone Talking About It?
What’s a Clipboard Editor—and Why Is Everyone Talking About It?


Advanced Tips When Sending Messages

Last week Isaias gave Irfan and I a quick lesson to “watch out for” when we’re sending messages.  You can see the video here.

Or go watch our playlist (mostly older AHK V1) on messages here.

Watchout for the Hit Test when Sending Messages
Watchout for the Hit Test when Sending Messages


Tips on Extending Classes in AutoHotkey

During a team meeting Isaias was giving us a little lesson on working with Classes.

You can check out the tutorial here.

Tips on Extending Classes in AutoHotkey
Tips on Extending Classes in AutoHotkey

If your using Functions in AutoHotkey, but not classes, our Objects course is a perfect fit for you!

We cover the basics of using Classes in AutoHotkey as well as introduce people to Functions.

And don’t forget our courses come with a 200% money-back guarantee so you have nothing to lose❗

200% Money Back Guarantee badge with a yellow and green starburst seal for AHK courses


Improving People’s Lives: Story #43

Kenneth Aar, an AHK Hero member, Introduced us to Scribe the other day (check out this video).

We signed-up and are now creating great little tutorials for people for our clients which will greatly reduce the amount of technical support calls they receive!

How This Hidden Tool Makes Documentation Magically Simple
♂️ How This Hidden Tool Makes Documentation Magically Simple


What we’re reading


AI / Chat GPT-3 News / Usage


⚡️Productivity tips:

Alt + Shift + Up/Down Arrow – Move selected sentences / paragraphs up or down in most editors


A spot of Humor Dilbert does Tech Support

Dilbert: Reboot
Dilbert: Reboot


What we utomated this week with AutoHotkey #81

This week I was surprised when we had 490 AutoHotkey files worked on!

I realized much of it was just adding a “Dev Path” to our scripts.

So this week’s episode was a bit shorter than normal.  You can check it out here.


Client’s say…

“My mind is blown” — Kelly Coughlin


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 393 hours of recordings teaching AutoHotkey that is exclusive to AHK Hero members❗

You can watch 1 hour a day for a year and not repeat content! That’s a lot of AHK Learning!

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

  • Help AHK Hero Members with their Questions & Code
  • Using a “Non-space” space to align an image
  • Window tilted: ‘No Active Window!’; GrepWin is your friend!
  • What: A_ThisFunc, -1, -2 mean in a class
  • Likely problem when you have an issue that requires you to restart your script

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

  • It’s easy to see stupid in other people — Dan Kennedy
  • If every request is a five alarm fire, it’s your house that’s gonna go up in flames — Amy Landino
  • Failure is not the opposite of success; It’s a part of it! — Anonymous
  • When experiencing problems 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 here.  We never share your email with anyone.  Ever!


The-Automator

Joe, Isaias, Irfan, Rizwan and staff


P.S. As I spell-out in the Intro, I do think anybody reading this CAN (given enough time and effort) do anything they want.  But the truth is most of us already have too much to do!

If you’re needing more time, consider hiring us to solve your automation problems.

I guarantee you’ll be happy that you did!   Check my calendar and book a meeting by clicking here.

AutoHotkey News 2025-01-24 How a woke me up to Crazy Inflation❗

AutoHotkey NewsletterHowdy %Name%,

I recently went out for lunch and ordered one of my favorite items: Chicken wings.  While the wings were good I was amazed at the price.

I paid over $16 for 10 wings

And I live in a low cost-of living area!

I know, since Covid, inflation has been driving chicken prices up but it really hit me how much this must be killing many businesses!

I then realized I needed to write this newsletter intro because many people probably don’t realize that,

when they automate a process, they are “inflation-proofing” their business❗

This happens because you’re basically removing the time/energy needed to perform a given action.

The more you can automate, the more you’ll be able to control your costs!

So, if you’re wanting world-class automation please feel free to take a look at our calendar and book a call.

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

Auto-Setting your DPI

I love having hotkeys assigned to various DPIs so I can easily swap between them.  I do that with our ActiveDPI adjuster which you can check out here.

But what if you want to programmatically change the DPI?   That was the requirement for one of our clients so we created AutoSetDPI.  You can check out how to use it in this video.

