AutoHotkey Community

AutoHotkey can actually be used as a Windows shell to replace Explorer entirely. Just add this key to the registry to change it for a user:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\shell
and set it to the path for AutoHotkey
it will load AutoHotkey.ini from the the Documents and settings folder for that user or create one if there isn't one.

I'm using this with desktopsidebar.com and 2xExplorer

Can you please post a screenshot from your Desktop ??

_________________
Wer keine Antworten hat muss nicht dumm sein,
dumm ist nur der welcher keine Fragen hat.

Interesting; if anyone cares, I've actually been doing this for weeks. I didn't think anyone else would like the idea though. It's not of much use unless you don't want to use another shell (which I don't). By the way, the above solution will only work with the more recent versions of Windows. If you have an older one, google "shell switching" or go to just about any shell site (they usually detail how to change them).

@Rubberduck: There's not that much to see, really. However, the Explorer shell will no longer be operational (This is a good thing in my mind), so you will lose things like the taskbar, desktop icons, desktop right-click menu, and the default Windows hotkeys. A few things will still work, since they're not a part of the shell; CoolSwitch (Alt-Tab), Ctrl-Alt-Del dialog, and window handling.

Some things I use in tandem with my AutoHotkey shell are various programs from AM Productions and the wonderful virtual desktop program SDesk. Other than that, many of the necessary functions can be provided by AutoHotkey.

jonny is right on with all of his comments. There really is nothing to see...when the computer starts you will get nothing but whatever your desktop background is set to. Minimizing windows makes a small box at the bottom of the screen for each. There are certain functions in programs that can cause explorer to launch and it will cause the desktop and taskbar, etc to come back. You can simply go to Task Manager and kill explorer.exe under processes to get rid of it again. Shortcut for Task Manager is Ctrl-Shift-Esc. Another tip is to launch control panels using AHK, use Run and point it to one of the .cpl files in the win\system32 folder. Be sure to make keys for launching Autohotkey.ini in a text editor and also the Reload command so you can update keys as you need to. When I get it smoothed out and commented I'll try to post my script file.

Look here for the registry key to change to stop the "explorer filemanager launches explorer shell" thing.

_________________
<enormous animated gif>

I haven't tried sdesk, so fwiw here's an even older and even more non updated desktop util. http://www.techsuperior.com/multiDesk

_________________
Berserker

I use Vern. The main advantage of Vern over other desktop pagers is that it lets you have a seperate pager/set of desktops for each monitor. I can't live without it and have been using ahk to get around some of the features it's missing. It has, of course, not been updated in a long time (I'm sensing a trend here....).

_________________
<enormous animated gif>

Is ahk capable of creating a pager?

_________________
Berserker

What features did you miss?

And what OS are you using. The homepage says that there are problems with XP.

_________________
Ciao
toralf

Oh, just some minor tidbits like transparency and more hotkeys. I am using XP and I don't have any problems with it.

EDIT: Olaf, I think there's a pager script floating around somewhere. It lets you move windows about, but doesn't actually provide any virtual desk capabilities. I imagine a pure ahk virtual desktop program is quite possible though.

_________________
<enormous animated gif>

I'm still using AHK as the shell on two of my computers and I sat down today and figured out a way to get back the one thing I missed...the 'Run' box.
Here's the quick code to get a basic Run box with AHK:



Two more quick hints when running AHK as the shell. Certain things can still trigger explorer to launch. The way I finally found around this is to go to the Security tab and completely remove all access to explorer.exe. Sounds a bit scary, but I've been running like that with no problems for months.
The other is that I've switched to using UltraExplorer for file browsing and it's really great:
http://www.mustangpeak.net/ultraexplorer.html

Here is Sean's nested DllCall() de-nested:

Code that calls Window's Run Dialog

Neat !

_________________

SoggyDog
Dwarf Fortress:
"The most intriguing game I've ever played."

I suggest you solve this properly, by following the instructions here: http://wiki.litestep.com/LiteStep:Installation and obviously change references to litestep.exe to your install of autohotkey.exe.

If you PM me, I could send you the setshell-utility referenced in the "Litestep:Installation" article. It will change the appropriate registry settings for you. If you don't trust me (I don't blame you, there are too many ****s on the net... I am trustworthy though ), you can also download this Litestep-installer which contains a setshell utility: http://www.ls-universe.info/download.php?view.1

Wow, that code for getting the real Run box is great! Thanks Skan.
That's good info to have in this thread, TucknDar. I've used those steps before but still found the explorer shell launching occasionally. For most people those steps are the better and safer way to go. Changing the security on the exe does work well if you're willing to risk it, though.