AHK News 2025-07-24 ✅ Why Checklists Matter MORE Than the Task Itself! (AutoHotkey Tips)

AutoHotkey Newsletter

Howdy %Name%,

Ever notice how even the most experienced pilots still go through a checklist before takeoff? I mean, these folks have thousands of hours in the air, yet they don’t just wing it (pun totally intended ). Nope—they sit there, side by side, reading out loud each step like it’s their first flight. And you know what? That’s exactly what I want from them.

Sure, if something crazy happens mid-flight, I hope they’ve got mad skills like Captain Sully. But for every other moment? I want structure. Routine. Predictability. Not creativity. Not improvisation.

And it’s the same thing when I release our AutoHotkey scripts.

We’ve all been there—rushing to start a project, forgetting a step (or three), and then spending more time troubleshooting than doing the actual work. That’s why I use a launch checklist for my scripts. Just like pilots, we need that mental “pre-flight” to make sure everything’s ready to go.

To make your AutoHotkey flights (a.k.a. script launches) smooth and uneventful, I shared our time-tested 41 point AutoHotkey Pre-Release checklist
BTW- if you have your own checklist, you might use our Checklist tool to keep track of your tasks.

Trust me—once you start using it, you’ll wonder how you ever managed without it.

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

itWorked


VS Code Extensions for AHK v1 and v2

In this AHK Hero Extract, Isaias walks through some of the best VS Code extensions for both AutoHotkey v1 and v2.

AutoHotkey v2 has been the official version for over 2 years now so I hope you are not still using it to developing new projects with it (especially since it is deprecated and not expecting any updates).

Remember, we have 3 hours of calls a week in the AHK Hero club!

VSCode extensions for AutoHotkey v1 and v2
VSCode extensions for AutoHotkey v1 and v2


Quickly Record Your Desktop

Being able to join on Zoom and “share your screen” is pretty-much the norm these days however, sometimes, the other person isn’t available or you don’t have access to the Internet.

That’s where simply recording your desktop is a great alternative❗

Our ffmpeg driven tool, Quick Desktop Record, makes that super-simple!   Check it out in this video.

Easily Record your Primary Desktop with this great AHK V2 Script
Easily Record your Primary Desktop with this great AHK V2 Script


Ever wonder why your script is slow❓

During an AHK hero call Dale, a long-term AHK hero member, asked about figuring out why a given script is slow.

We walk through some of the simple ways to identify these problems in this video

Troubleshooting a Slow Script – AHK Hero Extract
Troubleshooting a Slow Script - AHK Hero Extract


Improving People’s Lives: Story #57

Steve, an AHK Hero Member, asked about using Excel to compare rows between files.

Specifically he wanted to identify any rows that are in one file but not in another.

They have highly educated people doing this manually and he knew there was a better way…

I created a simple tool that streamlines the process.  This will greatly reduce human mistakes, take a fraction of the time, and let them focus on analyzing instead of doing the “grunt work”


What we’re reading


AI / Chat GPT-3 News / Usage


⚡️Productivity tips:  Zoom

  • Alt+F1 – Switch to Speaker view
  • Alt+F2 – Switch to Gallery view

A spot of Humor:  I’m not the Assman!

Cosmo Kramer – The ASSMAN (Seinfeld)
Cosmo Kramer - The ASSMAN (Seinfeld)


What we utomated this week with AutoHotkey #94

This week’s episode was shorter than usual.  We had 168 AutoHotkey files that we worked on but the majority was client work.  I did show a cool Error Logging script that helps pushing runtime errors into your favorite AI tool.  You can check out the video here.


Client’s say…

I’m astonished at what we’ve done! — Michael N. (Radiologist)


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 439 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
  • Finish Suspender Class
  • Update to Clipster– wait for clipboard format
    • Need to fix the file copy and RTF
  • Debug configuration – Switching between scripts in VS Code
  • Hotkey Loop & msgbox issue
  • Making a non-Editable field, editable
  • Aggregating Time (hours, minutes, seconds)

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; We can create it for you! — Joe Glines
  • Hire people that are over-performing in crappy jobs — 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, Denilson and staff


P.S. If you’re overwhelmed going through your checklist, reply to this email and we’ll plan a call to see how we can help!

AutoHotkey News 2025-04-03 – Pay $20, walk away with $100! It must be a SCAM Right❓

AutoHotkey Newsletter

Howdy %Name%,

Imagine you get the following message from your bank:

Hello %name%,

Since you are a great client we are offering an exclusive sale to you.

For the next 5 days you can drop by and purchase $100 dollar bills for $20 each.

There are no limits and no strings attached.

My question to you %name% is:  How many $20s would you bring to your bank❓

Would you borrow from your friends & family❓

After all, it seems like a crazy deal right?

You can spend some money now and directly get back 5X?

What if that multiplier was higher❓

Would if it was 20X or 50X?

As crazy as this sounds, that is exactly what you’re doing when you learn AutoHotkey

By learning to automate your work, you are automating what used to take you, your team, your employees time!

And, when done right, you’re not only saving time your reducing the likelihood of human error!

If you want to speed-up the process of buying money, get on my calendar and we’ll figure out how we can help you!

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

manually


Watch out for this Gotcha❗

A while back we were getting a list of files in a folder and ran into a weird “bug” (or so we thought.)

During an AHK Hero group Isaias explains what went wrong and what to look out for.

I excerpted the discussion which you can see here.

