10 Reasons Why AutoHotkey HotStrings Will Revolutionize Your Workflow – The Ultimate Productivity Hack!
AutoHotkey is a powerful tool that allows users to automate repetitive tasks and increase productivity. One of the most useful features of AutoHotkey is the HotStrings function.
AutoHotkey HotStrings allow users to create custom shortcuts and abbreviations that can be used to quickly and easily type out common phrases or responses. In this blog post, we will be discussing 10 reasons why HotStrings are a valuable tool for anyone looking to increase efficiency and streamline their workflow. From increasing productivity and reducing errors to being easy to use and cost-effective, HotStrings have a wide range of benefits that make them a must-have tool for anyone looking to increase their productivity.
Increased Productivity: HotStrings allow for the automation of repetitive tasks, such as typing out common phrases or responses, which can save a significant amount of time and increase overall productivity.
Customizable: HotStrings can be customized to suit the specific needs of the user, allowing for the creation of personalized shortcuts and abbreviations.
Error Reduction: HotStrings reduce the risk of typos and other errors, as the phrases and responses are pre-defined and automatically inserted, rather than manually typed out.
Improved Efficiency: HotStrings can be used to streamline workflows by automating repetitive and time-consuming tasks.
Easy to Use: HotStrings are easy to set up and use, making them accessible to users of all skill levels.
Versatile: HotStrings can be used for a wide variety of tasks, such as typing out common phrases, inserting images, and even running scripts.
Cost-effective: HotStrings are a cost-effective solution for increasing productivity, as they do not require any additional software or hardware.
Expandable: HotStrings can be expanded upon and modified as needed, allowing for continued improvement and increased efficiency over time.
Compatibility: HotStrings are compatible with a wide range of applications and programs, making them a versatile tool for any user.
Increased Accuracy: HotStrings can be used to automate repetitive and time-consuming tasks, which can help to improve accuracy and reduce errors.
HotStrings is a powerful tool that can be used to automate repetitive tasks, increase productivity, and streamline workflows. With its versatility, ease of use, and cost-effectiveness, it’s no wonder that many users find it to be an invaluable tool. Whether you’re a busy professional, a student, or anyone in between, HotStrings can help to make your work easier and more efficient.
Don’t miss out on the opportunity to unlock the full potential of AutoHotkey HotStrings and take your productivity to the next level. Enroll in our exclusiveHotStrings course today and start seeing results in no time!
Here are 39 examples of AutoHotkey HotStrings to get you started
::btw::by the way
::gov::government
:r:lu::Love you too!
::ctn::Sorry, I can’t talk right now I’ll get back to you in a few minutes
::pjz::Please join zoom for a few minutes. I have a couple of questions I need to ask you
::rty::Spasiba ;Thank you in Russian
::jty::Domo arigato ;Thank you in Japanese
::tq::thank you
::pls::please
::wdyt::what do you think
::idk::I don’t know
::np::no problem
::brb::be right back
::afk::away from keyboard
::yw::you’re welcome
::omw::on my way
::ty::thank you
::lol::laugh out loud
::lmao::laughing my ass off
::rofl::rolling on the floor laughing
::haha::laughing
::jk::just kidding
::btw::by the way
::ftw::for the win
::imo::in my opinion
::tbh::to be honest
::gtd::get things done
::adrs::address
::phn::phone number
::dob::date of birth
::email::email address
::sig::signature
::bd::birthday
::cp::company
::prjct::project
::rpt::report
::mtg::meeting
::cmp::compliment
::sug::suggestion
These are just a some examples, you can customize and make your own Hotstrings for phrases, words, sentences or even paragraphs that you use frequently.
January, 26th, 2023 AutoHotkey Newsletter Howdy %Name%, V2 is Official and AutoHotkey_L is Deprecated We all knew it was coming however, when I read that V1.1/AHK_L is “deprecated” it really hit me the future is…
AutoHotkey is a powerful and easy-to-use tool that can help people automate a wide range of tasks on their Windows computer. It can save a tremendous amount of time, money, and effort, as well as improve accuracy and allow for better scalability of workload.
