Create shortcuts with AutoHotkey

There is a nuisance called typing, especially when you have to retype something repeatedly. Or worse, need the characters not on the keyboard. So what do you do if you use an American keyboard and need to insert € into the text?

I have also encountered a similar situation. I was very confused and the worst thing was that it made me so many mistakes. I had to restrain the anger and re-type those tedious things consistently and accurately. Now, the battle between people and the keyboard that has been addressed is AutoHotkey .

What is AutoHotkey?

Simple, AutoHotkey (AHK) is "scripting platform". With some "code", you can create text that runs in the background and allows you to do anything with the created hotkey. If you want to change a shortcut, edit it. If it is a phrase used everyday, you can attach a key combination to it. You often type the command strings yourself, AHK can run all with a simple key combination.

Do not be afraid of the words "platform script" and "code". Installing AutoHotkey is extremely simple. You can learn what you need in just one afternoon. Let's experience with AutoHotkey from simple examples.

Install AutoHotkey

First download AutoHotkey from the download.com.vn website. On the home page displays a large Download button. Click it to download. In fact, when clicking on this button you have downloaded the latest version.

Note: Some antivirus programs will notify AutoHotkey as a threat, but that's not the case. AutoHotkey is extremely powerful with no harm to it. Don't worry AutoHotkey doesn't hurt your computer.

Download the installation file, double-click it to start installing AutoHotkey. Recently, many people prefer using Express Installation . In addition, you can choose Custom Installation to set the default features and installation location. The default spot is the best.

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Installation is complete, are you ready to write the first script?

Create AutoHotkey script

Starting the AutoHotkey application will actually only run the help page. To get started, you need a script that only tells AutoHotkey about custom shortcuts. Let's start creating a script for you!

Right-click on Desktop (or any other folder) and select New > AutoHotkey Script . From there will create a new file with the .ahk extension in that folder. Name the desired file then right-click and open it in Notepad . This will be the text in the file. The simple scripts shown here may also disappear. Because you are more advanced, you want to put it in it.

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You will receive an empty table to create the desired shortcut. Here are some examples.

Start with scripts that insert simple characters. I have a daily use script that allows me to type the usual German characters that English keyboards don't have. For example, I want to type ß when pressing Alt + Shift + S. In AutoHotkey, there will be the following:

! + s :: Send, ß

Inside:

1. ! is the symbol of Alt.
2. + is the symbol of Shift.
3. s replaced for node S.
4. :: Combined symbols of the front keys.
5. Send, is a command to type text.
6. ß is the desired character.

Of course, this command represents "Alt, Shift, and S at the same time will have ß".

You can add other similar adjustments. For example, if you add the "<" character before it, then type

My entire German hotkey key script:

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If you know the name of the character you want to add to the script, the fastest way is to search on Google. If not, it can be seen in ASCII or Unicode tables.

You can have more than individual characters. If you're constantly struggling to translate complex, formidable strings, or simply long strings of characters, AutoHotkey is the best friend for you. In other work, I often have to contact individuals and organizations to discuss safe items in the project without any introduction from the people I work with. Therefore, I have to introduce myself every time I contact them. Instead of typing that entire introduction message, I use hotstring in the AHK. The scenario is as follows:

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: *: at the beginning to show AHK to track the string behind it, ncm stands for "new cold message". Because whenever you type ncm in the box, it will move to the following text string :: into the script. Every time I press that key combination, I will immediately have that text string.

This can be done with hotkeys instead of hot scripts. You can replace : *: ncm in text to ! + N , press Alt + N to get the corresponding string.

AutoHotkey can pull all basic information from your computer. For example, it can get today's calendar into multiple locations, scripts can help you in this case.

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If you run this script, AutoHotkey will enter the current date into the location of the insertion point. You can also use the format (dd / MM / yyyy instead of MM / dd / yyyy in the example) in the script.

Expand: run the program, edit shortcuts, .

Not only inserting text, AutoHotkey can do many other things too. You can use it to run the program when pressing a specific key, edit shortcuts like Alt + tab for the selected hotkey, or adjust the buttons on the computer mouse. If you want to go deeper, you can create full boxes or programs with AutoHotkey.