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Tag: automation

AHK News 2025-04-03 Why Smart People Never Build Their Own Tools

AutoHotkey Newsletter

Howdy,

Let’s get real. Time is your most precious asset .

Far too many people (especially those who are smart, capable, and resourceful) fall into the trap of thinking they should do everything themselves.

But just because you can doesn’t mean you should.

Whether you’re an entrepreneur, team leader, or a tech-savvy professional, there’s a moment when you have to ask yourself:

What is the return on your time?

Imagine spending 20, 50, even 100 hours building out an automation or tool that kinda works, but lacks reliability, flexibility, or scalability.

That’s time you could have spent doing what you do best — or simply living your life.

Now imagine this: you hire the-Automator.

In a fraction of the time it would take you to cobble something together, you get a powerful, efficient, battle-tested solution built by experts who live and breathe automation.

Not only does it do what you wanted—it goes beyond that.

More features, better performance, cleaner code, and better User Interface.

You get the benefit of hundreds of hours of experience condensed into a tool that makes your life easier right now .

That’s not an expense; that’s high-yield leverage

Think about it—most people get excited over a 10–14% return on their investments.

But what’s the ROI on reclaiming your time, reducing your stress, and getting tools that elevate your performance or business?

It’s massive.
And it’s immediate.

Trying to do it all yourself means constantly juggling roles, context-switching, and usually building inferior tools that cost more in the long run.

Instead, hire AHK Gurus who already have the skills, tools, and systems to bring your ideas to life faster and better than you could on your own.

Leverage us. That’s what smart people do .

The-Automator doesn’t just save you time.
We multiply your impact.

So let go of that “I’ll just do it myself” mentality.
✅ Reclaim your time.
✅ Hire smart.
✅ Build better.
✅ Grow faster.

We’re here to help.  You can check out my calendar here

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

lifeHackingBaby

World’s Best Clipboard Editor

Last Friday Jean Lalonde joined our AHK Hero call and gave us an amazing walkthrough of his latest tool Quick Clipboard Editor. 

If you’re a Power user then you’ll LOVE this tool!   I extracted the tutorial which you can see here.

It will have you rethinking how you work and wondering how you lived without a clipboard editor!

What’s a Clipboard Editor—and Why Is Everyone Talking About It?
What’s a Clipboard Editor—and Why Is Everyone Talking About It?

Advanced Tips When Sending Messages

Last week Isaias gave Irfan and I a quick lesson to “watch out for” when we’re sending messages.  You can see the video here.

Or go watch our playlist (mostly older AHK V1) on messages here.

Watchout for the Hit Test when Sending Messages
Watchout for the Hit Test when Sending Messages

Tips on Extending Classes in AutoHotkey

During a team meeting Isaias was giving us a little lesson on working with Classes.

You can check out the tutorial here.

Tips on Extending Classes in AutoHotkey
Tips on Extending Classes in AutoHotkey

If your using Functions in AutoHotkey, but not classes, our Objects course is a perfect fit for you!

We cover the basics of using Classes in AutoHotkey as well as introduce people to Functions.

And don’t forget our courses come with a 200% money-back guarantee so you have nothing to lose❗

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

Improving People’s Lives: Story #43

Kenneth Aar, an AHK Hero member, Introduced us to Scribe the other day (check out this video).

We signed-up and are now creating great little tutorials for people for our clients which will greatly reduce the amount of technical support calls they receive!

How This Hidden Tool Makes Documentation Magically Simple
♂️ How This Hidden Tool Makes Documentation Magically Simple

What we’re reading

AI / Chat GPT-3 News / Usage

⚡️Productivity tips:

Alt + Shift + Up/Down Arrow – Move selected sentences / paragraphs up or down in most editors

A spot of Humor Dilbert does Tech Support

Dilbert: Reboot
Dilbert: Reboot

What we utomated this week with AutoHotkey #81

This week I was surprised when we had 490 AutoHotkey files worked on!

I realized much of it was just adding a “Dev Path” to our scripts.

So this week’s episode was a bit shorter than normal.  You can check it out here.