Many people do not take the time to learn how to automate their computer, often due to a lack of understanding of the benefits or the perception that it is too difficult. However, AutoHotkey is relatively easy to learn and use, even for those who are not particularly tech-savvy. It can be used to automate a wide range of tasks, such as filling out forms, sending emails, and even controlling applications and games.
One of the major benefits of using AutoHotkey is that it allows users to scale their workload. For example, if a person is responsible for performing a task hundreds or even thousands of times, they could use AutoHotkey to automate the process and complete the task much faster. This could free up a significant amount of time and allow the person to focus on more important tasks or take on additional work.
In addition to saving time and increasing productivity, using AutoHotkey can also improve accuracy. By automating tasks, users can reduce the risk of errors that may occur when performing tasks manually. This is especially useful for tasks that require a high level of precision or attention to detail.
Overall, learning how to use AutoHotkey can significantly increase productivity and efficiency, leading to greater success in both personal and professional endeavors. It is a valuable tool that is worth investing the time and effort to learn, as it can have a significant impact on both individual and organizational success.
I’m one to do my best to “practice what I preach”. Many times, Jackie and I have talked about how important it is to write “pseudocode” before you actually program. Lately I’ve taken this to heart and make sure that, when I start a new script, I quickly write out several lines of text that describes my goals / what I want to achieve.
The more I do it, the more it’s been helping! 👍
First, in case you’re not aware of what it is: Pseudocode is a human readable description of the steps planned steps in your script. Pseudocode is intended for human reading (not your AHK programming code).
Now that I’m writing pseudocode more frequently my scripts are far better organized and much more likely to take into account things that I wouldn’t normally think of. Also, by doing it more often, I’ve gotten to a point where it takes almost no time to do!
Think of it more as writing a 1️ st draft. Don’t try and get anything “perfect”. Don’t worry about misspellings or grammatical errors. Just make short notes to yourself about what you’re going to do. Trust me, after doing this for a while you’ll be so glad you started!
Are you writing pseudocode before you program?
Now on with the show…
ActiveX vs. GDIp
Did you catch the great video last week with where Dimitri Geerts created some amazing GUIs with an ActiveX GUI in 🅰️🇺t🇴🇭🇴tk🇪🇾 🇻2️? At the end of the video we were wondering how GDI would stack-up in comparison. Well Dimitri decided to put it to the test and build the game of life in both ActiveX and GDI. This is a really fun video where we demo the comparisons and discuss what is actually being done with the code.
Speaking of “pseudo” things, one thing that confuses people new to AutoHotkey are the usage of Arrays and Pseudo Arrays. In this video RaptorX walks us through using them in a command. BTW- I had a call with Isaias Baez / RaptorX last night and he’s ready to come back to work! 😁 Can’t wait to get back in our grove!
Are you cheating at work?
Continuing on with this concept of “is AutoHotkey cheating at work” I Ryan W. (Automation expert and marketing guru) his thoughts on the idea. It turned into a great chat (thankfully I’d recorded it). We continued on discussing how to evangelize AutoHotkey.
The book I mentioned is from John Carlton: The Entrepreneur’s Guide To Getting Your Shit Together. Chapter 2 has a ton of amazing quotes to live by. I’m going to include some of them at the bottom of the newsletter but there are a lot more in the book. The book mentioned by Ryan is Darren Hardy: The compound effect. It’s an amazing book with great ideas and tips how to be more productive!
🔎Searching / Replacing text within files
Do you need to find some code but don’t know the file name / location? I’ve been using grepWin for a really long time. It’s an amazing free tool that allows you to, easily, find and replace text within files. It’s allows you to filter on many things to limit the search and allows you to see the content of the file w/o opening it. Here I walk through a few examples how to use GrepWin.
For those of you on the AutoHotkey forum, you’ll be familiar with Joe Winograd. He runs/operates a business where he develops code for clients. In our AutoHotkey Guru interview I got to know him better and picked up some great AHK tips from one of the few people I know that works in AutoHotkey but IS A PROGRAMMER! He has some great content on working with PDFs and AutoHotkey.