Automatically setting the DPI on your primary monitor with AutoHotkey
Automatically setting the DPI on your primary monitor with AutoHotkey


Creating a Pop-up Window

We have a lot of videos discussing creating GUIs with AHK V2.   We even have this amazing course on the topic (which comes with a double your money back guarantee.)

An AHK Hero member asked us about creating a “child window” from a GUI and we hadn’t covered that so we made this video walking through how you can easily achieve this (and the benefits of them)

How to create a Pop up Window
How to create a Pop up Window


SQLite is Incredible

Earlier this week I watched a video by Richard Hipp, the inventor of SQLite.    The intro was a great overview then he dove very deep into how SQLite works.    I borrowed the intro and created a podcast using NotebookLM (both of which can be found here).

A couple of amazing stats I learned were:

 1) SQLite is often much faster than we can read files on our computer

   2) SQLite can handle up to 281 terabytes of data!

BTW- we did a webinar on SQLite and AutoHotkey v1 which you can see here.

If you’re interested, you can get our SQLite AutoHotkey v2 class here.

BTW- This video was also fascinating.  It looks like you can possibly speed-up your queries by 10X by using Wal mode.

SQLite’s WAL mode is fast fast
SQLite's WAL mode is fast fast


16 +1 times AutoHotkey IS Case Sensitive

Even pros don’t realize that, at times, AutoHotkey is Case Sensitive.   We came up with 17 times that the case of your text matters with AutoHotkey.  Don’t miss this video as it can save you a ton of headache!

16+ 1 bonus “gotcha” times AutoHotkey is Case Sensitive
16+ 1 bonus


Improving People’s Lives: Story #35

Over the years I’ve been helping a local Mexican restaurant.  Lately, due to inflation, weather, etc. they’ve really been struggling and reached out to ask what they can do.

I decided to double-down on my help and met with our mayor to discuss ways we can help all local businesses.

We’re starting with fundamentals like: Have a business page on website/Facebook/Google maps, etc. which also has: working hours, contact info, pictures of work, referrals, etc.

My next goal is to help businesses connect with each other to cross-promote as well as setup tools where they can contact their customers via email or text.

Currently I’m not charging for any of our time / resources.   Just trying to help others in my community out.


What we’re reading


AI / Chat GPT-3 News / Usage


⚡️Productivity tips:

Ctrl + Shift + E: Track changes in Microsoft Word


A spot of Humor  The BBC Office is a guilty pleasure of mine

The Office (ORIGINAL) Territorial Army
The Office (ORIGINAL) Territorial Army


Client’s say…

“You guys changed my life! Thanks man” — Marrion Mentoor


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 369 hours of recordings teaching AutoHotkey that is exclusive to AHK Hero members❗

You can watch 1 hour a day for a year and not repeat content!  That’s a lot of AHK Learning!

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

  • Help AHK Hero Members with their Questions & Code
  • Example tasks you should use AI for verse Program directly
  • Replacing / changing variable names in editors vs an IDE like VS Code
  • Programmatically Determining the Delimiter
  • Copying specific files from sub-folders
  • Stopping a sound from being played
  • FileMove, FileDelete, and FileRecycle
  • Finding a “free key” for triggering scripts

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

  • Success comes from failure. Not from memorizing the right answers. — Donald Trump
  • Automation is inevitable , and the way we embrace it will define our future. Let’s make sure it’s a future we’re proud of — Elon Musk
  • What gets measured gets improved — Joe Glines
  • S.Y.S.T.E.M. Save Your Self Time Energy & Money — Someody Very Smart

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, Rizwan and staff


P.S. As I mentioned in the intro, Automation is an incredible way to contain / limit costs.

When you automate a process you basically put it  “on a diet” and in a “time capsule”.

The cost typically becomes a small fraction of what it was and stays that way until you make a change!

So, if you have something that is costing you time/money why not Shink & Freeze that price!

Of course, we’re happy to help you on that journey.  Simply check our calendar and schedule a consultation.

AutoHotkey Newsletter July 4th, 2024

AutoHotkey NewsletterHowdy %Name%,

Happy Fourth of July!

Celebrating the Fourth we’ll think about one of the key-things that made America different than most places.

Historically Americans were known to “borrow” other culture’s ideas and concepts.  I think much of our Industrial revolution centered on this core concept!

