A Beginner's Guide to AutoHotkey, Absolutely the Best Free Windows Utility Software Ever!

Third Edition, December 2014, in response to reader comments. For Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 10, AutoHotkey is the most powerful, flexible, free Windows utility software available. Anyone can quickly add more of the special features they want to all of their Windows programs, whether installed on their computer or while working on the Web. AutoHotkey has a universality not found in any other Windows utility–free or paid. The beauty of AutoHotkey is that it works with any Windows program (word processing, spreadsheet, presentation, e-mail) or in any Web page or Blog. There are literally hundreds of free AutoHotkey apps available for adding to or adapting for your Windows computer. (Do a Google search on the key words "ComputorEdge AutoHotkey apps" for examples.) Find out how easy it is to do! For this edition, numerous tips, updates, and comments (most marked as Third Edition notes) give more insight into both AutoHotkey techniques and the state of the AutoHotkey language while targeting the beginner level. Each chapter has at least one or two new tips or updates. (The indexes for this and the two other AutoHotkey books can be found gratis in the book "AutoHotkey Tricks You Ought To Do With Windows" from ComputorEdge E-Books.) This Beginner's Guide is not a tech manual, but a journey of AutoHotkey exploration. Chapter One: How to Become a Windows Computer AutoHotkey Superhero “The best way to keep your job (or get a new one) is make yourself more valuable.” Chapter Two: Programming Is for Everyone “Don't think you can program? Think again! Writing software scripts is not just for nerds.” Chapter Three: Installing AutoHotkey and Writing Your First Script “AutoHotkey, an often overlooked utility program, could become your best friend for your PC.” Chapter Four: More Basic AutoHotkey Techniques “Changing the case of text from upper to lower and back again.” Chapter Five: Sharing AutoHotkey Scripts “Compile your AutoHotkey scripts into an executable (EXE) file, plus restoring the original clipboard contents.” Chapter Six: Instant Search and Replace “StringReplace to search and replace any text, anywhere, anytime using Loop and If.” Chapter Seven: Cool Date Tricks with AutoHotkey “Enter the current date into any Windows program automatically.” Chapter Eight: Powerful Screen Object Controls in AutoHotkey “Using the Graphic User Interface (GUI) controls in AutoHotkey to build simple gadgets.” Chapter Nine: Automatically Resizing Windows with AutoHotkey and User-Defined Functions “Write a user-defined function for resizing windows to exact dimensions on your desktop.” Chapter Ten: Make Any Window Always-on-Top Anywhere, Anytime, Plus More "If" Statements “Using AutoHotkey to make a window always-on-top.” Chapter Eleven: Opening Useful Hidden Windows Folders with AutoHotkey and Making a Help Pop-up “An easier way to open hidden Windows folders, such as Startup…plus more AutoHotkey and an AutoHotkey help pop-up!” Chapter Twelve: Cleaning up the Desktop “A tip for organizing Windows Desktop clutter and more power with AutoHotkey Replace.” Use AutoHotkey for e-mail addresses and adding "boilerplate." Chapter Thirteen: Disabling Annoying Windows Hotkeys “It's easy to Delete All when the Control key is next to the Shift key.” Chapter Fourteen: AutoHotkey for Copying and Moving Files “If copying files become tedious with a mouse, it may be time for AutoHotkey. New in Second Edition! Chapter Fifteen: How to Cheat at Computer Games and Restarting with AutoHotkey Action Recorders “AutoHotkey is great for empowering your avatar, plus automatic script creators for beginners.” New in Second Edition! Chapter Sixteen: Common AutoHotkey Messages and Errors Encountered by the Novice “Here are a few issues every beginner should understand.” For more e-books from Jack Dunning and ComputorEdge E-Books see Jack's author link below the title.