Client’s 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 393 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
  • Using a “Non-space” space to align an image
  • Window tilted: ‘No Active Window!’; GrepWin is your friend!
  • What: A_ThisFunc, -1, -2 mean in a class
  • Likely problem when you have an issue that requires you to restart your script

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

  • It’s easy to see stupid in other people — Dan Kennedy
  • If every request is a five alarm fire, it’s your house that’s gonna go up in flames — Amy Landino
  • Failure is not the opposite of success; It’s a part of it! — Anonymous
  • When experiencing problems with tools, typically you should blame the operator, not the tool — 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, Rizwan and staff

P.S. As I spell-out in the Intro, I do think anybody reading this CAN (given enough time and effort) do anything they want.  But the truth is most of us already have too much to do!

If you’re needing more time, consider hiring us to solve your automation problems.

I guarantee you’ll be happy that you did!   Check my calendar and book a meeting by clicking here.

Stop Saying “I’ll Just Do It Myself” – And Start Working Smarter with The-Automator

Stop Saying “I’ll Just Do It Myself” – And Start Working Smarter with The-Automator

You’re smart. You’re driven. You take pride in figuring things out on your own.

But let’s face it—

trying to do everything yourself is the most expensive way to grow.

Sure, you might be able to fumble your way through scripting or cobbling together a tool that “kind of” works. But how much time is that costing you? How many other important things are getting pushed aside while you wrestle with something that’s outside your zone of genius?

Here’s the truth:
Time is the one thing you can’t buy back.
But you can protect it—and multiply its value—by working with experts who live and breathe the stuff you’re struggling with.

At The-Automator, we’ve helped hundreds of people unlock serious productivity with AutoHotkey and other automation tools. We don’t just slap together macros or simulate keypresses—we connect directly to programs using API-level automation, COM objects, HTTP requests, DLL calls, Windows Accessibility libraries, and a dozen other advanced techniques that go far beyond what most people even realize is possible with AutoHotkey.

We know 20+ ways to hook into and automate software, and we use the right approach for the job—not just the fastest to build, but the most reliable, flexible, and maintainable over time.

We’re not just writing scripts.
We’re building robust, scalable, pro-grade tools that integrate seamlessly into your workflow and save you hours every single day.

What’s the Real ROI of Hiring The-Automator?

Let’s break it down.

If you spend 40 hours over several weekends figuring out how to automate a task that we could do in 3 hours—and our solution is more robust, more feature-rich, and doesn’t break every time your app updates—what’s your time really worth?

What could you have done with those 40 hours?

  • Found new customers?
  • Closed deals?
  • Created new offers?
  • Trained your team?
  • Rested and recharged so you can come back sharp?

Hiring The-Automator gives you more than a tool—it gives you your time and focus back, so you can invest it in what you do best. That’s how real businesses grow.

Entrepreneurs thrive when they stay in their lane—when they focus on their highest and best use, and let experts take care of the rest.

You’re Not Just Buying Code—You’re Buying Freedom

  • Freedom from spinning your wheels
  • Freedom from half-working scripts that break at the worst possible time
  • Freedom from trial-and-error and guesswork
  • Freedom from outdated YouTube tutorials and dead-end forum posts

And what you get in return?

✅ Bulletproof tools
✅ Fast turnarounds
✅ Expert support
✅ Solutions designed specifically for your needs
✅ Peace of mind

We’ve built automations that:

  • Connect AI to your tools and streamline processes with Intelligence
  • Connect directly to EHRs, CRM systems, and proprietary software
  • Read from and write to files, databases, and GUIs without touching a single pixel
  • Use OCR, web scraping, and network sniffing to extract data the software itself won’t give up
  • Integrate with APIs to trigger actions, update records, or pull real-time data

If you’re still using keystroke emulation and mouse clicks, you’re driving a go-kart on the freeway.
We’ll build you a rocket.

You Can’t Scale If You’re Stuck in the Weeds

The most successful entrepreneurs understand one thing: Leverage is everything.

You don’t grow by doing more.
You grow by doing less—and making sure every hour you do spend is driving real impact.

If you’re spending your time googling syntax, debugging broken scripts, or trying to figure out how to automate something that’s outside your wheelhouse—you’re not running your business.

You’re stuck inside it.

That’s a trap. And it’s costing you far more than a line item on your budget.

Let’s Build You Something Better—Together

At The-Automator, we bring 20+ years of experience in automation, scripting, business systems, and process optimization. We know how to take what you wish you had—and turn it into a tool you can’t live without.

Let us take your idea and return something 10x more powerful, 10x faster than you thought possible.