With AI knocking on the door I feel that this concept is more important than ever for us to adopt this belief.

If you’re one of those people that are putting your head in the sand regarding AI advancement, I understand many of your fears however history is filled with examples where entire populations of people were devastated by not “keeping up” (China during 15th to 19th Century, Japan 1603-1868, Islamic World 16th to 19th century).

Each of these cultures were at the forefront then decided to isolate themselves only to later be far-behind in technology which greatly reduced their people’s standard of living.
I believe, if you do not jump on the AI bandwagon, your standard of living will also be hurt.

Just the other day Isaias and I recorded the below video which was truly mind blowing.

Insane FREE AI tool for building Websites and Tools

Insane FREE AI tool for building Websites and Tools

And remember, it is only going to get better!

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

Icon Resource Finder

We meet with a lot of people that use AutoHotkey from all skill levels.  One thing I often see on their computers are a bunch of “green H’s” in the system tray.

Some people don’t realize how easy it is to change the system tray icon while others are just in a hurry and don’t find a new one.

Our Icon Finder & Syntax Writer makes it super easy search for icons, find one you want, then it will write the AHK v1 or v2 syntax you need to update your system tray icon (as well as several other needs).  You can get an idea how to use it in this video.

Incredible Icon / Resource finder and AHK Syntax Writer

Incredible Icon / Resource finder and AHK Syntax Writer


Speaking of Resources…

We just launched a new tool that let’s people get up-to-date information regarding Scripts / downloads we have, YouTube videos, Courses and AutoHotkey v1 and v2 help.
You can grab this gem here and learn more about it in this video.

Super helpful AutoHotkey Resource Finder
Super helpful AutoHotkey Resource Finder


Improving People’s Lives: Story #6

A few years ago a client, and good friend of mine, had a qualitative research project done in ~5 languages.  Unfortunately the translation company was taking several weeks (and costing them thousands of dollars) to translate the open-end responses and asked if there was something we could do.  I knew there was an API for Google Translate so Maestrith and I, in a couple of hours, created a tool that translated the responses for them in a couple of seconds.

It was not a surprise that we saved the client thousands of dollars and were able to provide near-instant translations.
What was a surprise was, according to the client, the translations were BETTER than what the human translators were doing!

It’s old but I have this video on using the API.

How to use the Google API to translate texts
How to use the Google API to translate texts


What we’re reading


AI / Chat GPT-3 News / Usage


⚡️Productivity tips: 50 unique uses of AI

AI is getting pretty amazing.  I asked Chat GPT to come up with 50 unique ways to use AI to be more productive


A spot of Humor: Great Juggler

President Reagan, his wife and many others got some great laughs from this great juggler.

Juggler Michael Davis entertains the heck out of Ronald Reagan & Tip O’Neill at Ford’s Theater.

Juggler Michael Davis entertains the heck out of Ronald Reagan & Tip O'Neill at Ford's Theater.


What we utomated this week with AutoHotkey #51

This week we were picking up steam again and I discuss 78 AutoHotkey scripts we worked on this week in this video.

What we automated with AutoHotkey #51
What we automated with AutoHotkey #51


Testimonial

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 279 hours of recordings teaching AutoHotkey that is exclusive to AHK Hero members❗

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

  • AHK hero Member Questions & Code review
  • AI- amazing tool and great look at the future
  • How to read the CallStack
  • Killing an exe (like ffmpeg.exe) properly
  • Using Tabs in a GUI and a Statusbar- Weird breaking of GUI
  • Making Functions in scripts available by creating a COM object

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

  • Automation is inevitable, and the way we embrace it will define our future. Let’s make sure it’s a future we’re proud of — Elon Musk
  • Automation is not about replacing humans. It’s about amplifying humans. — Satya Nadella
  • Time is linear; Success doesn’t have to be — 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 here.  We never share your email with anyone.  Ever!


The-Automator

Joe, Isaias, Irfan, Rizwan and staff


P.S. Don’t stick your head in the sand and hope you’ll be fine.  We’re right in the middle of the biggest thing to hit man kind since the Internet.
AI will be changing EVERYTHING!  Join us in the AHK Hero group where we often discuss new AI tools.
The first month is super-low price so you have very little to lose.