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Am I not understanding something? Both AutoHotKey and AutoIt seem to have everything this new program has, including auto-completion and any amount of programmability.

Use the free, open source AutoHotkey to make keyboard shortcuts to run programs and enter text. AutoHotkey is actively developed. Often the AutoHotKey developer, Chris Mallett, releases 3 versions a month to incorporate user's suggestions. (Windows only)

Use AutoIt to simulate keyboard entries and mouse clicks and when you need complicated decision-making. Download AutoIt with the SciTE auto-completion IDE. The SciTE editor makes writing and testing AutoIt programs and compiling the finished results very easy.

Both of these programs are very sophisticated, apparently the best available, come with compilers, and are FREE. Both are completely programmable.

For example, I've written an AutoHotKey program that uses a shortcut to toggle between Windows shortcut keys and WordStar/Brief control-key editing commands. I like to avoid taking the time to touch the mouse.

AutoIt is great for automating installations of software. You can compile all the installation files into the AutoIt file, and have AutoIt set permissions and copy files during the installation.

Both AutoHotKey and AutoIt allow programming your own GUIs.

Both AutoHotKey and AutoIt need an addition: A GUI method of defining keyboard shortcuts, for unskilled users.

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U.S. government violence in Iraq encourages other violence.

Um, has anyone ever heard of Windows+R? It's called the run menu, and if you don't need a big bloated app it works great. For those who would prefer to do less legwork, and let the machine handle it, here are 2 free alternatives:

This http://www.autohotkey.com/ is autohotkey. Universal windows auto-complete(no more typing your name or your address, or any words you tend to misspell), ridiculous hotkey action, it's all scripting, so you can make your scripts into exes and use them on any windows computer anywhere.

This http://www.bayden.com/SlickRun/ is slickrun. Windows Run++, pretty much. Windows+q opens your run window, and you can program a bunch of features, it has autocomplete, yadda yadda yadda, it tells me it's using 8k, YMMV.

Or you could buy something that has some obvious flaws and less features. You know, if you are into that kind of stuff. Oh, and it's definitely a slashvertisement when you talk about shitty products that you have to pay for, instead of brilliant, old products that are free. In case you were wondering.

Autohotkey http://www.autohotkey.com/ does all this and more, is free, and open-source.
It also works on all versions of Windows including Vista.
(I'm not affiliated with them in any way - just a happy user)

• Windows + X to open Firefox
• Windows + C to start a command prompt
• Windows + L to bring up the calculator

Alternatively you can use AutoHotkey and rebind it to anything you want.

AutoIt is excellent. Make sure you get the excellent IDE, also.

For keyboard macros, use AutoHotkey, a fork from an earlier version of AutoIt.

Both FREE.

You probably know this:

Use AutoHotkey to make keyboard shortcuts to run programs and enter text.

Use AutoIt to simulate keyboard entries and mouse clicks and when you need complicated decision-making. Download AutoIt with the SciTE auto-completion IDE. The SciTE editor makes writing and testing AutoIt programs and compiling the finished results very easy.

Both these programs are very sophisticated, the best available, and FREE. AutoHotKey comes with source code. Both are programmable.

For example, I've written an AutoHotKey program that uses a shortcut to toggle between Windows shortcut keys and WordStar/Brief control-key editing commands. I like to avoid taking the time to touch the mouse.

AutoIt is great for automating installations of software.

Both allow programming your own GUIs.

But, no, in general Windows does not have these problems the same extent as Linux (where every single distribution is configured differently).

Windows Fault Threshold Reached

Now where is my insightful mod? ;)

Seriously, Windows may "just work" (for some definitions of work) for the "avarage user" (I hate that term, I don't believe he exists even once), but when you need something done just like this and your users are ready to eat you alive if you won't make it happen, that is the time when Windows really starts to show it's true colors. And as fun as making a keyboard layout in autohotkey is (free software to the rescue once again) I still don't understand why Microsoft decided that Windows should store keyboard layouts in platfrom specific DLLs or why it takes the more then ten months to bring Microsoft Keyboard Layout Creator up to date for x64 with the resources Microsoft has.

In the end autohotkey with it's community support trumped the multi-billion corporation with their corporate support (thank's for pointing me to the blogs I already googled, your tech support is A+++).

