I just wanted to say how useful I have found AutoHotKey recently. It is a tool to automate/streamline tasks. It comes with a handy tool that records what you do, so you can repeat it without writing code, yet allows you to tweak and modify as needed. Pretty much any time I do maintenance work, I find a reason to use it to speed up the task.

One large problem that AutoHotKey has solved for me is one involving eFilm. We have one Rad reading room that has 2 greyscale LCDs for fluro, but also needed a color screen for echos. This presents a problem in that eFilm has no way of knowing when to display on the greyscales as opposed to the colour monitor. I certainly did not want Rads moving eFilm windows around. The initial simple (from the Rad’s viewpoint) solution was a KVM switch and a second PC hooked up to the color screen.

My time with AutoHotKey got me thinking that there must be a better way. So in just a few minutes I wrote a little macro that with a press of a keyboard button, will move eFilm between the two greyscales, or onto the single colour screen. Because the Rads were previously using a keyboard command to switch the KVM, this will be a simple retraining issue.

Apparently, AutoIt is even more powerful, but in my quick peek at it, it did not seem quite as user friendly as AutoHotKey. Still, I urge you to take a look at both of these fine programs.

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