Open Source Software - AutoHotKey
There's a myriad of great open source software available for the Windows OS. One favourite of kadaitcha.cx is AutoHotKey, which can save you untold hours of time if you have to perform endlessly repetetive tasks.
On a recent assignment, several technical types were complaining about how many days it would take them to move the logon and license details of 6000 users from one proprietary system to another, so kadaitcha.cx offered to do the work for them. Roll out AutoHotKey, 30 minutes spent getting a feel for the application, writing and testing a script, and voila! Two hours later, 6000 users migrated, without a hitch.
Needless to say, the alleged "experts" were somewhat surprised at how little time the job actually took; they'd been doing the migrations one by one, field by field. Odd that none of them thought about a macro solution... I should fire them.
AutoHotkey is a free, open-source utility for Windows that allows you to automate almost any task by sending keystrokes and mouse clicks. You can write macros by hand or use the simple macro recorder, and you can edit any macro that you record to fine tune it.
You can create hotkeys for your keyboard, joystick or mouse and assign nearly every key, button, or combination to a hotkey. Your scripts can even respond to signals from hand-held remote controls, and they can be converted into an executable that can be run on computers that don't have AutoHotkey installed.
You'll find AutoHotKey here: http://www.autohotkey.com/
From the website:
Change the volume, mute, and other settings of any soundcard.
Make any window transparent, always-on-top, or alter its shape.
Use a joystick or keyboard as a mouse.
Monitor your system. For example, close unwanted windows the moment they appear.
Retrieve and change the clipboard's contents, including file names copied from an Explorer window.
Disable or override Windows' own shortcut keys such as Win+E and Win+R.
Alleviate RSI with substitutes for Alt-Tab (using keys, mouse wheel, or buttons).
Customize the tray icon menu with your own icon, tooltip, menu items, and submenus.
Display dialog boxes, tooltips, balloon tips, and popup menus to interact with the user.
Perform scripted actions in response to system shutdown or logoff.
Detect how long the user has been idle. For example, run CPU intensive tasks only when the user is away.
Automate game actions by detecting images and pixel colors (intended for legitimate uses)
Read, write, and parse text files more easily than in other languages.
Perform operation(s) upon a set of files that match a wildcard pattern.
Work with the registry and INI files.
On a recent assignment, several technical types were complaining about how many days it would take them to move the logon and license details of 6000 users from one proprietary system to another, so kadaitcha.cx offered to do the work for them. Roll out AutoHotKey, 30 minutes spent getting a feel for the application, writing and testing a script, and voila! Two hours later, 6000 users migrated, without a hitch.
Needless to say, the alleged "experts" were somewhat surprised at how little time the job actually took; they'd been doing the migrations one by one, field by field. Odd that none of them thought about a macro solution... I should fire them.
AutoHotkey is a free, open-source utility for Windows that allows you to automate almost any task by sending keystrokes and mouse clicks. You can write macros by hand or use the simple macro recorder, and you can edit any macro that you record to fine tune it.
You can create hotkeys for your keyboard, joystick or mouse and assign nearly every key, button, or combination to a hotkey. Your scripts can even respond to signals from hand-held remote controls, and they can be converted into an executable that can be run on computers that don't have AutoHotkey installed.
You'll find AutoHotKey here: http://www.autohotkey.com/
From the website:
Change the volume, mute, and other settings of any soundcard.
Make any window transparent, always-on-top, or alter its shape.
Use a joystick or keyboard as a mouse.
Monitor your system. For example, close unwanted windows the moment they appear.
Retrieve and change the clipboard's contents, including file names copied from an Explorer window.
Disable or override Windows' own shortcut keys such as Win+E and Win+R.
Alleviate RSI with substitutes for Alt-Tab (using keys, mouse wheel, or buttons).
Customize the tray icon menu with your own icon, tooltip, menu items, and submenus.
Display dialog boxes, tooltips, balloon tips, and popup menus to interact with the user.
Perform scripted actions in response to system shutdown or logoff.
Detect how long the user has been idle. For example, run CPU intensive tasks only when the user is away.
Automate game actions by detecting images and pixel colors (intended for legitimate uses)
Read, write, and parse text files more easily than in other languages.
Perform operation(s) upon a set of files that match a wildcard pattern.
Work with the registry and INI files.
Labels: open source
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