Productivity tips ⚡️
Short and sweet: Kill your social pages (Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.) while you’re working!
A spot of Humor 🤣
Do you watch The IT Crowd? It’s one of the funniest shows I’ve ever seen🤣. They really nail many aspects of corporate world and geeks🤓! Here’s a short excerpt from S1 Episode 2. Freaking genius! The main tagline in the show is “Have you tried turning it on and off again”? What a great burn 🔥 on Windows!
Beta testing Clipboard 📋 manipulation tool
Many of us have this need but don’t even realize it! Wouldn’t it be cool if you could write some rules that would monitor your clipboard and apply them w/o you having to think about it? That’s just one of the uses of Quick Access Clipboard; a new tool from Jean Lalonde (author of QAP). He’s currently looking for beta testers to QAC. To learn more take a look at this video if you’d like to learn more and you can go here.
Quotable quotes 🗣️ 💭
The secret to getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking your complex, overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and then starting on the first one. — Mark Twain
You’ll never be criticized by someone who is doing more than you. You’ll always be criticized by someone doing less —Denzel Washington
It’s not how much you screw up that counts. Nope. It’s how you fix your messes that matters.
You must stop expecting perfection — either from yourself, or your employees, or your customers and clients. It will never happen.
Life isn’t a calm pond — it’s an unpredictable ocean… you gotta learn to enjoy the ride, no matter what.
Real tragedy is having a loved one pass away, or getting bad news from the doctor. Everything else is just a small bump on the road as you haul ass through life.
Live below your means. And avoid all debt — if you can’t pay cash-in-full, don’t buy it. Let your thrill be in your accomplishments, not the toys you can suddenly afford on credit.
Put aside a healthy pile of “Up Yours” money, so you can walk away from any situation you don’t like, and know you’ll survive.
Be a good animal. Sweat a little bit every day, sleep well, eat well, purge your system, live like a warrior-poet. You can monitor how healthy you are by walking up a hill.
Learn some basic self-defense, today. The first thing a mugger does to a mark is knock you down –most people can’t handle any jostling at all, and freeze. The simple confidence of knowing what your options are — and where the “soft targets” are on an attacker — can save your life.
Do the right thing every time, as a habit. If you’re not clear on what the right thing is, that means you’re facing another life lesson. Figure it out. The test begins now.
Say “sorry” and “I love you” often and without self-consciousness
Take responsibility for your actions. This simple habit has profound consequences you will learn to enjoy. Fix what you break, clean up your mess, watch your buddy’s back.
You want it, you take it, you pay the price. There really is no free lunch.
If what you’ve done over the past 5 years hasn’t worked for you, then change what you’re doing. Or the next 5 years will be one long boring re-run of the same bullshit.
Wake up. Challenge your belief systems. It’s better to realize you’ve been wrong for years, than to stubbornly hold onto a delusion that holds you back.
Stop doing things that don’t work. Too many people go through their entire lives marrying the same type of mate over and over again, making the same behavior mistakes, and making excuses for themselves.
Stop making excuses. I don’t care how badly your parents, or your teachers, or the system screwed up your head. You’re old enough to make the decision to start over and rewrite your script. Nothing will change for you until you do.
Keep a master list of long-range goals
Accept defeat with grace. Learn your lesson, adjust, and plan for victory next time out. Know how to cheat. Don’t do it, but understanding the game thoroughly requires knowing how others take advantage.
Work hard, play hard. Think harder.
Just do it. The meek may inherit the earth, but only after the bold are through with it
It it’s critical, do it yourself. If it’s not, delegate. Learn the difference
Don’t lie. If you’re in a position where you can’t tell the truth, learn how to weasel-word your way around trouble or hurting innocent bystanders. But don’t lie.
Some things are and always will be out of your control. Stop freaking out about it. If you gotta cry, cry. Don’t make a big deal of it. Life has tears built-in.
Don’t borrow. Pay as you go. You borrow, you’re a kept man.
