Making my work boring - AutoHotkey
As someone who sits at their computer to work there are a number of things I have to type regularly and accurately. For example my Zoom link; I need to share it at least once a day with students, faculty, staff, and others. I currently have a password set for it, so it is long. Instead of using a clipboard manager (although recently I have found the clipboard manager (Windows + V) to be helpful) I was on the hunt for a text expander, a program that would replace a code with something longer.
I don't know how I came across it, but I found AutoHotkey and I've been testing a few automation tasks and text expander. Below is a gif of me typing out simple codes being replaced with text that I use regularly.
#NoEnv ; Recommended for performance and compatibility with future AutoHotkey releases.
; #Warn ; Enable warnings to assist with detecting common errors.
SendMode Input ; Recommended for new scripts due to its superior speed and reliability.
SetWorkingDir %A_ScriptDir% ; Ensures a consistent starting directory.
These are my reminders of how to code a hot key.
; # Windows key
; ! ALT
; ^ CTRL
; + SHIFT
For example the following code lets me hold down the CTRL button and u to open up the tasks in my Planning Workflow.
^u::
Run, Notepad++.exe
Run, "C:\Users\Robert\OneDrive - Clark College\000_Organizing Documents\00_Workflows\2021 Spring Ideal Workflows"
return
I use a number of dashes for breaks between sections in an email and elsewhere, so typing three letter codes to get the same number of dashes saves a bit of time.
::d10::----------
return
::d30::------------------------------
return
::wem::rweston@clark.edu
return
I just found this out in the last hour but by adding an asteriks between the two colons at the start indicates that AHK should replace the text as soon as you type the following code.
:*:ques?::If you have ANY questions, please don't hesitate to let me know. Anywhere in Canvas click on Help on the left menu, click on Ask Your Instructor a Question, and send me your question.{enter}
return
:*:ssig::Best,{enter}Mr. Weston
return
:*:csig::Best,{enter}Robert
return
:*:zlink::https://us02web.zoom.us/my/robert.weston
return
::AYIQ:: click on Help on the left menu bar in Canvas and click on Ask Your Instructor a Question
return
I routinely use Google so this script allows me to hold down ALT + c to take whatever is in the current clipboard (CTRL + c) and enter it into a Google search.
!c::
{
Send, ^c
Sleep 50
Run, http://www.google.com/search?q=%clipboard%
return
}
To quickly get my head into grading quizzes I created the following command, ALT + q will open the files and sites I use to grade quizzes. Granted I have to do a little navigating, but it does get me into the process of grading quizzes a bit quicker.
^q::
{
;Open old feedback files.
Run, C:\Users\Robert\OneDrive - Clark College\01_MATH 104 Spring 2021\05_Quizzes\Old
Sleep 1000
;Open Canvas Quizzes to open Quiz
Run, firefox.exe https://clarkcollege.instructure.com/courses/2059881/quizzes
Sleep 5000
Send {Enter}
Sleep 2000
;Open Canvas Assignments for Quiz Work
Run, firefox.exe https://clarkcollege.instructure.com/courses/2059881/assignments
return
}
If you use AHK, or can think of ways to use such a program, I'd love to hear your ideas.
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