autohotkey-utils

Autohotkey-utils gives you some useful utils as shortcuts in Windows.

This script...

• is portable (requires no installation, except for autostart)
• does not ask you for admin permissions (except to add it to autostart)
• allows you to use AutoHotkey hotkeys and hotstrings with no code knowledge and no AutoHotkey installation
• will update automatically if you accept its prompt to do so
• is written in AutoHotkey v2

Jump to setup or config.

Current Modules

Current modules are:

• InstantSearch
• QRGenerator
• ClipboardURL
• UrlShortcuts
• Drive letter open
• Greek alphabet
• QuickNotes
• SoftLock
• PasteDateTime
• Hotstrings
• General actions

InstantSearch

Enter a query to open it in a search engine. Can also take the query from the clipboard.

You can modify the used search engines via settings. Settings format: SEARCHENGINE?||EngineName|EngineUrl (where ? in [1,2,3])

When searching, the query is appended to the end of the URL, so it should end with ?q= or similar.

Action	Description	Default shortcut
InstantSearch_1_Clipboard	Search on DuckDuckGo from Clipboard	Win+Q
InstantSearch_1	Search on DuckDuckGo	Shift+Win+Q
InstantSearch_2_Clipboard	Search on Google from Clipboard	-
InstantSearch_2	Search on Google	-
InstantSearch_3_Clipboard	Search on Wikipedia from Clipboard	-
InstantSearch_3	Search on Wikipedia	-

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QRGenerator

Generate a QRCode from any text.

Note: Please use the clipboard action if you need to use multiline data.

Action	Description	Default shortcut
QRGenerator_FromClipboard	Use data in Clipboard	Alt+Win+Q
QRGenerator_InputBox	Open Input-Window to enter text/url	Shift+Alt+Win+Q

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ClipboardURL

Open the URL from the clipboard directly in your default browser.

Action	Description	Default shortcut
ClipboardURL_Open	Open Url directly	Win+O
ClipboardURL_OpenEditor	Open Input-Window to modify URL before opening	Shift+Win+O

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UrlShortcuts

Save URLs to open easily via shortcodes.

ProTip: You can also enter a file path or command to be executed instead of an url!

This module needs some configuration. (see here)

Action	Description	Default shortcut
UrlShortcuts_Insert	Press and enter a 2-char shortcode during a 2-second-timeframe to paste url or text.	Insert
UrlShortcuts_Open	Press and enter a 2-char shortcode during a 2-second-timeframe to open url or command.	Ctrl+Insert
UrlShortcuts_BoxInsert	Open input window and enter shortcode to paste url or text.	Shift+Insert
UrlShortcuts_BoxOpen	Open input window and enter shortcode to open url or command.	Shift+Ctrl+Insert

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Drive letter open

Quickly open an explorer window with the desired drive.

Action	Description	Default shortcut
DriveLetterOpen	Press and enter a drive letter to open it in the explorer	Shift+Win+E

Example: Shift+Win+E c opens the C: drive in the explorer.

Beside the drive letters, there are also some special keys for special folders:

• . opens the autohotkey-utils folder
• ~ or - opens the user folder

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Greek alphabet

Quickly enter a character from the greek alphabet.

Action	Description	Default shortcut
GreekAlphabet	Press and enter the name of the letter	-

Example: Shift+Win+G Pi Enter or Shift+Win+G pi Enter (these are not the same)

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QuickNotes

Create notes on the fly or paste your clipboard for later use.

Note: Please use the open action if you need to enter multiple lines.

Action	Description	Default shortcut
QuickNotes_Create	Create e new note	-
QuickNotes_Open	View and edit existing notes	-

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SoftLock

Disable mouse and keyboard input via shortcut. (Note: This only works when the script is run as administrator.)

Press Win+L or Ctrl+Alt+Delete to exit.

Action	Description	Default shortcut
SoftLock_Block	Block the input	Shift+Win+L

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PasteDateTime

Paste the current date and time in a customizable format.

