AHK News: Now that’s a name to remember❗

AutoHotkey Newsletter

Howdy %Name%,

You might be aware that we’re working on a new AutoHotkey editor that will be simple enough for beginners to use it yet powerful enough where people like Isaias will still work with it.

You may not be aware of it but I have a masters in Market Research (and my Undergraduate degree is in Marketing).   I’ve also been studying copywriting for many years and can tell you that the name of your project can make or break its success.

During a Hero call a few weeks back, I ran a quiz a few weeks back and there were a few front runners.    One that I liked was “Ahk Script Maker“.

It’s clear, to the point and helps beginners understand the usage (many don’t know what an “editor” is)

But it wasn’t “jumping out” for me.

I wanted something that would not only get attention but would get people “excited”.

I put on my thinking cap and came up with:

Optimized Rapid Generation – Ahk Script Maker

I do think it will appeal to both Noobs and Advanced users.

Yes, it is a mouthful.

But I think the name will catch on.   Perhaps we’ll just come up with an acronym…

Yes, I think an Acronym would definitely help with the marketing angle.

To prove my point here are a few introductory statements we might try:

  • Would you be interested in getting ORGASM?
  • We guarantee, once you try ORGASM, you’ll be hooked❗
  • Experience productivity like never before. Get your ORGASM today
  • Your productivity climax starts here; try ORGASM now!
  • Skip the foreplay and go straight to results with ORGASM.

Don’t worry.   I haven’t (entirely) lost my mind.

I’ll keep it “safe” and go with Ahk Script Maker

But you have to admit, it would get attention❗

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

convinceComputer

Configure Claude Code for VS Code

During an AHK hero call Ray asked about configuring Claude code for VS Code.

Isaias gave us a great walk-through which I extracted in this video.

If you’re not using VS Code, but you want to “level-up” you really should check out our Intro to VS Code course!

Claude Code for VS Code
Claude Code for VS Code

Remember, all of our courses come with a Double Your Money Back guarantee so you have NOTHING to lose!

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


Learning to Filter is a Game Changer!

We’ve discussed how important it is to bind your scripts to programs in the past.

Learning this simple approach will level you up faster than you’d believe!  Here’s a great video explaining how it will rock your world!

Improve your Automation skills by Learning to Filter
Improve your Automation skills by Learning to Filter


Packing Up Your Script

If you’re like me and using AI a lot, then you know how annoying it can be to provide your entire script to AI when there are a bunch of #Includes.

When I used to code with AHK Studio, I used a “pack up” function to push all of the code to the clipboard.  It was a game changer, so we created this script to do this for us.

You can check it out in this video.

Easily pack up your script
Easily pack up your script


Improving People’s Lives: Story #67

We had a client call this week with someone that had to “disable ~30,000 SKUs” manually!

Irfan was able to use Rufaydium to get the cookies and then make the changes using API calls.

What would have taken hundreds of hours, now takes 1 minute to start and then runs automatically


What we’re reading


AI News that you Need to Know


⚡️Productivity tips:

In many IDEs / Editors Ctrl+Space Can be used to trigger a suggestion


A spot of Humor:

I still enjoy listening to Dean Martin sing.   Here’s a fun clip I recently watched

Dean Martin, Buddy Ebsen, Lee J. Cobb, Charles Nelson Reilly & Jackie Vernon
Dean Martin, Buddy Ebsen, Lee J. Cobb, Charles Nelson Reilly & Jackie Vernon


What we utomated this week with AutoHotkey #106

This week we knocked out some seriously cool stuff!

In this video my son Jon and I walk you through our email automation system that pulls from spreadsheets, some slick video processing tools that work with VLC, and a sneak peek at our custom AutoHotkey editor that’s almost ready to ship❗

What We Automated with AutoHotKey #106
What We Automated with AutoHotKey #106


Clients say…

Thanks for all your help Joe.  Folks are already excited about getting  these updated. — Ron S.


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 475 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
  • Using SendMessage to automate Listviews
  • After using a Win command, what you DON’T need to provide
  • Using POSIX in your RegEx
  • Replacing / changing variable names in editors vs an IDE like VS Code
  • Copying specific files from sub-folders
  • Demonstrating resource drain during debug mode
  • Modularizing your code: Tips & Tricks
  • Adding tooltips on disabled buttons

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

  • Underutilization ➡️ Lack of perceived value ➡️ Churn — Ryan Wells
  • If you won’t believe in yourself, who will❓ — Joe Glines
  • The best way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing — Walt Disney
  • Work hard, Be honest, Be kind — Buckin’ Billy Ray Smith

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. Hopefully I didn’t offend you on the intro.  Our editor is coming along nicely.

