AHK News 2026-02-12 Squashing your Lizard Brain 🦎🧠

AutoHotkey Newsletter

Howdy %Name%,

While I was in Las Vegas, Texas (and much of the U.S.) went through a cold spell.

My son got his license last June and had yet to drive on snow or ice.

I tried, over the phone, to explain how dangerous it can be and how he should adjust his driving.

Thankfully I got back to Texas before all of the ice had melted so, at the first chance I got, I took him out to get some “real world” experience.

While, over the phone, I’d mentioned that if you feel yourself “sliding” while braking you need to lift your foot off the brake, until the tires begin to spin again and then re-apply the brakes.

As all of you know this is much easier to say than do which is why I wanted him to have the experience in a controlled environment (with nothing immediately in front of him).

So, hopefully when “it matters” he’s able to squash his lizard brain 🦎🧠 screaming:

“Push the freaking brake pedal through the floor“

It’s why we encourage people during the AHK Hero calls to dabble with different approaches when automating programs.   That way, when they have a need, they’re already conditioned how to test & debug the new approach.

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

praying

AHK v2 Secret New File Template 👀

A while back we were discussing launching v2 scripts in the AHK Hero club and Isaias asked if we knew about the place we can easily store and access our New File Template.

You can check out the extract in this video.

🚀 AutoHotkey V2 Templates: The Secret Feature You’re Missing! | AHK Hero Extract
🚀 AutoHotkey V2 Templates: The Secret Feature You're Missing! | AHK Hero Extract


AHK Script Maker Pro

We’ve been working on AHK Script Maker for over 5 months now❗

It’s quite an amazing tool on its own but, the other day, I asked Irfan to go ahead and create the “Pro” version which (currently) has an additional 17 “must have” scripts built into it.

Each of these tools are typically sold individually and, if you sum up their value, it comes to $91.84.  

All this for $12.99

If you want to know more about the scripts embedded in the Pro version you can learn more by watching this video.

I’m currently outlining the features it has and will begin to make videos next week.

⚡ I Just Unlocked Pro Mode – These AutoHotkey Tools Will Blow Your Mind
⚡ I Just Unlocked Pro Mode - These AutoHotkey Tools Will Blow Your Mind


Building a Custom Windows Tool Launcher

I was reading an article about the top Windows Utilities we should use.  The article mentioned the arbitrary ways you can find the tools in Windows.   I then thought: “Why should I have to search for the tools❓

Why not ask Claude to build a launcher for me❓

So, 10 minutes later, I had a working tool that launched a lot of built-in Windows tools.

You can check it out in this video.

I think I’ll add a few more tools and a search bar.  After that I’ll share it as a download.

🛠️ AI Built My Custom Windows Tool in Minutes – You Won’t Believe How Easy! | AHK Hero Extract
🛠️ AI Built My Custom Windows Tool in Minutes - You Won't Believe How Easy! | AHK Hero Extract


Improving People’s Lives: Story #79

We had a great client call with a Radiologist.   He mentioned his company is forcing them to use new tools that incorporate AI and “streamline” the flow.

Unfortunately, he said he’s losing around $1,000 a day because of their new “improved“ tool.

In our 2 hour private consultation we invented work-arounds to get him back to his productive levels!

If you’re a Radiologists, book a call with us and i 💯% guarnatee you that we will make you more productive❗


📚 What we’re reading


🤖 AI News that you Need to Know


⚡️Productivity tips:  Excel Hotkeys

  • Ctrl+Shift+L – Toggle filters
  • Ctrl+Space – Select entire column
  • Shift+Space – Select entire row

🤣 A spot of Humor: Leslie Nielsen was so darn funny!

Leslie Nielsen Puts His Skills to the Test

Leslie Nielsen Puts His Skills to the Test | #shorts


What we 🅰utomated this week with AutoHotkey #121

This week was packed — we worked on everything from game automation for high-end clients to video processing tools that chopped a 2+ hour auction video into individual clips automatically.

In this video I walk you through all of it, including a stock portfolio tracker, some handy video compression tricks, and a bunch of cool utility tools that just make life way easier.

Lots of real-world problem solving and a few fun surprises along the way!

What we Automated with AutoHotkey #121
What we Automated with AutoHotkey #121


Clients say…

I had no idea you could do this with AutoHotkey — Jim F.


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 521 hours of recordings teaching AutoHotkey that is exclusive to AHK Hero members❗

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

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

  • Today is always the most productive day of your week — Mark Hunter
  • Comfort is a sedative; struggle is the cure — Joe Glines
  • Turn off the TV and go read — 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. If you’d like our eyes on your project, simply check my calendar and see when we have time for you.

A quick review of your project can be a 💯% game changer

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❓