• 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!

AutoHotkey Newsletter September 7th

AutoHotkey Newsletter

Imagine you’re making your cup of morning coffee ☕. If you’re like my wife you like it with 2 sugars and 3 creams. However here is how you go about making it:

  • You pour 2 ounces of coffee in your coffee cup
  • You add 1 sugar
  • You add 1 cream
  • You pour 2 more ounces of coffee
  • You add the 2nd sugar
  • You add 2nd cream
  • You pour 2 more ounces of coffee
  • You add 3rd cream
  • You pour 2 more ounces of coffee

Great, now you have 8 ounces of coffee however it took you quite a bit of effort to get your coffee…

This sounds ridiculous however it’s how most people tackle tasks they do every day

They don’t spot the pattern and end up doing things individually and not batching them together.

Work on batching your tasks together (where it makes sense) and you’ll save a lot of time!

It’s also important to note that, while computers are far better at humans switching between tasks, your AutoHotkeyscripts can also be optimized by grouping together like-items. This is just one of the things we teach during our AutoHotkey Hero calls.

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

Pinning non-Executables to the Taskbar in Windows 11

A while back both Isaias and I made the switch to Windows 11. While it isn’t horrible (like Win 8) they did make a lot of changes (in the wrong direction as far as we’re concerned). One example is the lack of being able to pin an AutoHotkey script (or any non-executable) to the Taskbar. In this video I show a simple “work around”. If you’re like me and want the Taskbar on the side you can check out the ExplorerPatch tool I show during the video.

How to Pin a non-executable file to Taskbar in Windows 11
How to Pin a non-executable file to Taskbar in Windows 11


Creating custom functions in AutoHotkey (Extract from Intro to AHK)

If you’re new to AutoHotkey one of the fastest and best ways you can “level-up” is to be using the many built-in functions. I mentioned this last week and linked to this video which shows how to start using them.

The very next way to leap-forward it to start creating your own custom functions. I’ve extracted another video from the Intro to AutoHotkey course showing you how to create your own functions. As I like to say Functions are like go-subs on crack! Give it a look and you’ll understand why!

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

Don’t forget the Intro to AutoHotkey course is over 4 hours long and has a ton more value! And don’t worry, all our courses come with a 200% money back guarantee!


AI Creeping into our Tech everywhere…

This morning I was playing on my Android phone and accidentally discovered some AI on an image I was pressing.
I documented it in this video but, in another year, our world is going to be transformed!

AI on images in Android Phone
AI on images in Android Phone


Examples of what I’ve used AutoHotkey to Automate

We were on a client call and he suggested I record more videos like this one where I share what I’ve automated lately with AutoHotkey. I told him I have an entire playlist of these however, since much of what we work on now is confidential client work, I can’t record videos on them. I did realize that there are lots of side-projects I have Isaias and Irfan do for me. So I’ll try and start making some more videos documenting some of the cool internal tools that we create.

AutoHotkey automation review (003) | What I automated with AutoHotkey
AutoHotkey automation review (003) | What I automated with AutoHotkey


AutoHotkey & StreamDeck

We started using Elgato Stream Decks a while back and I have to say, I am liking them way more than I anticipated! Having said that, I basically use mine as a Hotkey for triggering scripts / programs because I do all the automating in my AutoHotkey script. Anyway, I happened to see this video from Walden’s Automation where he documents how to toggle your AHK script

Stream Deck AutoHotkey Launcher – Toggle Scripts with your stream deck
Stream Deck AutoHotkey Launcher - Toggle Scripts with your stream deck


Great Episode by two Legendary Marketing Gurus

As you might know I’m a huge Dan Kennedy fan. I’ve read nearly every book he’s written and he’s an absolute marketing genius! I was really excited to find his Magnetic Marketing podcast. Over the weekend I was listening to this episode where he interviews Jay Abraham

📚 What we’re reading


🤖 AI / Chat GPT-3 News / Usage

9 AI Tools You Will ACTUALLY Use
9 AI Tools You Will ACTUALLY Use


⚡️Productivity tips: Plan your day (the night before)!

Write down the three most important tasks the night before and let your subconscious work on them!


🤣 A spot of Humor: The Marine Biologist: One of the funniest things I’ve seen on TV!

Seinfeld l MiniEpisode l The Marine Biologist
Seinfeld l MiniEpisode l The Marine Biologist


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

  • Decisions without actions are worthless Dan Kennedy
  • Give me 6 hours to chop down a tree and I’ll spend the first 4 sharpening the axe Abraham Lincoln
  • What I lack in Skills & Abilities I make up for with Optimism & Determination
  • What people think of you is irrelevant. But how you leave this world matters. Even if it’s all futile in the end, play your part as well as you can. Real courage is fear, in action. Play your hand. John Carlton

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

Level-up your skills with tutoring Join the AHK Heroes! Get the work done for you by AHK Pros Consult with an AHK Guru AutoHotkey books on Amazon Free AutoHotkey Help

P.S. Batching things are a great way to be more productive. I find having a schedule really helps me stay organized and ensure I work smarter, not harder.
It’s one of there reasons I encourage our Clients to use their calendar to block time to work through our AHK Courses.