Building a List of Files and-or Folders in AutoHotkey v2
Building a List of Files and-or Folders in AutoHotkey v2


Easily Merging Audio or Video Files

If you have a bunch of Audio or Videio files you want concatenated together, our Media Merger is a great tool for you!

It, very quickly, merges together the media files faster than grandma hits ‘Reply All‘ on a church email chain.

Take a look at it in this video

Easily Merge Audio or Video files with Media Merger
Easily Merge Audio or Video files with Media Merger


Are you Sharing your Screen with AI❓

In this video I have Google’s Gemini model explain how Effortless Video Reducer works..

What’s really amazing is that Gemini didn’t “know” my program.  It had never seen it before and i didn’t share the source code.

This means it’s pretty darn smart!

If you’re stuck, you can share your screen and ask it for help!

Use AI to help Document your AHK Scriptsv
Use AI to help Document your AHK Scriptsv


Improving People’s Lives: Story #91

We updated our AI translator to automatically send the translation to Zoom Chat.

It’s not perfect, but it is much better and easier to use!


What we’re reading


AI / Chat GPT-3 News / Usage


⚡️Productivity tips:

In Windows Explorer you can toggle the preview view using Alt+P


A spot of Humor:  This is very accurate!

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


What we utomated this week with AutoHotkey #91

In this week’s episode of what we automated with AutoHotkey I walk through

What we Automated with AutoHotkey #91
What we Automated with AutoHotkey #91


Client’s say…

This is a game changer and we are very Blessed to have Joe and his team working in helping us in utilizing the wonderful opportunities to grow with new technologies available  to us.

Again, thank you for all the support you give us.   — Stephanie Holland


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 429 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 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; We can create it for you! — Joe Glines
  • Implement More and Innovate Less❗ — Joe Glines
  • The more random you are, the less success you’ll have — Dan Kennedy

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, Denilson and staff


P.S. When you automate your process you’re investing in the future!

If you would like help automating your work, check out my calendar and schedule a call today!

AutoHotkey News 2025-06-26: To make more Money, Implement More and Innovate Less

AutoHotkey Newsletter

Howdy,

Seeing that you’ve found your way to AutoHotkey, at one point or another, you’ve probably considered selling your scripts.

A lot of people come to me saying they have an “amazing idea” for a script and are willing to share the idea for a “cut of the profits”.

The thing is: the vast majority of ideas are “cheap”❗

Many of us “grew-up” thinking the world would beat a path to our door if we could just “invent a better mouse trap”

In order to actually end up making money you need to be able to let the world know that you’ve created.

Some of our clients keep trying to tweak/perfect their “mouse trap” before launching.   This, more often than not, is a mistake.

I encourage our clients to get a 1st version of their tool created and get it in front of prospects as soon as possible.

Understanding just “how hungry” the audiences is for your product will help justify how much more work you should do on it.

I can also tell you with 100% confidence that, as a developer, you should:

Implement More and Innovate Less❗

Create something that is reliable enough to get the concept across and get it in the hands of your target market.

If they “go on and on” about how it changes their life then dive-deep into the product but don’t worry about making it “perfect“.   Remember

Version one is infinitely better than version none❗

Of course, if you’d like us to help you create that first version, check out my calendar and schedule 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

sprinkling


Fat Arrows => so much better than Skinny Arrows❗

During an AHK hero call a few weeks back Isaias gave us a great overview of learning how, and when, to use Fat Arrows.

⚡ AutoHotkey v2 =ᐳ Fat Arrows That Supercharge Your Scripts❗
⚡ AutoHotkey v2 =ᐳ Fat Arrows That Supercharge Your Scripts❗


Wrangling in your VS code Extensions

During this last weekend a Hero member was having issues with his AutoHotkey Extensions in VS code.

Isaias gave some great insights how to deal with them in this video.

If this interested you, check out our Intro to VS code course! It’s a game changer❗

VSCode extensions for AutoHotkey v1 and v2
VSCode extensions for AutoHotkey v1 and v2


Flipping Text for your Teleprompter

Several years ago Maestrith wrote a very cool v1 script that would “invert” text on the screen.  A client mentioned something the other day so I had Irfan convert it to v2.

The code itself is super-cool so, even if you don’t have a Teleprompter, it is worth getting just to see the approach.   You can see a demo of the script here.

Flip Text for Teleprompter
Flip Text for Teleprompter


Improving People’s Lives: Story #53

We used our AI Translator during a call with clients that only speak French.  I wasn’t perfect but definitely helped the communications!


What we’re reading


AI / Chat GPT-3 News / Usage


⚡️Productivity tips:

In PowerPoint you can hit Shift+F5 to Start the slideshow from current slide


A spot of Humor: Elaine getting down Everywhere!

The Bizarro Elaine Dance
The Bizarro Elaine Dance


What we utomated this week with AutoHotkey #90

Here I walk through 96 AutoHotkey scripts we worked on over the past week.

At the beginning I mention an amazing ffmpeg tool I built that records both my desktop and my webcam!

What we automated with AutoHotkey #90
What we automated with AutoHotkey #90


Client’s say…

The Automator is an amazing resource I use it weekly. — David Burk


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 426 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 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

  • Learn how to calculate the future cost of your bad decisions — Joe Glines
  • If every request is a five alarm fire, it’s your house that’s gonna go up in flames — Amy Landino
  • Decisions without actions are worthless — Dan Kennedy

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, Denilson and staff


P.S. If you’d like to talk about how and where to market your product, check my calendar and schedule a call.