“Why AutoHotkey?” E-Book Now Available Free on Amazon and Apple iTunes

Don’t Know Why You Should Use AutoHotkey with Your Windows Computer? Download the Free Book Why AutoHotkey?

 

You can get my e-book Why AutoHotkey? How Free AutoHotkey Adds Power to Your Windows PC and Provides You Important Brain Food free at Amazon. Now you can go to Amazon at any time since the free offer no longer expires.

I wrote the book for people who know little or nothing about what AutoHotkey can do but display curiosity about its capabilities. You may just know someone who can benefit from this free book.

Not a tutorial, Why AutoHotkey? highlights various uses for the free Windows software in a number of occupations. The list by no means exhausts the possibilities.

Quick Fix for Inserting Color Data into Windows Paint (AutoHotkey Tip)

Auto-Fill Windows Program Data Fields Using RegEx—Plus, Alternative for Pop-up Messages

While the Coloretta Viva script copies pixel colors, transferring codes to Windows Paint gets awkward. This AutoHotkey data filling technique for multiple fields works in any Windows program. Plus, we look at another method for popping up user messages.

I recently highlighted the AutoHotkey Coloretta Viva color picking app at ComputorEdge Software Showcase. As a color matching tool, I consider the script an excellent start. However, I offer a couple of observations.

Mea Culpa — The Forgotten Millisecond

It Seems that I Have a Millisecond Blind Spot

I know that a millisecond lasts one-thousandth of a second. However, it seems I have a proclivity for calling a millisecond a microsecond. I have no excuse. As a physics major, I know the difference. Somehow my brain tends to use “microsecond” in place of “millisecond.”

A reader recently brought to my attention that I incorrectly placed “microsecond” in one of my books when referring to the time delay used in the AutoHotkey Sleep command. Not only did I make the error in that book, but in a couple more of the earlier books and other timing commands. I have no excuse. The online documentation has it perfect.

This isn’t the first time I’ve been notified of the problem. In fact, I had deluded myself into thinking I had already corrected the error in my books. (It must have slipped my mind or become trapped in my blindspot.) I have since gone back and fixed the problem in the earlier books. How could this go on for so long?

The Forgotten “Milli”-second

Let’s face it! The prefix “milli-” doesn’t get much respect these days. Ever since the introduction of the microprocessor, we stopped caring about anything bigger. Nobody uses “milli” in advertising when “micro” or even “nano” adds more emphasis. In my books, even though I knew I was talking about thousandths of a second, I kept calling it a microsecond (millionth of a second).

We might measure a blink of an eye in milliseconds (300-400ms). It would be ridiculous to say a blink takes 300,000 to 400,000 microseconds. Yet, when it comes to computers, I’m always ready to talk in terms of a millionth of a second.

Fortunately, my examples and the calculations in the books work out fine, so very few people would actually find themselves misled. It still seems like a bonehead mistake to make.

I updated the problem books (A Beginner’s Guide, Digging Deeper, AutoHotkey Applications, and AutoHotkey Tricks) with the correction. If you purchased your copy at ComputorEdgeBooks.com and have no downloads remaining, please submit the following form for increased downloads:

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Sorry about the confusion,

 

Blocking Mouse Action (AutoHotkey BlockInput Tip)

Clarification of Earlier AutoHotkey BlockInput Command Tips

While working on a couple of chapters in my new book, I noticed that I had effectively blocked inadvertent mouse movement while running a demonstration of a Windows Paint automation routine. In the script DrawSquiggle.ahk, AutoHotkey turns off the mouse while it executes various other mouse movements. Otherwise, any accidental manual movement of the mouse cursor might screw up the final result. Most importantly, the command to block mouse action worked without raising user privilege levels or running the script as an administrator.

The DrawSquiggle.ahk script demonstrates how AutoHotkey can control the selection of tools and mouse actions in Windows Paint.

Working on a New AutoHotkey Book

Compiling Material for My Biggest Book Yet!

I’ve started bringing together the parts for my next AutoHotkey book. I have over thirty AutoHotkey tips in the form of previous (no longer published) articles I wrote for the old ComputorEdge Magazine and another thirty, or so, I’ve written since that time on various topics without a specific theme. As I organize the chapters, I see various motifs running through them. I plan to include numerous recent insights as I rewrite and edit each piece.

None of the above repeats work previously published as chapters in my other books. However,  I’m also considering including, with proper emphasis, my most important AutoHotkey epiphanies and “best practices” which do appear in the other books. This new, heavier e-book should be a good reference for almost anyone.

Check Window Status with WinGet, ExStyle (AutoHotkey Tip)

ExStyle Settings Help to Polish AutoHotkey Window Manipulation Scripts, Plus a Couple of Tricks

Each window in Microsoft Windows includes style settings (Style and ExStyle) which control its appearance and action. You can view these settings with the CheckStyles.ahk script discussed in the blog “The WinSet, ExStyle Command for Mouse-Click Transparent Windows (Intermediate AutoHotkey Tip).” If you build AutoHotkey window manipulation tools, then you’ll find CheckStyles.ahk indispensable both as a quick reference and a tester. The CheckStyles.ahk script displays the settings for any window under the mouse cursor.

Reset Hotkeys with Label Name Drop-Through Behavior (AutoHotkey Tip)

Sometimes Not Encapsulating Hotkeys with the Return Command Serves a Purpose

Last time, I discussed how to change the transparency level of any window under the mouse cursor with a scroll of the mouse wheel. The SeeThruWinWheel.ahk works great, but, if you increase the invisibility of the window too much, you might lose track of the window. We need a technique for instantly bringing a window instantly back into view. I did that with a trick from the blog “Understanding Label Names and Subroutines (Beginning AutoHotkey Tip).”

AutoHotkey Library Deal

While studying the behavior of Label names in AutoHotkey scripts, I came up with the CheeseBurgerRecipe.ahk script which automatically moves to the next Hotkey recipe step with no additional code by dropping pass the next Label name directly into its subroutine. I didn’t expect to find another use for this technique so soon, but when I encountered the problem of losing track of invisible windows, this technique offered a quick fix.