Right now, you owe someone a phone call. If it’s not yet past 8 p.m., make the call, even if your hand shakes as you dial.
Spending time with someone is more important than spending money on them.
Don’t try to change anyone. Learn the difference between actual help and co-dependent enabling.
Allow people to blossom or fail on their own. This takes ungodly patience, but it’s the only way it works.
Stop arguing.
Lead by example, not big talk. In fact, shut up until you’ve earned the right to talk by honing your chops.
You’re going to be an idiot occasionally. Embrace this opportunity for a good story, learn from it, forgive yourself, and try not to make idiocy a common event in your day.
Your reputation is built one act at a time, and a lifetime of good work can be squandered the same way. Respect is earned by consistent behavior.
Be where you said you’d be, when you said you’d be there, ready to do what you said you’d do.
Struggle is not a bad word. Accomplishment is impossible without it.
Intellectually-sound people change their minds when the facts change. Ideology sucks as a lifestyle.
Turn off the TV and go read.
Listen more than you talk. And when you talk, observe the rules of conversation. If these rules are a mystery to you, go hunt them down.
Don’t interfere with people disciplining their kids. Do interfere when clear abuse is occurring next door.
Tip twenty percent. If you’ve never worked in a job where you had to be nice to rude people, tip even more. You won’t start a trend, but you will make someone’s day and generate good karma.
Learn empathy. Get a vivid picture of what it’s like to walk in the other guy’s shoes.
Go the extra mile. Even when no one does it for you.
Eleanor Roosevelt was right: No one can make you feel inferior without your permission.
Sometimes you gotta take one for the team.
Learn to tell a joke. But don’t rely on them. True wit is intelligence and humor, not one-upmanship or memorization.
Not everyone likes you.
Right now is a good time to stop the bullshit. Get real. Take a painful review of yourself, and be honest. Face your faults, and begin the fix.
Love will always have baggage attached. Get over it. Love is essential to a full life. No matter what.
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.
17th of February AutoHotkey Newsletter
Hi %Name%,
Let’s force ourselves to have an anxiety attack! Sounds crazy but anytime we step into unknown areas we ALL experience anxiety. It’s just human nature. It’s undoubtedly the #1 reason people stop trying to learn AutoHotkey!
AutoHotkey is an amazing language that allows people (like you and I) to “program” without really being programmers. However, the majority of people that start to use AutoHotkey stop right away (or never even try) because they see they have to “program” and believe they can’t do it.
Some will get started but then get very confused and even consider themselves “dumb” because they see others “getting it” in seconds. When I first started WebScraping I nearly gave up. I thought “I just don’t get it”. What I didn’t realize at the time is that WE ALL went through that learning (feeling stupid) process! Rarely are we all at the same “level” when learning something new.
But what gets some of us to keep plugging along into the dark abyss? Is it that some of us are just smarter?
Hogwash‼️
Those of us that continue to learn have “had a win”. We’ve automated something and then felt the joy of using that script, over and over, and avoid the mundane work. %name%, can you remember the script that saved you time? I used HotStrings and Hotkeys for the first 3 years of using AutoHotkey.
And they made me a Rockstar!
It’s a rough part of life but we need that carrot🥕! That reward for the work to continue on. If there’s no gain, then why submit to the pain?
This is one of the big reasons I created the AutoHotkey Udemy courses. Because AutoHotkey is so vast (with some many applications) having a clear path really helps! My courses aren’t “amazing” but they do provide a very clear path to start learning AutoHotkey.
Now on with the show…
Amazing ActiveX example with AutoHotkey V2
The other day I published a short video documenting how Maestrith had shown how to create an ActiveX GUI. Dimitri Geerts was inspired by it and did some amazing work! He then joined me in Zoom to demo some of it which was spectacular! The 2d work was amazing but the 3d version and “game of life” was really, really over-the-top! I should point out that it’s all done in V2 (mainly because GUIs are a bit simpler in V2 because they’re functions). Check out the video and let me know what you think! Click here if you’d like to learn more about AutoHotkey V2.
