Intro to AutoHotkey / Windows Desktop Automation (RPA)

Having my taskbar on the right side confuses some people but, trust me, it will make you more efficient and helps see more of your screen.  You'll hate it the first couple of days but, after that, you'll love the change!

Finally we start working on your first AutoHotkey script!  :)

Setting up AHK & your first script

Before covering too much in programming, there are some important concepts to cover.  To start, should you put all of your code in 1 script, or should you put them in multiple?  Sadly there is no clear answer however I discuss some of the logic as to why you would choose one over the other.

There are three types of code that get "executed" in AutoHotkey.  Directives (which are like settings) and Commands and functions.  This session discusses some of the differences between them.

Having problems with your code only working in a specific area?  Then you better study-up on the Auto-Execute section.  (Basically the top of a script until it runs into a Hotstring, Hotkey, Return, or Label.)

While you may never have issues with this, it can be very confusing when you're first working with AutoHotkey if you have the error but don't understand why.

Critical concepts to understand before diving in too deep

HotStrings are an AMAZING tool built into AutoHotkey!  So amazing my colleague and I (Jackie Sztuk) have a Udemy course on them!  In this session I touch on the basics and how powerful they can be.

HotKeys are a great way to "trigger" your script and/or launch a program.  They're very, very easy to get the hang of and are super flexible and quick to implement.

One of the things I love about AutoHotkey is that I can adjust the computer to work the way I think. In this session I show how you can remap keys to what you desire.

AutoHotkey has some wonderful built-in tools! Being able to easily select a file/folder is one of them!

Being able to automate clicking a button / GUI / window with the mouse is really, really powerful!  Build your own popup blocker!

We've covered quite a bit of topics at this point.  I wanted to have a working session combining some of what we've learned so, in this session, I work through various tasks.

Quiz covering Section 4 - Powerful built-in tools

Utilizing Variables is really helpful and simple in AutoHotkey.  In this session we show how to assign values to a variable. Do some basic math as well as append more text.

As with any programming language, using logic is a core functionality.   I cover the basics of using some of the most common elevators.

Tooltips and Splashing text is both fun and useful.  Great way to communicate with yourself or with others using your scripts.  Notifying people what your script is doing is very helpful and can avoid misuse.

Section 5 Quiz- Basic programming

Functions are "the bomb"!   If I could get you to spend more time anywhere, it would be in fully working with Functions.  They're super powerful and can really simplify your programming and help make your code much more manageable.

Understanding scope in functions is critical to adapting & using them.  Pay close attention here and I guarantee you will save yourself hours of frustration later.

Being able to return a value from a function is super easy and really cool!

It's super convenient to be able to set default values for some of your parameters in your custom functions!

Quiz on Section 6: Functions

Using Includes and Libraries is a great way to keep your code clean and organized.   It is also critical to understand how/when to use them and where AutoHotkey will automatically look for functions.

AutoHotkey has a ton of built-in variables (many of which I cover later) but I wanted to point out a few here which help working with the next topic of Writing and Reading text files

Being able to read and write text files is super helpful!  AutoHotkey has several built-in ways for doing this but in this session we cover the basics.

Being able to (easily) move / copy files is an amazing functionality.  AutoHotkey has some great built-in tools for copying, moving, deleting files and folders.

It truly is amazing how often editing & manipulating text comes up!  AutoHotkey has some super-useful functions and commands for manipulating text!

As promised, AutoHotkey has an amazing amount of built-in variables.  In this session I walk through some of the most commonly used ones. 

Quiz on Section 7: Frequently used

I often think of AutoHotkey as the "Swiss Army Knife" for windows!   This section covers many of the cool ways you can interact with other programs.  (There are a bunch more but too many to cover in this course). 

This session shows how to easily determine if a Window exists, and activating it.

Being able to manipulate other programs is awesome!  Want to always have a specific program / Window in a certain spot, you can do that with AutoHotkey!

A ton of programs have a "status bar" which helps you understand the status of that program.  In this session we walk through how to connect to it and get information.

Section 8 Quiz: Working with programs  / GUI windows

What do do when things go wrong... Where to start?   I give some advice on where to start, what might go wrong and how to get help

Quiz for Section 9:  Troubleshooting and Wrap-up