Currently our plan is to have a “intro” version (without tools) and an advanced version which comes with a lot of “must have” tools (some of which will be AI driven.)

This advanced version will require a subscription.

AHK News 2025-09-18 Never Give up; Never Surrender❗

AutoHotkey Newsletter

Howdy %Name%,

I was thinking about last week’s email regarding my general attitude of being creative and solving problems.

I remembered one more trait that I had from this podcast.

I % believe in myself❗

I think I built up my confidence by growing up (somewhat) poor and not having tools like YouTube / Google to help figure out how to fix things.

I had to do it the “old fashioned way” meaning use my to figure it out!

I’m worried how AI will affect our kids’ development.   Are they going to be able to solve problems❓   What do you think %name%?

Are humans going to become less creative (and less confident) if AI takes over solving problems❓

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

AutoHotkey Simultaneous achieves my goals

Silver teapot pouring coffee into four white mugs, labeled AutoHotkey: writing reports in seconds, executing repetitive tasks instantly, managing


Detecting when an AI tool has Finished

During last week’s AHK Hero calls, we were playing with UIA.  I have a love-hate relationship with it.  It is great that it is available but it can be a bear…

Anyway, I asked Isaias to work on a simple “detector” to tell when Claude finished updating the Canvas.  Isaias did a  great job walking through developing with UIA.  You can learn a lot by watching it in this video.

Detecting when Claude has Finished
Detecting when Claude has Finished


Easily Sending Unicode Characters

During the same Hero call, a member asked how Isaias “easily sent” a Unicode character.   Isaias walked through how any of us can do it using the Alt-key combo but that requires you to remember some arbitrary number…    I mentioned that we have our Unicode Lookup tool which makes it super easy to map a character to a hotkey.  You can check it out the discussion in this Hero Extract

Creating a Hotkey to send Unicode Characters
Creating a Hotkey to send Unicode Characters


Recording Audio without External Libraries

A few weeks ago Isaias started working with the WindowsRT library.   This is an amazingly powerful class that allows us to use a lot of built-in Windows functionality.  In this video, Isaias walks through how to easily record audio with it.

After the Hero call I asked Irfan to create a download with a simple example which you can get here.

Walking through recording audio with WinRT in AHK V2
Walking through recording audio with WinRT in AHK V2


Improving People’s Lives: Story #63

Years ago, when I worked in Corporate America, every year I had to pass stupid HR tests.  The tests would have very specific information that I’d be “quizzed” on and then have to get a passing grade.

It basically made us “study for the test” because we’d never use the information after the quiz.   So I started using my Window Snipping tool to grab quick screenshots of things I suspected would be asked.

So instead of wasting hours of my time, I only wasted minutes❗


What we’re reading


AI News that you Need to Know


⚡️Productivity tips: Imposter Syndrome

Lean Into Imposter Syndrome, Don’t Give In to It
Lean Into Imposter Syndrome, Don't Give In to It


A spot of Humor: I would have lost it!

Funniest 2:30 seconds on TV EVER!

Game Show Blooper
Game Show Blooper


What we utomated this week with AutoHotkey #102

In the 102nd episode, I walk through a bunch of real-world ways I’ve used AutoHotkey to make work easier, like managing files, automating emails, and reducing errors.

You’ll see demos of different scripts and tools I’ve built, plus how they can be tweaked to fit different needs.

If you’re curious about practical automation that actually saves time, this video gives you a solid overview.


Clients 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 463 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 Friday’s call we’re planning to discuss:

  • Help AHK Hero Members with their Questions & Code
  • Convert Newsletter tool to v2
  • Improvements to prompt for Transcribe and Summarize
  • Creating scripts that don’t break when shared with others
  • StrSplit – Limiting to the first : but max of 2 parts
  • Semantic Version :  comment/metadata + etc.
  • Gmail hacks with “+” and “.“
  • Action1 – Auto-updating computers
  • Recording Audio with Windows RT
  • Object Oriented Programming- getting a reference to an element & reusing it (Learn more: Objects Course)
  • 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 3 hours a week where we help people with their AHK issues (the Saturday calls are geared towards people new to AutoHotkey.)


️ Quotable quotes

  • If you won’t believe in yourself, who will❓ — Joe Glines
  • Learn a HotKey a day to keep inefficiency away! — Joe Glines
  • In God We Trust; (All others must provide data)
  • If you think education is expensive, try ignorance — Derek Bok

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. Are you like me and enjoy a good problem to solve❓   If you’re not, and want help solving your Automation problem, take a look at my calendar and book a time❗

Double P.S.  My father turns 85 today!  Happy Birthday Dad!  Love you!