I don't know what the GP was doing, but AutoIt and AutoHotkey are excellent, and the best in their fields. Use AutoIt for scripting, AutoHotkey for hotkeys. Free.

You won't need much technical support, because they work.

Use the SciTe IDE for AutoIt. Very nice. The install package takes care of installing AutoIt, too.

Autohotkey is my favourite piece of software, Open Source or otherwise, and the biggest reason I am still using Windows instead of Linux. You can use it to avoid repetitious work (and repetitious, uncomfortable mouse movements), make common tasks a lot faster, and get around the fact that a lot of programs don't have built-in keyboard commands or macros.

http://www.autohotkey.com/

AutoHotkey is a free, open-source utility for Windows. With it, you can:

Create hotkeys for keyboard, joystick, and mouse. Virtually any key, button, or combination can become a hotkey.

Remap keys and buttons on your keyboard, joystick, and mouse.

Here's a complete solution for Windows:

Use AutoHotkey to make keyboard shortcuts to run programs and enter text.

Use AutoIt to simulate keyboard entries and mouse clicks and when you need complicated decision-making. Download AutoIt with the SciTE auto-completion IDE. The SciTE editor makes writing and testing AutoIt programs and compiling the finished results very easy.

Both these programs are very sophisticated, the best available, and FREE. AutoHotKey comes with source code. Both are programmable.

For example, I've written an AutoHotKey program that uses a shortcut to toggle between Windows shortcut keys and WordStar/Brief control-key editing commands. I like to avoid taking the time to touch the mouse.

AutoIt is great for automating installations of software.

Both allow programming your own GUIs.

Don't forget to contribute to these efforts.

At least not the Windows Interface part. It is completely feasable to have a windows interface with lots of well defined key commands. Autohotkey is a good tool for this sort of thing, and the source is available for free as well.

With this?

Or this?

Personally, my idea of a clickless user interface is a terminal window (vi keybindings, etc.), but the referenced link is indeed interesting.

It ain't Linux, but...
USBWiSec
to control it,
AutoHotkey to unlock it and automate authentication.

Open source, great support forums, easy scripting language called AutoHotKey. http://www.autohotkey.com/

Or AutHotkey. It's free (GPL) and very versatile.

As someone else said, use AutoIt. AutoIt is by far the best open source software for automating Windows installs and other tasks in which the program pretends to be a user. There's an IDE with an Intellisense-like interface and a compiler. Be sure you get AutoIt with the SciTE IDE, the site is a little confusing.

AutoHotkey came from the same source as AutoIt, is also open source, and is also impressive.

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If your gov't chose killing as policy (CIA trained Arabs in 1980), expect others to choose the same.

I think the question of "what things will I lose if I switch to Linux?" is just as important as the question of "what can Linux give me that Windows doesn't?"

People are afraid of not being able to use their favourite programs and not being able to access data. Sure, there are many great programs for Linux which provide the lost functionality if you switch from Windows. But some are missing.

Personally my favourite thing about Windows is Autohotkey, basically an open source hotkey and macro program. I have looked and not found the equivalent on Linux, and until I do, I won't be switching to Linux full time.

Want a command language for Windows? Try the free, open source AutoIt, which is amazingly complete and well-developed. AutoIt comes with an autocompletion IDE that automatically displays function usage information. The version that includes the IDE installs easily. AutoIt also has a compiler, which is also free. See AutoIt on Sourceforge.

Want Hotkey macros? Try the related free program, AutoHotKey.

Both are excellent.

They both are here now, with no Microsoft grief.

AutoHotkey (for Windows) is excellent FOSS software. It does both text and program macros. It's the best of its kind, I think.

On Windows AutoHotkey is a great GPL automation tool. Anyone knows a similar tool for Linux with such capabilities?

Just below someone mentions AutoHotkey. Looks great, and mentions AutoIt.

At work automation isn't that well known, but I'll probably try to improve things next summer. Once I had to learn & teach the graphic designers how to use photoshop's batch functions. We had to convert 700 images from hi-quality to web quality and they were going to do it by hand. It took about 15 minutes with a script.

I have to say that the thing I'm really looking forward to w/Tiger, is the Automater app!

I was a big fan/user of Automate , and AutoHotKey for the Windows platform, and was really looking forward to working with AppleScript on the OSX-side of things.