You’ll:

  • Get a better result
  • Save yourself dozens (or hundreds) of hours
  • Stay focused on what actually moves the needle in your business

You’re not lazy for hiring help. You’re smart. You’re strategic. You’re scaling.

So the next time you think “I can probably figure this out myself,” ask yourself:

Should you?

Or would it be smarter to get the A-team on it and get back to doing what you do best?

We’re The-Automator.
Let’s build your unfair advantage.

Check out our calendar and schedule a call

 

What if failure is just the beginning of success?

AutoHotkey Newsletter

Howdy %Name%,

I was listening to a seminar and heard this great quote:

Determine that the thing can and shall be done, and then we shall find the way — Abraham Lincoln

This is one of my core beliefs and I’m betting it resonates well with you also.

It’s one of the reasons people come to use AutoHotkey.

AutoHotkey users are people that “get things done”!

It’s one of the reasons everyone in the AHK hero club get’s along so well together.

We know there isn’t just one solution, there are many!  And the “best one” is more about the person developing the script than it is about the problem itself.

We always make sure the solution we propose is “within reach” of the developer.

As I tell our clients for our “done for you” work, you determine what needs to be done and we’ll “get you there”.

Mastering Mental Resilience: The Art of Unshakable Strength

I remember Napoleon Hill talked a lot about doing what is hard.

I decided to create an LLM Podcast on this topic which you can listen to here.

They discuss how Resilience isn’t something you’re born with; it’s something you develop.

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

Advanced Hotkeys & Key Combinations

Here’s an extract from our AHK hero call last week.

We discussed how to create advanced hotkeys using very interesting key-combinations and how easy it is to add more when you think you’re running out.

Advanced Key Combination Hotkeys – AHK Hero Extract
Advanced Key Combination Hotkeys - AHK Hero Extract

Cool alternative to Hotkeys & HotStrings

As I mentioned above, during the AHK hero call we covered some advanced Hotkeys.

It reminded me of this video where we showed how powerful the InputHook is.

Discover the Ultimate User Input Hack! So freakin cool❗
Discover the Ultimate User Input Hack! So freakin cool❗

Updates to Quick Clipboard Editor

Jean Lalonde, author of Quick Access Popup, released an update with some very cool features to Quick Clipboard Editor.  You can check them out in this video.

This Friday Jean is going to attend the AHK hero call to give a deeper-dive and answer questions.

Quick Clipboard Editor v3 – More editing power with Scintilla
Quick Clipboard Editor v3 – More editing power with Scintilla

Great Tips for Working with Code and AI

I was watching a video from Open AI and had an epiphany that I then talked through with Isaias in this video.   If you’re using AI to help you code, you need to see this!

Cool tips and concepts for working with Code and AI
Cool tips and concepts for working with Code and AI

Improving People’s Lives: Story #42

One of our clients is crazy busy.  In order to save her time, I went through and pre-populated Prompt Assistant to provide relevant Bookmarks, Text Snippets, and Links to Zoom meetings.

What we’re reading

AI / Chat GPT-3 News / Usage

⚡️Productivity tips:  MS Word

In MS Word you can use Ctrl + Shift + C to Copy formatting (use Ctrl + Shift + V to paste it)

A spot of Humor

Sometimes my dogs give me the same problem as seen here

Monk Jackhammer Scene
Monk Jackhammer Scene

What we utomated this week with AutoHotkey #80

Another heavy client-focused week.  This week we had 114 AutoHotkey scripts which I walk through in this video.

What we automated with AutoHotkey #80
What we automated with AutoHotkey #80

Client’s say…

I’m astonished at what we’ve done with my reports! — 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 390 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
  • Jean Lalonde demonstrates updates to Quick Clipboard Access
  • Weird character in Microsoft Edge Title
  • Using SendMessage to automate Listviews
  • Using Shellhooks verse creating a child window or Popup
  • After using a Win command, what you DON’T need to provide
  • When you have an issue that requires you to restart your script

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
  • Decisions without actions are worthless — Dan Kennedy
  • Excuses are simple lies we first tell ourselves then others — Joe Glines
  • Soon companies will have 2 employees: 1 man 1 dog.  The man is there to feed the dog. The dog is there to keep the man from messing with the AutoHotkey script — 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, Rizwan and staff

P.S. As I mention in the intro, we’re amazing at implementing!  We’ve yet to have a challenge that we cannot solve.

If you’re struggling with something why not look at my calendar and book a call.