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Best Free Hotkey or Macro Recorder Utility
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Introduction
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Do you find yourself doing the same thing over and over again? Do you open the same program, then start another utility to help with that program, time after time, day after day? Are you visiting the same websites, or checking your email so many times a day that you lose count? Do you type the same text information so often that you could do it in your sleep? For those of you who answer “Yes” to any of those questions, there are programs that make those tasks fast, simple, and easy to perform called Hotkey and Macro Recorder utilities. Real time-savers, and let’s face it, who has enough time to do everything we want nowadays? With the right utility and a small amount of effort to learn and set up the program to suit your needs, you can enjoy your computing experience in a much more pleasant and productive way, and never be bored with those repetitive tasks again! |
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Discussion
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Before we discuss hotkey utilities I should note that it is perfectly possible to create hotkeys from within Windows itself. You can find full instructions how to do this in our article: How to Create a Custom Hotkey for Your Favorite Application or Folder. AutoHotkey needs to be mentioned up front, and separated from the rest of the pack. It is not a hotkey utility, technically it is a macro utility. What this means is that it automates tasks by playing back a 'recorded' sequence of inputs, either directly into the OS or by controlling the behavior of HID (Human input devices) such as your mouse, or keyboard. It is built around the AutoIt scripting language which enables users to write a script, or download and modify others to their use. Its technical learning curve is somewhat steep for complex use, but for basic automation it's very usable, requiring only a little patience, and some willingness to practice. In good conscience it can't be recommended as a simple hotkey utility, because it's like using a bazooka to swat a fly. However, at the same time for those looking for a much more powerful solution to their needs that cannot be solved with any of the more conventional hotkey utilities, then so long as you can do it by hand AutoHotkey can do it through a script. For average users a good choice is PS Hot Launch VVL. This is a free utility that allows you to define your own hotkeys so that a single key press can launch an application, insert commonly used text, change your audio volume, or just about anything else. The program requires Win95/98/ME or WinNT/2000/XP, and is an excellent performer even on slow machines. PS Hot Launch is the perfect alternative to the Start menu and the Quick Launch panel. A second option for average users is Qliner Hotkeys. It's strength is ease of use, wide support for international keyboard layouts, plus a handy reminder key that flashes up your current hotkey assignments. Just hold the Windows key for three seconds and up pops an on-screen keyboard display with icons on the keys that are configured. You can use this not only to remind you of hotkey combinations, but also for Drag and Drop configuration. On the minus side, it's not quite as flexible as PS Hot Launch. It runs under Windows 2003, Windows XP, and Windows Vista, but requires that Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 be installed. Still another choice, which is not really a hotkey utility at all but achieves the same result by using "magic words", is SlickRun. SlickRun does what some users have always used a simple Windows hack to do. It enables defining aliases in Windows. It's possible to edit the environment variables to add a special folder to the paths variable, and the lnk extension to Pathext variable. Then you would just put links named intuitively into that directory, and execute them from the run dialog. For example, dls could take you to your download directory, and docs to your My Documents folder. This program does all of that for you, without having to edit environment variables, and with autocomplete thrown in for good measure, nor is it restricted to things you can create links to within the OS. If you're looking to speed up your ability to access to common parts of your computer or websites, and are keyboard oriented, then this is a great program to look into. Other Products to be Reviewed
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Requires Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0
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This software category is in need of an editor. If you are interested in taking it over then check out this page for more details. You can then contact us from that page or by clicking here. |
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Tags
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hotkey, hot key, macro recorder, macro utility, free launcher, freeware |
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Comments
I've added more Macro utilities at 22.10. (http://www.techsupportalert.com/content/probably-best-free-security-list...) in case anyone's interested.
how about hotkeyP ?
Clavier is all I need. Easy to learn and use.
Okay none of these worked for me. Not. One.
I do not want to learn a new programming language; in the time that it would take, I could have just typed in the text manually over and over and be done with it. I just want a program that does this:
Define hotkey
Hotkey does this: insert predefined text
That's it. Not one of these programs is capable of doing this.
How hard could it be?
[edit] Poor taste comment about a medical condition removed.
Hi - Texter will (sort of) do this - it's from Lifehacker. Texter is very simple and dedicated application for exactly this purpose: you define 'strings' to be replaced with text - so you could define "addr" to mean your address and texter would replace the letters 'addr' with your full, multi line address, for example.
I find this actually easier than a hotkey - mainly because you can define your own letter combinations, that actually mean something.
It's Windows only, I'm afraid.
I'm not affiliated with Lifehacker in any way - I just use Texter to get things done!
Save something like this in a textfile with an ahk extension:
!j::hello world{enter}
That does what you want (assuming alt-J) and the learning curve consists of a relatively tiny amount of reading and thinking.
