People who thrive on difficult problems will relate to this – AHK News 2026-05-14

AutoHotkey Newsletter

Howdy,

Last week I had a call with a good friend I exchange ideas with daily.

Like me, and many other Entrepreneurs, he doesn’t have the problem of coming up with ideas.

He has the problem of “finishing-out” the ideas once he has solved the “hard stuff“.

The other day he surprised me because he spent some time outlining all those “little tedious things” that took him time to do and built an “app” to automate the process.

Now he starts his projects off automating the mundane part first, then he works on the “fun” stuff (solving the difficult problems).

Great job Ryan❗

For many people in corporate America this would seem backwards.

They look forward to doing the “mundane” because the solution is known.

I think, like Ryan and I, you love the challenge and live to find new solutions like us.

How about it❓  

Am I right that you like a challenge❓

That’s what our Hero club is all about!  People finding unique solutions to their 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

sliders


 

AutoHotkey System Tray Icons

Hopefully you’ve seen our previous videos about using our IconFinder to really change your AutoHotkey icons.

In this video I discuss how you can control if your AutoHotkey icons show up in the system tray area or if they are in the system tray “overflow“.

This may seem nuanced, but finding your script shouldn’t be a part-time job! 🤣

Fix AutoHotkey Icons Moving Together in System Tray area vs. the Overflow
Fix AutoHotkey Icons Moving Together in System Tray area verse the Overflow


Our AHK V2 Window Snipping tool is spectacular

We released our V2 version of our Window snipping tool a while ago but I accidentally forgot to create a video on it.  It is full of amazing bells and whistles like:

  • Draw Arrows
  • Add Text
  • Highlight Areas
  • Delayed Capture

🖼️ Window Snipping Tool V2 – The Features That Make This a Must-Have tool
🖼️ Window Snipping Tool V2 - The Features That Make This a Must Have


Improving People’s Lives: Story #95

A friend is working on growing his business.   I mentioned that developing his USP (Unique Selling Proposition) is one of the most important things he can do.

I also mentioned this video and podcast explaining the concept.

How To Never Compete On Price Again 🏆 Simple USP Formula

How To Never Compete On Price Again 🏆 Simple USP Formula

But then I had him go to this GPT I created which helped guide him through the process and in about an hour, he had a very solid USP (the process can often take weeks❗)


📚 What we’re reading


🤖 AI News that you Need to Know


⚡️Productivity tips:

Brian Tracy has a book entitled Eat that frog where he argues you should tackle the hardest thing first.

The intro to this Newsletter gave a great example where the “hardest thing” should be relative to what you find “hardest” to get yourself to do!


🤣 A spot of Humor:

Jim Gaffigan: How Dads Vacation

Jim Gaffigan: How Dads Vacation | Jim Gaffigan

Jim Gaffigan: How Dads Vacation | Jim Gaffigan


What we 🅰utomated this week with AutoHotkey #132

In this week’s video I show you the Claude notifier we built that pops up the second your AI session finishes (no more forgetting which VS Code tab you were working in!), along with a slick new magnifier, an Alt+C color picker, and a dark mode for Automator Spy.

I also dig into the smoke tests we added to the AHK MCP server and where I think this AI + AutoHotkey combo is heading next.

What we automated with AI and AHK #132
What we automated with AI and AHK #132


Clients say…

This has the potential to save more time than anything we’ve done so far — Michael N. (Radiologist)


Cartoon superhero mascot in green costume beside the bold text AHK Hero on a yellow background AHK Hero 🦸

Consider joining the 🦸Hero club! Members receive 25% off courses, consultations, tutoring, done for you project work, etc.    Currently we have over 560 hours of recordings teaching AutoHotkey that is exclusive to Hero members❗

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

  • Help Hero Members with their Questions & Code
  • Demonstrating Installing and using our AHK MCP Server
  • Creating a CLI by watching your browser actions creating an HAR file
  • Automator Spy– Dark mode and Inspector
    • Graph inside ListView
  • Using Persona Prompting in your skills and agents❓
  • Using SendTo to push files to a Script
  • Updates to Simple Checklist
  • Using Try/Catch in your code