Awareness of Automation
It’s been a few years, perhaps Jackie and I need to go look at the current stats to see if the bar has moved at all? Are people more aware of ways to automate?
Parsing Text with AutoHotkey
In this video I show some tips & tricks how to parse text with AutoHotkey. The more programming you do, the more splitting text becomes “a thing”. RegEx is great but StrSplit() and InStr() are faster and simpler to get started with.
Why Do I Have to Prove I’m Not a Robot? BTW did you know CAPTCHA stands for “Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart”
AutoHotkey GURU 👨🏫 Interview:
I remember this call with RaptorX / Isaias Baez. RaptorX (AHKTuts on YouTube) was one of my inspirations for creating a YouTube channel. I’d watched his videos ~10 years before and was amazed at what was possible. This call was so much fun and educational, it’s no wonder we started working together a while after. BTW I’ve been in contact with him and he’s hoping to be back here in the next month or so. 😊
Productivity tips ⚡️
One of the best ways to spot “what to automate” is by batching your work! When you batch your work together you’re much more efficient! As a side benefit, it becomes painfully obvious what processes can be automated! Give it a try and tell me if I’m wrong!
A spot of Humor 🤣
I’d like to say “I’ve been there” but I’m not so sure I have! lol
Quotable quotes 🗣️ 💭
The tragedy in life doesn’t lie in not reaching your goal. The tragedy lies in having no goal to reach. — Benjamin E. Mays
If it’s critical, do it yourself. If it’s not, delegate. Learn the difference — John Carlton
When the whole world is running towards a cliff, he who is running in the opposite direction appears to have lost his mind.” —S. Lewis
You wouldn’t have won if we’d beaten you — Yogi Berra 🤣
P.S. Special thanks to the following for purchasing multiple AutoHotkey Udemy courses this month!
6 Peter E.
3 Sam B.
2 Łukasz G.
2 VCALD.
2 Sylwia B.
2 Swen B.
2 Sean M.
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2 Piotr Pawel B.
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2 Anna B.
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2 Aleksandra P.
2 Agnieszka W.
2 Abdulmalik A.
10th of February AutoHotkey Newsletter
Howdy %Name%,
It was 24 years ago, however I remember it like it was yesterday. I took my first class in Advanced statistics 🧮 and sweated my way through it! I was cursing to myself because it was downright uncomfortable and painful. At times it made me feel incompetent and stupid.
When we’re trying something new, we feel awkward uncomfortable, and we might not like it. The question to answer is, “Is it worth it?” If the answer is “yes”, then continue to work through the discomfort.
Why did I continue learning stats after my first unpleasant experience? Simple. I knew that it was good for me. And I LOVED the outcome (finding hidden patterns in data)
Many of us learn AutoHotkey because, compared to other languages, it’s very easy to get started on. There’s nothing wrong with starting off with the basics! I used HotStrings and Hotkeys for the first 3 years! And it made me a Rock Star🎸 compared to my colleagues! But, when I finally started learning more advanced AutoHotkey functionality, I really blew-doors by everyone and my productivity skyrocketed! 🚀
Keep at it!
Trust me %Name%, learning is ALWAYS worth it! Carve-out a regular time to learn at least twice a week!
Developer’s Corner
Simple way to select items
Sometimes “simple” is the way to go! In this short video I show how you can easily automate selecting items form a list. I happen to be in Chrome in the example however, the general approach, will work in most programs.
Getting properties from an Outlook email
Outlook has a COM object which allows us to, easily, connect to it and access various properties. Here I demonstrate how you can get info from the currently-selected email. COM rocks! You can learn more about using COM with Outlook and Excel in this AutoHotkey webinar. Don’t forget we have over 60 AutoHotkey webinars you can watch!
Learning XML
I stumbled upon a video I hadn’t published where Maestrith (author of AHK Studio) was teaching me how to use his XML class. If you’re storing data XML is a great approach for smaller amounts of data (let’s say under 10,000 items)
Automating Graphs in Excel
I’m coaching some current grad students and remembered, a lifetime ago, I had automated graphs in Excel. Sadly the code I have now no-longer works but I’m planning on updating it once I have the time. Still the concept is amazing! Do you regularly make graphs? Why not have it down to hitting a button to make them? Be sure to check out my over 50 Excel tutorials and download my XL Function library.