Uses the datetime format defined in the settings.

Action	Description	Default shortcut
PasteDateTime	Pastes the current date and time	-

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Hotstrings

This module needs some configuration. (see here)

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General actions

Action	Description	Default shortcut
CloseProcess	Close a process by name	Shift+Win+Esc
Settings_Open	Open the settings page	Shift+Win+i
ReloadFiles	Reload the script and all config files	-
HoldRightMouse	Hold down the right mouse button	-
HoldLeftMouse	Hold down the left mouse button	-

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Setup

You can install this script without AutoHotKey using the *.exe files found under Releases. I recommend storing the *.exe in a separate folder as your configuration files will be stored in the same folder as the *.exe.

The first time you launch the script, it will ask you if you want it to automatically start everytime you log in. If you missed the chance to click yes, you can just delete the ".hotkey-temp.txt" file and reload the script.

Everytime the script reloads, it will check if there is a newer version of it available on this page and will ask you if you want to update.

Note: Windows may warn you that this script is insecure, but you can ignore this warning as long as you download the exe file from this repository. If you don't trust this exe file, you can also download the current .ahk file, but then you must also install AutoHotkey v2. But please note that the update engine doesn't work when using the .ahk file!

Config

You can configure and change some things in this little "app". You can open the settings via right click on the tray icon -> Settings or via the defined keybind (default: Shift+Win+i).

You can also edit the settings in their corresponding config files. If you want to edit the settings manually, you can find them in the config folder, which lies in the same folder as this script and can be opened via the settings dialog > "Advanced" > "Open config folder". If you edit files manually, you must reload the script after saving to apply the changes via right click on the tray icon -> Reload or via the defined keybind (default: Shift+Win+R).

Create URL-Shortcodes

You can modify the shortcodes used for the UrlShortcuts module in the settings. Use the following syntax: shortcode|url

Example:

gg|https://google.com
yt|https://youtube.com

Create Hotstrings

Hotstrings automatically replace certain strings while you're typing. E.g. you type "btw" and an ending character (-()[]{}:;'"/\,.?!, tab or newline) and "btw" automatically gets replaced with "by the way".

You can create and modify hotstrings in the settings using the following syntax: hotstring|replacement

The hotstring syntax can be found here. Note: Replace "::" between hotstring and replacement with "|"!

Example:

:o:@gm|@gmail.com
::btw|by the way
:*:hi|hello

Common options:

Option	Behaviour
o	Automatically removes ending character after replacement
?	Allows hotstring to be IN a word
*	Doesn't require ending character to trigger

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Modify keybinds

You can modify the keybinds used in this app in the settings. Use the following syntax: action|keybind

Note: If the actions are not present in the file, the default values are used. If you want do disable a default hotkey, enter the action without a keybind. (e.g. last line in example)

The keybind syntax can be found here. All available actions are listed in the tables on this page. Common modifiers can also found in the table below.

Example:

InstantSearch_1_Clipboard|#Numpad1
InstantSearch_2_Clipboard|#Numpad2
InstantSearch_3_Clipboard|#Numpad3
GreekAlphabet|+#g
ReloadFiles|

Common modifiers:

Modifier	Meaning
#	Windows-Key (Win)
+	Shift
^	Control (Ctrl)
!	Alt

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Settings

The search engines and datetime format can be changed via settings. The app provides a simple GUI to edit these settings.

Check this page for date formats.

Edit settings manually

If you want to edit the settings manually, you can find them in the config/hotkey-settings.txt file.

Use the following format: Key||Value (Note: Use "||" as a separator!)

Note: If the keys are not present in the file, the default values are used.

Default:

SEARCHENGINE_1||DuckDuckGo|https://duckduckgo.com/?q=
SEARCHENGINE_2||Google|https://google.com/search?q=
SEARCHENGINE_3||Wikipedia|https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Search?search=
DATETIMEFORMAT||yyyy-MM-dd HH-mm-ss