They also have access to exclusive & pre-released content and 3 hours a week where we help people with their automation issues (the Saturday calls are geared towards people new to Automation with AI)


🗣️ 💭 Quotable quotes

  • If you have time to whine then you have time to find the solution — Dee Dee Artner
  • Before you diagnose yourself with depression, first make sure that you are not just surrounded by aholes — Sigmund Freud
  • Spending time with someone is more important than spending money on them — 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  Dedicated to Multiplying your Income

Joe, Isaias, Irfan and staff


P.S. If you’re like us in that you enjoy the “struggle” you should consider joining the Hero club.

It’s a fun group of people of all ages that love to solve problems and get things done!

AHK News 2026-01-22 Meet my new AI Assistant: Irfan 🤖

AutoHotkey Newsletter

Howdy %Name%,

I’ve been collaborating with an old friend of mine named Joey.

I introduced him to AI about a year and a half ago and, over the past 6 months, he’s been diving deep into it.

During most of our calls, we touch on the never-ending new uses of AI.

A few weeks back he joined a call and I introduced him to Irfan.

Joey politely said “hello” but I could tell there was something in his tone that wasn’t quite right.

Since Joey and I are very close I straight out asked him what was up.

It turns out he thought Irfan was my “AI assistant”.

We all had a good laugh, but he had good reason to suspect it was an AI assistant.

I think in the next 6 months I’ll create one.

During our Hero calls we end up sharing more and more about how we’re using AI to work smarter, not harder.  If you’re wanting to dabble with AI, it’s a great place to get ideas and direction.

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

heroAttend

Updating your VS code preferences

If you’re a VS code user you should check out this video where Isaias walks through configuring it.

VS code is the “Ferrari” of editors.   It’s incredibly powerful but is also complicated.

VS code preferences for extensions with AHK v2
VS code preferences for extensions with AHK v2

If you’re wanting to learn how to use it, you should check out our Intro to VS Code course.


Want a simple, yet powerful, editor❓

If you’re wanting a solid editor that is easy to use but has powerful features you should check out our AHK Script maker.  We’re almost out of beta but it is pretty stable and packed full of great features!

You can get an idea of what it can do in this video

AHK Script Maker Updates
AHK Script Maker Updates


Why YOU Should Automate

I fed NotebookLM a story I wrote a while back to help people realize the benefits of automating.

It created this amazing video for me.   If you/ someone you know don’t see the reasons why they should automate I highly recommend you check it out / share it with them.

🚀 Reclaim Your Time with AI! How Automation Transforms Productivity 💡
🚀 Reclaim Your Time with AI! How Automation Transforms Productivity 💡


Help your Brother (printer) out

During an AHK Hero call Connie asked for some help automating the printer software.

Even if you don’t have a Brother printer, you should check this video out because we discuss various ways to automate programs with AutoHotkey

🛠️ AutoHotkey Masters Crack Brother Printer Code
🛠️ AutoHotkey Masters Crack Brother Printer Code


Improving People’s Lives: Story #76

I showed a friend of mine that is losing his vision our AI OCR tool and how, by making a minor change to the prompt, it can be used to show AI anything from your screen.

I have this video on how that works.

Adapting OCR for flexiblility
Adapting OCR for flexiblility


📚 What we’re reading


🤖 AI News that you Need to Know


⚡️Productivity tips:  In Outlook

  • Ctrl+Q – Mark as Read
  • Ctrl+U – Mark as Unread

🤣 A spot of Humor:  Pickup Lines doomed to fail

The Pick Up Lines of Ryan Stiles
The Pick Up Lines of Ryan Stiles


What we 🅰utomated this week with AutoHotkey #118

This week I got some serious AI help cleaning up my video extraction tool—turned a messy FFmpeg command into something way more elegant that actually notifies me when it’s done processing.

In this week’s video I walk you through the improvements to my AHK Script Maker (including a sweet jump-to-line feature), show off some utility tools like Clipster and my hotkey lookup system, and share my plans for integrating premium tools right into the editor.