AutoHotkey Guru👨🏫 Interview with JoeDF from the AHK forum
Back in 2018 I was able to have a chat with JoeDF from the AutoHotkey forum. Joe’s done some amazing things with AutoHotkey and, for such a young guy, has an amazing amount of posts on the AutoHotkey forum (currently 7,270).
Right now is a good time to stop the bullshit. Get real. Take a painful review of yourself, and be honest. Face your faults, and begin the fix. — John Carlton
P.S. Some of you may not have been receiving the AHK newsletter for a couple of weeks. A bug crept into my script that pulls the list ☹. Sorry for that! Many of the past Newsletters are posted on the-Automator in case you want to check them out or share them.
3rd of February AutoHotkey Newsletter
Howdy %Name%,
Do you feel stuck in the same position? 😲 Do you get the feeling people (things) are going around you?
Start learning to automate your work and I guarantee you you’ll be your boss / colleague’s best friend! Being more efficient and productive was always part of my plan in corporate America. It reminds me of this video where I discuss how to get a raise💲. Here’s a hint: Be WORTHMORE!
Raptor❎ / Isaias Baez
Just an FYI- I had a call with Isaias the other day. He stopped working for me as he had some personal things he had to take care of however he’s hoping to be able to come back in the next month or so. Here’s to hoping! I have lots of things I’m looking forward to working on with him (not to mention making some more deep-dive videos). Here’s one where we discuss various ways to store data with AutoHotkey
Debugging 🏴☠️
A little while back Jean Lalonde gave us a tutorial on using classes with AutoHotkey. I mentioned, in that video, that his use of SciTE4AutoHotkey debugging was amazing! If you’re not using a tools that has debugging, you’re really missing out! I have an intro to debugging in SciTE here. Or, if you’re an AutoHotkey Studio user like me, you can check this video out. Isaias / Raptor X prefers debugging in VS code. Or take a look around at my debugging playlist.
Comparing lists
I used to build SQL queries and would have to compare lists to make sure I 1) had everything and 2) didn’t have duplicates. This simple AutoHotkey script made it really easy!
Learning what can be automated by watching others
I conducted a couple dozen interviews with other AutoHotkey users. One of my favorite ones was with Gio Sperotto out of Brazil. He uses AutoHotkey at his family’s company and has done some AMAZING things! He also lead the webinar on Neural Networks.
AutoHotkey Resources
Jackie Sztuk and I discuss many of the AutoHotkey resources. Amazingly not much has changed! Are you aware of them all? Which ones do 👉you use %Firstname%?
Using a variable as the index when getting it from an Object
If you’re still learning objects and arrays, this is a great, short, video showing you how to access them if the index is stored in a variable. In objects, the dot notation literally looks for that value (not a reference)
Be decisive and make decisions however, when you have a mistake, remember it is just that; a mistake. Don’t get caught up in that you are the mistake in recognize that we all learn by doing mistakes the important point is not to do them again
A spot of Humor 🤣
This may seem edgy, but it’s 100% true! All code has a few WTF. If it doesn’t you proably spent too much time working on it!
Quotable quotes 🗣️ 💭
Never see failure as failure, but only as a learning experience – Tom Hopkins
The tragedy in life doesn’t lie in not reaching your goal. The tragedy lies in having no goal to reach. — Benjamin E. Mays
When the whole world is running towards a cliff, he who is running in the opposite direction appears to have lost his mind.” —S. Lewis
If you ask me anything I don’t know, I’m not going to answer — Yogi Berra
Live AutoHotkey Support Tomorrow
Don’t forget on Friday’s you can get free AutoHotkey support on my YouTube channel. Or you can sign up for reminders and join the zoom room. We are having a severe storm in Texas so, if I’m not there, the power is out! 🥶