However AppleScript's code/syntax is really difficult for me to get into. It's attempt at being an "easy to read/use" code is SO different than anything I've used before, that it makes i hard for people who've scripted for other languages, be it Perl, Windows-Scripting, or *nix , or whatever, to easily pick it up.

It's a powerful language... I just wish the syntax was a little more... "computer-like", rather than the mix of normal speech, and computer terms that it is.

However Automater promises to make a lot of the simpler things easy, similar to the aforementioned Automate app, for Windows. I may still have to write some code for some of the more difficult operations, but Automater promises to make the simple things a lot easier, I think.

True Launch Bar is a great quick launch replacement with menus and many plugins.

True X-Mouse Gizmo Gives you X-windows like cut and paste in windows. a bit buggy IMO. I use a macro enabled mouse now for the same functions.

AutoHotKey Script Windows GUI, just plain Great!

Stardock friends at work use some of their tools. Looks like you can redefine just about anything with their toolset.

nice RTF editor, complete with a 'highlight' hotkey: Copywriter: http://home.planet.nl/~gaale131/cw_home.htm

Windows security hardening tool: StopListening: http://www.nonebar.com/sl.html

Global script and hotkey tool: Autohotkey: http://www.autohotkey.com/

Excellent PIM that fits on a USB drive: EssentialPIM: http://www.essentialpim.com/
(OK, that's 4:)

While I agree with the sentiment that porting exclusively Linux apps to Windows may lessen the chances of someone switching from a MS platform to a Linux system, I feel that open source licensing, and efforts, do in fact work very well for Windows.

Examples? Sure... Off the top of my head, AutoHotKey is one of the best pieces of software I've found for Windows, and it's entirely open source. It has a thriving user community, it beats its commercial rivals (Automate by Unisyn, for example) in almost every way, and does things that the its competitors can only dream of doing, in a timely and organized manner.

To me, it's proof that open source isn't a bad thing on Windows. Open source is simply a license (in a nutshell), and it should not be used to determine what's released on what platform IMHO. If you truly believe that software should be free, than why is it such a concern when it's ported to a MS OS?

I do agree that porting desktop managers and the like has the potential to decrease the amount of people switching exclusively to Linux, as you can now, for example, reap the benefits of KDE and similar apps (Cygwin anyone), without the need to completely redo your PC setup, but I don't think that open source ports are a bad thing overall.

And really... I think that this whole article is just to stir up the whole anti-MS rage among us Slashdot readers, since none of the debate here will make any difference.

The software's been developed, it's been released as open source, and anyone can port it to whatever platform they want to. No amount of logic, complaining, or rationale can or will change this. Perhaps this discussion should have taken place before the software was released, or the open source licenses were developed, but it wasn't, and so we are where we are.

Now if the discussion were about how to structure future licensing, and or development models, than I think it's a worthwhile endeavor, but why work ourselves up into a frenzy over the license being used as it was intended to be used? The software's free, and anyone can do what they want with it, provided they adhere to its terms, and they make their changes available to anyone who wants them.

Face it... The system's working as it was intended to. Next topic...

1. MS Powertoys - In addition to many other things, this will assist you with relocating your document and data directories. Also, you can speed up the menu response times considerably
2. ATNotes - Best free sticky notes I've came across!
3. Stardock/Object Desktop - Tons of GUI-related tweak and skinnig options
4. XP Smoker - Good all around hardware/software tweaker
5. AutoHotKey - Omigod! I just discovered this. Get it now!! It's probably the closest to Appescript I've seen yet for the PC, it's OSS, and it's awsome!!
6. AltDeskOne of the better virtual desktop programs I've found for the PC. There's better and faster ones out there, but this is one of the few who's behavior I like w/multiple monitors

Anyway... Plenty of other tweaks and programs out there, but this is probably plenty for now. I really should finish that book I keep starting about this crap install of trying to cram it into threads anyway... 8)=

My original point was/is that Raid 0 is a great technology, and can greatly speed an already great system. But if you're the type of person who just will setup a box once with Raid 0 for everything, never consider backups, or other methods to really take advantage of your PC's technology

Thanks... found AutoHotKey while searching for Macro Express and it can be setup to do just what I need.

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!