AutoHotkey Community

[David Andersen]

This script has saved me hours of really boring work, so I thought I should share it with you guys.

This script looks for a repetitive pattern in your keystrokes and mouse clicks. When it is sure that it has discovered a repetitive pattern, it asks you whether you would like to repeat the pattern for example 100 times.



The script is especially useful in Excel where I keep ending up in the situation where I have to make a small modification to 100 cells (like adding a $ somewhere across a range of formulas). With this script I make the modification to three cells so the script is sure there is a pattern. Then I just sit back and watch the magic.

The script is also supposed to recognize a pattern in your mouse clicks. This is notoriously difficult, because the script cannot know whether the user meant to do the same action even though he clicked 10 pixels to the right compared to last time. I have tried to solve this by creating a function where the script takes the freedom to force your mouse to the last position if it suspects that you are doing something repetitive and come close to the position you clicked at the last time. Get it? This part is although at best very buggy so please help me with this part.

How to test the script:
- Start the script
- Start typing this exact text (do not use copy and paste):
egg egg egg egg egg egg egg egg egg

At some point the script will discover the pattern and a tooltip will arise asking you to hold down the Windows Button (to the right of your left control button) and press V. Then it will ask you how many times you would like to repeat the task (as shown on the screenshot).

In the future the following functionality should be included in the script:
- It should recognize Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday as a pattern and automate the typing of the rest of the values. This goes for the months of the year, the alphabet, numbers (even 2, 4, 6). These patterns should be saved in INI files. I took the liberty of making a wiki for it at http://www.autohotkey.com/wiki/index.php?title=Repeater_Patterns so you can add more.

- The script should recognize that the computer is working using the code below so it will not run faster than the computer can handle.
- The script should record the title of the window you are working in and stop if the window title is not the same as when the pattern was recorded
- The user should be able to save the patters and recall them using a user-defined hotkey.

I hope you find this helpful. Please help make this script into the Rolls Royce of scripts.

Code of the script:

[majkinetor]

Nice, I was thinking to create the same thing but for universal usage.
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[David Andersen]

Good to hear that you like it. It is actually for universal usage. You can for example copy and paste lots of data between applications by using ALT+TAB to switch between the windows.

[majkinetor]

No need for that, I user more serious tool to handle clipboard (CLCL).

But some for of repetitive keyboard operation, is present everywhere from time to time.
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[majkinetor]

I just tested it. It is amazing. Much better then what I have planned. In my visions I had to record keystorkes to be repeated, but automatic handling is much much beter.

Superb script David. Thx for creating it.
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[David Andersen]

I am really happy you found it useful. I really hope we can make it better so also the ability to use the mouse will work.

[majkinetor]

Well, for mouse you can't catch patern, so it will be very hard. Also, every pixel counts, so if you move a win just a little it will not be good. Contrary to that, you can do whatever you like when keyboard is in question.

I will think about this more. Some less flexible solution can certanly be made.
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[David Andersen]

Hi majkinetor

To see how the intended solution will work do the following while the script is running:

type "d", then click the mouse, type "d" then click the mouse at the exact same spot, repeat this a couple of times. Then try to move your mouse slightly, notice that the mouse gets sucked to the exact position you have been clicking. If you force it away, the script will "give up" and you can move your mouse freely. In this way the the script can be sure that you really wanted to click at the same spot.

[David Andersen]

I have added a small fix for control + c and control + v to function more stabile:

[majkinetor]

I have one suggestion. Can you add hotkeys to configuration at the top of the script ?


I tried d mouse d mouse and I must say I am not happy about that solution. Its hardly possible not to move the mouse. This should work without influencing current mouse position, just by simulating clicks.

Well, it would have to remember mouse coordinates based on the active window, so you can move window around and still have the ability to automate.

The bottom line: Mouse (double)clicks and realtive coordinates are saved, and keyboard presses. When you repeat, you do by sending mouse clicks on those positions. You should have configuration option for mouse treshold. Lets say I want to select one word, double it then do that with next word. The pattern si this:

ctrl shift right, click B, ctrl right arrow
Now if you repeat this patern 10 times, you will have 10 words bold.

You see that "click B" part is very hard to record, as B is button and this patern is hard to reproduce without suptile errors. This can be fixed by two things.

1. Add option to specify pattern manuely, or to edit the recorded patern
2. Add treshold to mouse position. Lets say B is clicked in the middle of the button first time. Second time, slightly bellow middle, third time the button is clicked but in upper left corner. If you set treshold to clicks, lets say 20px, it will catch every click as it is button center click.
3. Perhaps, upon click, yoru script should check what control is clicked and postion. Then if control is the same and position is similar you can add control to the pattern:
ctrl shift right, Button24 X14 Y20, ctrl right arrow


Fine suggestion would be to save patern for future reference. There are many places where the same patterns are repeated constantly.

Well, I hope you don't mind ideas.
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[David Andersen]

Thanks a lot for your ideas! As I understood from the beginning that the task of making this script into a Rolls Royce is huge I would really appreciate your help with implementing these ideas.

I understand your suggested mouse functionality and I love the idea of recording the control you were clicking on (this would work in some cases, although not well in Excel), but I believe I have a better suggestion:
In your example: ctrl shift right, click B, ctrl right arrow (i guess "click B" means that you use the mouse to click on the bold icon i.e. in Word) the script would record:
ctrl shift right, left mouse 240, 200, ctrl right arrow

if you the second time click
ctrl shift right, left mouse 232, 212, ctrl right arrow

Then the script will have a clue that you are doing something repetitive because the mouse clicks are relatively near. The third time, the script will use its function to "suck" the mouse towards the 232, 212 position, if you resist, it will give up, but if you don't it will know that you are doing something repetitive.

It is a good suggestion to make the mouse clicks relative to the position of the window.

It would be great if we could implement the ability to manually specify the pattern, this could be combined with the function to save the patterns.

[majkinetor]

[David Andersen]

That's a good idea have a list of the saved patterns.

I have cleaned up the code a bit and added quite a few comments to make it easier for you to understand the code. Basically it can be described as this:

loop
{
save_all_keypresses(key)
}

save_all_keypresses(key)
{
checkIfThereIsAPattern(array_of_keys)
}

checkIfThereIsAPattern(array_of_keys)
{
if(thereIsAPatternInTheKeys) askUserIfHeWantsAPlayBack()
}

playBackPattern(array_of_keys, startOfPattern, lengthOfPattern)
{
send, {key}{key}{mouseclick}
}

[majkinetor]

Thx.
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[David Andersen]

Another idea for future development would be that the script uses UrlDownload on the Wiki page containing all the patterns (like January, February, etc): http://www.autohotkey.com/wiki/index.php?title=Repeater_Patterns

The script should download a fresh version each time it starts up.

This function would require rendering of the Wikipage converting it into an INI file (but this would be great functionality anyway for other scripts which could benefit from collaborative editing).

After a while there could be an extensive ini/wiki containing all imaginable patterns. Ok, maybe I am naive, but it would certainly be great!