Don’t annoy your paying clients❗ (DUH…)

AutoHotkey Newsletter

Howdy %Name%,

When I was in Las Vegas my father and I went to lunch and then went grocery shopping.

The restaurant was in the same parking lot as the grocery store so, instead of driving our car 100 feet, we just walked to the grocery store.

As we were walking out my cart suddenly “locked up”.  
Apparently, they had a sensor that restricts carts to a very tight area.

While I laughed and told my father to wait with the cart while I pulled the car over I thought how inconvenient it would have been if the same thing had happened to my 85-year-old father.

I feel for the store trying to prevent theft; however, they need to balance their approach so they don’t alienate their paying customers.

When we consult with clients we are very aware of this balancing act.

The vast majority of people are honest.  Generally, you just need some minor restrictions to keep the “mostly honest” people honest.

We typically achieve this by compiling our scripts.   There are much more advanced ways to prevent people from stealing your IP (Intellectual Property).   A few years back, my IP Lawyer ran this great webinar for us!

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

SuperStar


Quickly Hiding a Hard Drive 👀

Speaking of keeping things confidential… 

Do you ever give people access to your computer but wish you had a quick way to “hide” files / folders❓

In this video I discussed my approach with our AHK Hero members.

You can get the Drive Toggler here.

Quickly hide a drive with Drive Toggler | AHK Hero Extract
Quickly hide a drive with Drive Toggler  | AHK Hero Extract


😲Super Slick way to Perform Logic

Want to “Jazz up” your code❓   Check out this short extract where we discuss how you can use a Ternary command to simplify your code.   I show my “template” which is super easy to adapt!

🔥 Why Pro Coders Use Ternary Instead of If/Else (Performance Boost!) | AHK Hero Extract
🔥 Why Pro Coders Use Ternary Instead of If/Else (Performance Boost!) | AHK Hero Extract


Improving People’s Lives: Story #78

During my visit with my father I connected with a friend that owned a local Italian Restaurant.

I found out that he’d had some health issues that got him to “rethink” owning & operating a business.

He’d sold his business and was now “selling stock options”.

He hadn’t gotten into using AI yet so I spent about an hour discussing how he could use AI to streamline his workflow.  


📚 What we’re reading


🤖 AI News that you Need to Know


⚡️Productivity tips:  

Prioritization: Focus on the top 3 Most Important Tasks (MITs) for the day to avoid feeling overwhelmed❗.


🤣 A spot of Humor:

15 Funny Jokes for men

15 Funny Jokes That Broke the Internet (500 Million Views Combined!)
15 Funny Jokes That Broke the Internet (500 Million Views Combined!)


What we 🅰utomated this week with AutoHotkey #120

This week we made some killer progress on the AHK Script Maker with Irfan going full-time on it for the past three months, and I’m honestly pumped about how much smoother it’s gotten❗

In this video I walk you through all the recent updates to ASM, show off a bunch of our automation tools (including some really cool AI integrations with Claude and Grok), and demo everything from a Stock Portfolio Tracker to a Media merger that’s been speeding up my video workflow.

Plus, I share how we’re using AI to solve some tricky problems that would’ve taken forever to figure out manually!

What we Automated with AutoHotkey #120
What we Automated with AutoHotkey #120


Clients say…

It’s very challenging to keep up on the newest libraries, so when Rufaydium and back when g33k released chrome.ahk, it was very cool to get the hands on walkthrough of setting it up. G33k is very busy so its not like even he could have time to walk people through use cases etc. The VSC intros were very nice also. Automate my task is frankly an incredible tool as is screen clipping. Dmitri’s tool there that was a work in progress looked incredible too (would love to get my hands on that lol). — Allan Smith


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 518 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
  • AHK Script Maker: Adding Tools and Fixed bugs
  • Why we had to run a Script twice to get it to work!
  • How I run Android apps on Windows
  • Automating Games – checking for Hotkeys
  • Updates to Stock Tracker: Synchronous versus Asynchronous approach
  • Building our Newsletter Link Library

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

  • Curiosity can empower or impede you — James Cleary
  • Time is the most valuable thing a man can spend — Theophrastus
  • People who have time on their hands will inevitably waste the time of people who have work to do — Thomas Sowell

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. If you are worried about people stealing your IP, you can check out this video and/or book a call with us to discuss additional things that can be done.

 

AHK News 2026-01-15 Why I spent $187.89 on a bobblehead doll👀

Tag: 2025-      Subj: Why I spent $187.89 on a bobblehead doll

AutoHotkey Newsletter

Howdy %Name%,

So I got an offer the other day that I just could not pass up!

You may be aware that I have my Undergrad was in Marketing and my Masters in Market Research.

I spend ~20 years working in corporate America in/around Marketing.

The one thing I learned is that the vast amount of Advertising & Marketing done by Corporate America is crap?

Around 15 years ago I happened upon a video from Dan Kennedy and, within a couple of minutes, I could tell he was different.

One major difference is that he insisted that everything was tracked!  If you could not measure it, you didn’t do it!   Period.

Over the years I’ve watched hundreds of seminars from him and read all of his books.

He teaches mostly about direct mail, and marketing, however he does also emphasize productivity.

I’ve learned so much from him that, when I saw the chance to order this Bobblehead doll I had to do it!

Bobblehead doll of a man with blond hair, glasses and a goatee riding a white goat with curved horns

Now, when I feel myself “goofing off” I just glance at him on my desk and get back to work!

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

runAprogram

Advanced Tips for Programming with AI

During last week’s Hero call, Isaias gave a tutorial on how he’s found better ways to work with AI.

He showed how, if you’re using VS Code, you can restrict its ability to edit files, and much more.

Check it out in this video.

Advanced AI Lessons using VSCode and Agents | AHK Hero Extract
Advanced AI Lessons using VSCode and Agents | AHK Hero Extract


Feeding your Data to Various AI tools

Speaking of AI, in this video I walked through some of the cool things I’ve been doing with AI.

From easily creating deployable Apps to leveraging NotebookLM to write marketing materials, AI is really becoming incredibly helpful!

Pushing Data into various AI tools | AHK Hero Extract
Pushing Data into various AI tools | AHK Hero Extract


Automating Parts of the AHK Newsletter

I’ve been writing the AHK Newsletter for over half a decade and have been, over time, streamlining the process.

In this video, I discuss some of the improvements I just made and also discuss some that I’m considering with AI

?? Automating Content Curation: My AI Newsletter Workflow Revealed | AHK Hero Extract
?? Automating Content Curation: My AI Newsletter Workflow Revealed | AHK Hero Extract


Scraping Data from an App

A hero member was asking how we can use AutoHotkey to extract data from an app.   This led to a great discussion of various ways to rip the data which you can see in this video.

?? Web Scraping Secrets: Fake Browser Authentication Like a Pro! | AHK Hero Extract
?? Web Scraping Secrets: Fake Browser Authentication Like a Pro! | AHK Hero Extract


Improving People’s Lives: Story #75

One of our clients does “official” reporting where she has very clear requirements from her employer.

Unfortunately her data was “messy” but, thankfully, she new the logic behind “the rules” really well so, a few Regular Expressions later, and we got her code that saved her hours of time!


?? What we’re reading


?? AI News that you Need to Know


??Productivity tips:  Excel Tips

  • Ctrl + Space – Select entire Column
  • Shift + Space – Select entire Row

?? A spot of Humor:  Tiny Hands

Ranking Tiny Hands Pranks ♥???
Ranking Tiny Hands Pranks ♥???


What we ??utomated this week with AutoHotkey #117

This week’s video is packed with some really cool stuff?

I walk you through an AI-powered icon finder that actually understands what you’re looking for (no more guessing keywords!), show off a Google Maps tool that geocodes customer addresses and scrapes restaurant data, and share some debugging sessions from our HERO club calls.

Plus, I reveal my favorite automation trick: using SetTimer with ExitApp to make scripts that automatically “clean up” after themselves – it’s such a simple thing but it makes life so much easier!

What we Automated with AutoHotkey #117
What we Automated with AutoHotkey #117


Clients say…

How can I pay more for this? — 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 509 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
  • How I run Android apps on Windows
  • AHK Script Maker: Debugging Debugger
  • 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.