If you’re into making your workflow smoother with AutoHotkey, you’ll want to check this one out!


Clients say…

I appreciate all the work you guys are doing for me! I look forward to it and it keeps me excited about my work – otherwise I would likely get bored or burned out or both. — Todd H. (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 512 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
  • AHK Script Maker: Adding Tools and Fixed bugs
  • Hide a Hard drive with DriveToggler
  • No Day or Nights in Canada❓
  • How I run Android apps on Windows
  • 5 Git commandsthat feel like Magic
  • Comparing strings, case sensitivity, how to handle when in map, etc.

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

  • The first minute of action is worth more than a year of perfect planning — James Cleary
  • 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
  • Being born in poverty isn’t a sin; staying in poverty might be — 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 and staff


P.S. The intro was a true story and I fully believe I’ll have an AI assistant to help keep track of things (and work on projects for me).   Have you tried creating a personal AI assistant yet?  If so, what were your thoughts❓

AHK News 2025-11-27- Things I am Thankful For

AutoHotkey Newsletter

Howdy %Name%,

It is Thanksgiving here in the United States.

I’m very thankful that, in the grand scheme of things, I have much more to be thankful for than I have to complain about.

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday as it is the least “commercialized” and mostly around spending time with Family & Friends.

My son and I are out in Las Vegas visiting my father.   It’s been a good visit but I miss my home and will miss the delicious meal that my wife will be preparing.  (Yes, I miss my wife too…  LOL)

I’m very thankful my son found a Jr. College program that he enjoys and is excelling at.

I’m very thankful my 85-year-old father is in good health?

I’m thankful for YOU!   Without you, the-Automator would not exist so 

THANK YOU!

How about you %Name%?

Do you have anything to be especially thankful for this year?

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


RegEx101 vs. RegEx in AutoHotkey

Last week, during an AHK Hero call, Isaias reviewed the differences between using RegEx101 and using Regular Expressions in AutoHotkey.

It was a great session and you can check it out in this video extract.

AHK Regex versus RegEx101: What to watch out for ??
AHK Regex versus RegEx101:  What to watch out for


Creating a simple Fuzzy match

A YouTube subscriber asked for a tutorial on how to adapt a normal search and make it a “Fuzzy” search.

Irfan showed how simple it is to change your search to Ordered characters with a Regular Expression. Check it out in this video.

Changing Search to Fuzzy Match
Changing Search to Fuzzy Match


Don’t forget, we have an amazing Intro to RegEx course that comes with a double your money back guarantee!

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

Tracking Down a bug with Git Bisect

We had a weird bug in AHK Script Maker.   Isaias mentioned he’d like to use a cool feature from git to make it easier.  We walk through how to do it in this video.

Tracking down issues with git-Bisect : Great tips to save Time?
Tracking down issues with git-Bisect : Great tips to save Time?


Improving People’s Lives: Story #72

I spent some time yesterday with a client here in Las Vegas.

We walked through various uses of both AI and AutoHotkey (and how they fit together to make a “Batman and Robin” team!)


?? What we’re reading


?? AI News that you Need to Know


??Productivity tips:  

Control+Shift+L will apply Bulleted list to selected text in MS Word


?? A spot of Humor:  As God is my witness…

WKRP Turkey Drop
WKRP Turkey Drop


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 493 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
  • AHK Script Maker: Creating/managing Tabs
  • Adding Popular Programs to our v2 AHKHotkeyString tool
  • Comparing Cloned objects versus Copied Objects / Strings
  • Z-order of Windows tool from Claude Sonnet 4.5
  • Creating a Hash versus Encoding
  • 5 Git commandsthat feel like Magic
  • Using a Ternary to easily apply changes based on logic (instead of using an “if”)
  • Comparing strings, case sensitivity, how to handle when in map, etc.
  • Using SendTo for passing multiple files to a script

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

  • Never give up, never surrender, and always go for the win. — Charlie Kirk
  • Poverty is a state of mind not the state of your wallet — Joe Glines
  • Knowledge is power; Automation knowledge is a super-power?? — 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 and staff


P.S. Thank you for being a loyal reader / subscriber!