AutoHotkey is an awesome, free, open-source, little Windows scripting utility which makes setting global hotkeys super easy. This is a quick ‘getting started’ post on how to use it to make a hotkey. In this example we’re going to make Windows Key+N open notepad…Download the free AutoHotkeyCreate a .ahk text fileLet’s call it MyHotkey.ahk and
Hotkey to Open Clipboard Contents in Text Editor
Windows and Mac… be a Text Editor power user…Ever open your text editor just to paste the clipboard contents? Maybe to view, edit, or strip formatting? Or how about opening notepad just to type a quick note, thought, or save some text? I find I’m constantly doing these throughout the day. To make this snappy,
The OS GUI Holy Combo: Global Hotkeys, Command Launcher, GUI Automation, and Clipboard Ring (Windows, Mac, Ubuntu)
For max GUI productivity, my favorite apps are a command launcher, global hotkeys, GUI automation, and clipboard ring tools. (see full list of tools here) I’ve got these optimized for Windows, but am trying to move to Mac OSX or Ubuntu and haven’t been able to find quite the equivalent there. This post is for
Change Screen Resolutions Hotkeys in Windows
I’m frequently changing my screen resolution when (1) sharing my screen in online meetings, (2) recording screencasts, (3) showing people something on the screen, and (4) when using a projector or TV. Here’s how to have hotkeys to instantly change to several common resolutions.Get AutoHotkey (a free open-source Windows scripting app)Get Display Changer (a few
Ultimate Windows Command Prompt: Take Command
Ditch cmd.exe. It’s ugly, limited, has hardly been updated in 20 yrs, and is just a pain. If you ever use the command prompt, you owe it to yourself to get a much better shell. Take Command is awesome powerful. Far beyond other cmd.exe replacements. I’ve used it practically daily for 15+ yrs and love
Get Back Missing Windows Keys on Mac Keyboard
When using a mac keyboard in Windows, like on a MacBook Air/Pro or my favorite the small bluetooth Apple Wireless Keyboard, you may notice some keys are emulated via Boot Camp drivers (see Apple’s chart), but there are some keys still missing. Such as print screen and the apps context menu key. Using AutoHotkey it’s
Open Clipboard Contents Hotkey
Windows + Mac OSX…. I find it particularly useful to be able to copy a file, folder, URL, or search term to the clipboard and then with one hotkey, open it up. Here is the script I use with AutoHotkey to assign Win+O to open whatever’s in the clipboard. First it checks to see if
Global Hotkey to Instantly Play Music in iTunes
I’m usually too distracted by other work to remember to kick-off some music in the background. Usually because it’d mean launching iTunes, waiting for it to load, finding a playlist to start, and kicking it off. So here’s a single global hotkey to instantly load iTunes and start playing music. Here’s how: Hotkey: Win+Alt+P Get
Global Hotkeys to Play/Pause/Next iTunes Tracks
(Windows) If your keyboard doesn’t have media keys (like my MacBook or fav Dell keyboard), then its nice to have simple global hotkeys to play/pause a track, move to the next track, and maybe even increase/decrease volume. Below is the script that will assign these keys: Play/Pause: Win+Alt+Space or Win+Alt+Left Next Track: Win+Alt+Right Volume Up:
Global Hotkey to Rate an iTunes Track
Do you rate your tracks in iTunes? Ever find it a slight pain to swap back over to iTunes while working on something important just to rate a playing track? Here’s how to set up global hotkeys to rate a track from anywhere (Windows XP or newer). Like Win+Alt+1 for one star, Win+Alt+2 for two,
Hotkeys to OneNote Pages
If you like using Microsoft OneNote (which rocks!), you’ve got some favorite pages, and you like hotkeys, then this is for you! Here’s how to create PC global hotkeys to open OneNote and jump to specific pages, sections, notebooks, or paragraphs. I’ve got about a dozen main pages that I rapidly switch between, like my