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

  • Work first, reward second, in order — Dan Kennedy
  • Love will always have baggage attached. Get over it. Love is essential to a full life. No matter what — John Carlton
  • I will always hire a lazy person to do a hard job, because they will always find an easy way to do it — Bill Gates

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. Yes, I really did pay that much for the Dan Kennedy Bobblehead doll.

And, with how much time it saves me it was worth every penny!

I’m sure it’s exactly how our customers feel after having us automate something for them!

AHK News 2026-01-08: It’s been 8 years…

AutoHotkey Newsletter

Howdy %Name%,

Eight years ago, on January 3rd, I quit Texas Instruments.

Had I stayed working in Corporate America I would have been, financially, much better off.

But the idiocy I’d put up with may have killed me❗

Those who know me well know I’m only somewhat kidding.

Don’t get me wrong, I had some great bosses & amazing colleagues.

But there were plenty of people that made me wonder how we were able to stay profitable.

I feel the main thing that saved us was that there was an equal amount of incompetency at all of our competitors❗

How about you❓   Have you ever wondered how your colleagues kept their jobs❓

To celebrate my 8 years of freedom I’m marking all of our v2 courses down by 58% until Sunday January 12th.

AutoHotkey V2 Courses

Don’t forget, all of our courses come with a Double your Money Back Guarantee!

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

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

forgettingWork

Save Time & Tokens with this Great AI tip

During an AHK Hero call a few weeks ago someone asked for how I include my libraries / functions when working with AI.

In this video I walk through how I greatly increased the likelihood of AI using my functions (and severely reduced the amount of tokens I spend because I don’t have to, repeatedly input/output functions that I use regularly.

Adding Libs to Claude Project and Working with Ai
Adding Libs to Claude Project and Working with Ai


Creating Stable Shareable Code

Do you share your scripts with others or work on other computers❓

In this video we walk through how you can leverage Relative Paths and Set the Working Directory

Benefit of Set Working Directory and Relative Paths
Benefit of Set Working Directory and Relative Paths


Should your script be Always Running or Launched?

During a Hero call we discussed how we all have scripts that are always running but others that we launch.  We discussed some of the logic on how we decide which approach we take and why.

When have script running verse launch when needed
When have script running verse launch when needed


Dynamically Manipulating Selected Text

Writing text is a HUGE part of how we use a computer❗

In this video we discuss various ways you can manipulate your text which can save you a TON of time!

Changing the Case of Selected Text
Changing the Case of Selected Text


Improving People’s Lives: Story #74

Tuesday I took part of the day to drive a friend to his MRI.

He got the results later and I used AI to help interpret them.  😊


📚 What we’re reading


🤖 AI News that you Need to Know


⚡️Productivity tips:

Perfect is the enemy of done❗

Often good enough is good enough!


🤣 A spot of Humor:  These are Priceless❗

The Pick Up Lines of Ryan Stiles

The Pick Up Lines of Ryan Stiles


What we 🅰utomated this week with AutoHotkey #116

In this week’s video I walk through 49 different tools we worked on, including updates to our custom AHK Script Maker editor, a slick Google Maps review scraper for finding local businesses, and my newsletter automation system that randomly pulls quotes and memes to keep things fresh.

What we Automated with AutoHotkey #116
What we Automated with AutoHotkey #116


We also dive into some audio processing magic with ffmpeg and show how AI is helping match content to newsletter themes.

If you’re curious about practical AutoHotkey automation or just want to see what’s possible when you automate the boring stuff, this one’s packed with real-world examples.


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.”  — Danny 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 506 hours of recordings teaching AutoHotkey that is exclusive to AHK Hero members❗

Hard to believe we’re starting our 5th year of the AHK Hero program❗

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

  • Help AHK Hero Members with their Questions & Code
  • Zoom Mute Monitor / Informer
  • Structuring tables in SQL Database
  • 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

  • Fire fast; Hire slow — Dan Kennedy
  • If you’re not troubled over some of the things you’re saying no to, you need to say no MORE often! — Joe Glines
  • Keep a master list of long-range goals — 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

Joe, Isaias, Irfan and staff


P.S. AI is coming but it’s still a ways off before it entirely replaces everyone.   I highly recommend you keep learning how to Automate.   Learning how to automate will serve you well when you’re showing AI the work you want it to do.

And don’t forget, the 58% off of our courses discount expires on Sunday.
Act now and start improving your future today!