AutoHotkey Hotkeys and HotStrings: The quickest way to automate!

One of the first practical things that people can learn to create in AutoHotkey is a simple AutoHotkey hotkey and hotstrings. Hotkeys and hotstrings are a powerful and convenient way to automate tasks on a Windows computer, and they are relatively easy to create and use.

For example, you could create a hotkey to launch a specific program or open a specific folder with just a few keystrokes. You could also create a hotstring to automatically expand a short abbreviation into a longer phrase or sentence, saving time and effort when typing repetitive or commonly-used phrases.

To create an AutoHotkey hotkeys and hotstrings, you will need to use the following syntax:

AutoHotkey Hotkeys:

hotkey:: action

For example, to create a hotkey using the Windows Key and the letter C to launch the Google Chrome browser, you could use the following code:

#c::Run “C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe” ;Windows key + C to run Chrome

AutoHotkey Hotstrings:

::abbreviation::expanded text

To create a hotstring to automatically expand the abbreviation “btw” into the phrase “by the way,” you could use the following code:
::btw::by the way ;typing btw will get expanded to “by the way”

Once you have created your hotkey or hotstring, you can save it in a script file and run it using the AutoHotkey executable.

Overall, creating an AutoHotkey hotkey and hotstring is a practical and useful skill to learn when starting with AutoHotkey. It can save a significant amount of time and effort and make it easier to perform common tasks on your Windows computer.

We cover both HotStrings and Hotkeys in our Intro to AutoHotkey course which have a 200% money-back guarantee! That’s right. If you don’t like it, we pay you!

Hotkeys and Hotstrings

Both hotstrings and hotkeys in AutoHotkey are powerful tools that can be used to automate tasks on a Windows computer.

Hotkeys are keyboard shortcuts that can be used to trigger a specific action or script. For example, you can use a hotkey to launch a program, open a file, or execute a series of commands. Hotkeys can be created to trigger a specific action when a specific key or combination of keys is pressed.

Hotstrings are similar to hotkeys, but they are triggered by typing a specific string of characters. For example, you could create a hotstring that automatically expands a short abbreviation into a longer phrase or sentence. Hotstrings can be used to save time and reduce the risk of errors when typing repetitive or commonly-used phrases.

Overall, both hotkeys and hotstrings can be powerful tools for automating tasks on a Windows computer. The choice between using hotkeys or hotstrings will depend on the specific needs and requirements of your automation tasks.

The first course I created was on HotStrings. I have hundreds of them and use them all the time!
In our Intro to AHK Course we dive into HotKeys which are equally powerful and huge time savers!