AutoHotkey Community

[RatThing]

(Sorry, apparently I wasn’t logged in when I posted my message.)

Please let me know if this is possible to do (and, if so, how to do it):

I’d like to be able to “double–tap” the left Shift key to bring up an input window, enter a command into that window, then press Shift again to execute the command. The idea is to be able to enter commands entirely with the left Shift key and the keys on the left side of a split keyboard.

Much obliged,

— Rat

[Laszlo]

What command do you want to execute? For the case when it is the name of a Windows executable, the following scripts works. If it is a special command for a game, you have to replace "run" with "Send", or similar.

There are a few tricks:
- You can define LShift as a hotkey. It has to check if it was activated within 300 ms again, as a possible indication of a double tap.
- If you want to catch further LShifts (for sending commands), you have to exit the hotkey routine, but still do some work. It is done by starting a timer, which calls the Inp function every 10 ms. Inp stops this timer immediately after activation, so it is executed only once, but not within the LShift hotkey routine.
- If LShift was pressed and the active window is the InputBox, which has been started in the Inp routine, we can Send {Enter}, so LShift activates the command. Esc will close it, as mouse clicks.

[toralf]

Hi rat,
Please search the forum. There was a topic by ezuk with the same request to execute commands only with rapid CTRL key presses.


PS: I'll remove your duplicate post.
_________________
Ciao
toralf

[Laszlo]

But here we had the extra challenge that inside a hotkey routine the same hotkey has to be triggered again. This timer trick is not easy to figure out or find in the help (I have seen it, but forgot where).

[Litmus Red]

I really like your script, Lazlo.

I noticed the Start>Run window and Internet Explorer's Open window are also ahk_class #32770. Here's a modification of your script.

[toralf]

[Laszlo]

Thanks, toralf! I tried changing #MaxThreadsPerHotkey, as you suggest. It does allow simplifying the script (with the addition of Litmus Red):

[RatThing]

Wow, that’s amazing — I thought for sure it would be much more complicated than that. This AutoHotkey thing is awesome, as are you guys!

Since that worked out so well I wonder if you could tell me whether it’s possible to have a command enter as soon as I enter two keys. As an example, here’s what I’m doing currently (based on the script Laszlo provided):

[toralf]

Please read the manual.

You are looking for hotstrings in the above case.

Regarding the last wish: Why do you ask us to help you to do this, when you want to do another thing? You can just use hotkeys to run things. You do not have to use the input box, just the command "run" that is started called by a hotkey.

I highly recommend you to read the manual.
_________________
Ciao
toralf

[Laszlo]

Now the task is: double tapping on the left Control key activates a hotstring-like functionality, but without the foreground application receiving the keystrokes. AHK does not directly provides this, we have to program it with catching keys as they are pressed, echo them in a separate window (like TrayTip) and act upon a match. Here is a quickie with the basic idea. It is not as tricky as reactivating hotkeys. There are also many alternatives, like ToolTip, a GUI with an edit field, or not echoing the characters at all. In the later case Input with option L2 gets the 2-letter commands in one step. (Of course, the MsgBoxes have to be replaced with your actual commands.)

[RatThing]

[toralf as guest]

Hi Rat,
I understand the wish for a springboard. And we are most happy to provide one. But at the end it is best to ask the right questions in the beginning.

From what I read in your last post. This should do the same thing: