CyberNotes: AutoHotkey To The Rescue!

Time Saving Tuesday

AutoHotkey is a scripting language that is used by people all around the world. You can automate a ton of different tasks in no time at all and the software you need is completely free. What’s even better is that you can compile your script into an executable file so that other people can use it without needing to download the software themselves.

Before you go and start creating your own scripts there are already several available. One site in particular that has a huge list available is DonationCoder.com. Yes, the list is enormous so I’ll point out some of the most useful ones.

• ZoneSize – You can create “zones” that will automatically resize a window when it is dragged into the zone.
   
• IPUpload – Upload your IP address to a specified FTP server. It will help you find the IP address of your house if it is constantly changing.
• LabelControl – If you hate using the mouse this will surely come in handy. This will label the various buttons in a window with a number when you press the Ctrl key. Then, while holding down the Ctrl key you press the corresponding number to select that option.
  
• DimSaver – This is an AutoHotkey script but it is in the form of a screensaver. It will dim your screen instead of displaying a standard screensaver and it has separate daytime/nightime darkness levels.
• ShiftOff – This will turn off the CapsLock key if you press the Shift key in conjunction with another key.
• FadingTaskbar – This is a cool idea because it will fade the taskbar out when you’re mouse isn’t over it. I tried it in Vista and it made my taskbar disappear…so I wouldn’t try it on Vista if I was you.
  
• HideDesktop – When your mouse isn’t on the desktop all of the icons will be hidden.
  
• TransOther – Make all of the windows transparent except for the active one.
  
• ProcessGuard – Monitor a process’s memory usage and CPU usage for a certain condition. It will then notify you if that condition is met (easy way to watch for Firefox memory leaks).
  
• TicTocTitle – Most people don’t want to have their taskbar autohide because they constantly look at the clock. No problem! Put it in the titlebar of your window using TicTocTitle.
  

I’ve only begun to touch on the scripts that are available at DonationCoder.com so make sure you go and check it out. There are many more interesting ones but to my disappointment several of them don’t work properly in Vista.

You will probably just want to download the executable file to try some of the programs out (there is nothing to install with them) but the scripts are also supplied if you want to try and add some more features or try and merge a few of the scripts together. That’s why AutoHotkey is so great…the power is in your hands!

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Tags: CyberNotes, Freeware, Software

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