AutoHotkey Community

Hi,

I have a Vista OS feb release. I tried using Autohotkey but found out that blockinput won't work in this new version.

I would like to know what is the command behind blockinput so that i can look into vista to check if there will any workaround.

If someone already knows how to block the input on vista os please share your comments.

Thanks,
jptaba

Microsoft BlockInput function
The entry seems not to have been updated for Vista, unlike some other pages, so it may be a bug in this release, or something else.

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I have created a couple of scripts that I would like to run also when people start using Vista, so I am very interested to know what parts of Autohotkey actually work on Vista, and what else than BlockInput doesn't. Do basic functions like "send" and "control" work on Vista?

I've read that Vista will be very aggressive in preventing programs from disrupting other programs via SendMessage, keystrokes, and other features. In fact, it may even prevent a process from retrieving info about other processes and windows (such as their control text, window handles, etc.)

As a result, many features that AutoHotkey relies on to automate other windows may cease to function in Vista. The possible exception is administrators, who might be able to override these extreme security measures and take back control of their systems.

Here's an MSDN article about it: Developer Best Practices and Guidelines for Applications in a Least Privileged Environment. One of the most interesting parts of it is this:
I fear the above might just be a fraction of the lockdown that will be in place in Vista. It is possible that nearly all automation techniques such as sending keystrokes, mouse clicks, and ControlSetText will be completely disabled, at least by default. I hope I'm wrong, or that at least there will be some easy way for adminstrators grant higher privileges to macro programs like AutoHotkey.

P.S. I changed the subject line of this topic to be something more elaborate, which will hopefully bring more attention to it.

Oh, don't worry. I'm sure MSFT will provide us with a dandy scripting language that will work just fine... for $250 plus a yearly licensing fee.

Hi,
there must be a solution.
There are so many automation test suits to automatically test an application.

MS just can't say: Ok, you have to test all your software manually, because of security reasons.....

... Oh my god, after a second thought: With the words "security reasons" you can legitimate everything nowadays..... (but I hope I'm wrong)

Ciao
Micha

Well don't forget that other, _commercial_ apps will also be disabled if MS doesn't provide a level support for them. It seems that with every new version of Winblows, they find some new and interesting way to screw everything up. Of course, an administrator will probably have some sort of control over these security settings, but that still makes most of us unable to distribute scripts on a large scale. As for myself... I've learned to expect nothing from MS - that way I'm not disappointed when I get exactly that.

If nothing else, the existing macro/automation apps may have a chance for support if people give them crud about it.
[/rant]

As for the inital question: If I manage to get my hands on a release of Vista, I'll definately be playing around with all of the AHK functions to see what works (so far) and what doesn't.

Hi to all,

I am currently testing Vista build 5381 32bit and 64 bit. Most of the AHK functions works fine such as send, click, move...etc. But partially the functions that doesn't work are traytip (probably all balloon tips), blockinput and some run functions (i can do it though using the run dialog and just type the command from there). I am actually in a R&D company that is constantly updated with upcoming releases of OS may it be Mac or Windows.

To those people who knows or experienced any AHK functions that doesn't work on Vista please post your comments to let us know what to avoid using and instead look for any workaround.

Thanks.

I am really worried that a lot of AutoHotKey scripts will end up on this list of applications that won't run on Vista. http://www.pluralsite.com/wiki/default. ... fShame.htm

We have to try to focus on this as Windows XP will loose its value over the next (very) few years.

Identifying exactly which functions that work and don't would be the first step. Maybe creating a tester script that runs a test of all functions in AutoHotKey and sees if the result matches the expected result, would be a good idea?

I'm interested in this as well, but don't have a Vista installation to test with yet. If anyone finds out more, please post here.

Hi Chris,

I will be glad to test it on my end. I get to hold of the latest VISTA build as soon as its available from MS. But I would need help on creating the script that would test all or most of the commands in AHK. The script of course must contain a verification or log that this particular command does work in VISTA. What do you think?

I doubt I'll have the time to put together a comprehensive script (I doubt anyone else would want to either). To test every command, or even most of them, would take many hours to do properly.

I do have some integrity test suites that help detect bugs prior to each release. Although these test most commands, it's not in a way specifically geared to detect changes in a new OS like Vista.

Therefore, maybe it's best to focus on the most common commands that are most likely to be problematic, like ControlSend, Send, SendInput, BlockInput, SendMessage, and a few others.

Another thing to keep in mind that Micosoft can change things up until the last minute of Vista's release, so any results obtained should be considered tentative/preliminary.

Oh mighty AHKones,

I think there is plenty of willingness around to be able to test every AHK function in Vista, as long as it is somehow made easy and accessible for people to test and report the results. I´m not familiar with any testing applications, but I can´t see how a script can test functions on it´s own, or is the point of the script simply to automate and/or facilitate testing?

Would it be an idea to make a forum with a fix amount of threads, one for each AHK command and people could report their test results there? Perhaps if a testing program/script were made there could be a standard form to report test results, which would make it easier to go through all of the results? Perhaps even the testing program could automatically post the results to the correct forum thread?

I don´t have Vista yet -as I´m currently struggling to befriend my Intel Mac- but when I do I will definely want to customize a thing or two with AHK, and it would be a pleasure to report the results somewhere.

Hey Chris,

I have a Vista beta key you can have for free (un used and 100% legit).

The thing is you will need to find a copy of the latest Vista build somewhere.

I've emailed you. If you want the key, email me back and it's yours.

Hello fellow AHK users,
As it turns out blockinput, and several other commands do not work on Vista for need of elevated privileges for AutoHotKey. A way to make this always the case is to navigate to the folder that AutoHotKey was installed in, and right click on the application its self, go to properties>Compatibility>Show Settings For All Users, and check the box saying Run this program as an administrator. Hope this helps.