Autohotkey has a steep learning curve IF you want to use it for more than defining hotkeys to do straightforward things. Otherwise, it could hardly be easier.
http://fungusware.com/index.php/products/filesavvy/
Never tried it myself, but it should fit on your review.
I recommend Hotkeyz, after trying PS Hot Launch VVL, and Clavier
Hotkeyz does all the important things, including loading a webpage, inserted user defined text, even shutting down the computer, even for the novice
Clavier may have a faster text entry function (ie hotkey copies user defined text into a field) than Hotkeyz, but isnt as comprehensive
Note: I had initially tried AutoHotKey - probably a good program but way too complicated for a novice who just wants basic functions, like loading a webpage ! Learning curve too high for novices who dont have time to learn programming. The website also has too few step by step tutorials and programming CODE examples, for the basic 10 functions most people want.
PS Hot Launch VVL was fine, but not as comprehensive as Hotkeyz
I avoid anything that needs NET framework. If a program isnt elegant enough to stand on its own, its not worth it. I try to avoid bloat on my computers. Thus I avoided Qliner's Hotkeys
How is Do It Again? http://www.spacetornado.com/DoItAgain/
GREAT stuff. I've been looking for a really great hotkey prog since moving to w7. I used to use one simply called "Hotkeys" in my XP days. Your website - and all the comments - have been very helpful.
Right now I'm trying Clavier+. It's actually very close to "Hotkeys", and works in w7.
Thanks so much.
Autohotkey might be malware. I read elsewhere that it lets script writers write to registry.
And because it lets script writers make compiled versions (.exe), anyone with evil intent could bundle a rootkit with an .exe version of the script.
Once the .exe gets launched, the bundled rootkit could write to the registry, a boot entry to part of the hard drive hidden from the Master File Table and the Windows APIs used to detect running processes.
In short, Autohotkey might be too dangerous to risk using it.
"Windows might be malware. I read elsewhere that it lets programmers write to registry. Anyone with evil intent could bundle a rootkit in an .exe. In short, Windows might be too dangerous to risk using it."
/sarcasm
Come on, seriously? ANY .exe can do something malicious; don't download compiled versions of AHK scripts if you're that concerned, but then you'd better not download any compiled software at all. As with anything online, good judgement is all that's required.
You can say the same to all programming languages.
Also, since the scripts are compiled, it doesn't matter if you're using it or not to get infected.
In short, it's a foolish reason not to use it.
Does the fact that you can write malicious scripts make AutoHotKey itself malware?
I wouldn't think so.
Was looking for a simple shortcut utility, Clavier+ is my favourite, light and easy but powerful, just smart!
Autohotkey has a 64-bit variant called AutoHotkey_L, that works fine on Windows 7 for my simple scripts. It has native support for 64-bit, COM and Unicode.
AutoHotkey_L: http://www.autohotkey.net/~Lexikos/AutoHotkey_L/
AutoHotkey_L also comes in a 32 bit version. I would recommend newbies use AutoHotkey_L as opposed to the original AHK. The original has more than one "mode" for syntax that's very confusing, even to experienced programmers(sometimes text strings are in double quotes, sometimes unquoted.) Also AutoHotkey_L has built in object and COM support. AutoHotkey(both versions) has superior hotkey capabilities when it comes to mouse hotkeys(such as holding down Control key while clicking middle mouse button etc..) For keyboard only hotkeys, a new programmer may find AutoIt3 much easier to pick up. It has a syntax very much like Basic. For..Next, While..Wend loops, Select Case and Switch statements. I often use them together in a program with AHK doing the mouse hotkey work and the body of the app in AutoIt3.
In either case, they are both superior to using the unreliable Windows shortcut hotkey technique. That's as close to a waste of time as I ever spent in Windows.
Was a HotkeyP user until I switched to Win-7. Looked around for a replacement that surely worked on 64bit and found Clavier+ in the comments here. Very nice!
I am using Pxax Daemon http://pxax.com/daemon
It's portable & supports my win7 64 bit. Also it comes with its task scheduler which is useful for me...
Pxax Daemon looks very interesting - thanks! If it has low resource overhead, is stable and customizable, it can be a strong contender as a top macro tool. I'm bookmarking to try it out later.
when are you going to review autoit?
I like DoItAgain. It is simple and portable too.
http://www.spacetornado.com/DoItAgain/
:-)
Hey, thanks for the tip. I just downloaded it, and it is really easy to use. This is the only automation software I've found which completely caters to the beginner, I just couldn't even begin to understand the others, which I found too technical. They have made it so straightforward, it was exactly what I needed.
Hi!
I can never understand these lists of seemingly unrelated comments. What were you replying to? What "tip" did you get? What software are you talking about?
Any help would be appreciated.
BB Dummy
You can tell by the indentation on the left of the comments. A reply will come underneath and be indented further right than the previous.
I just found out about macro recorder utilities and came across your website. Thank you for compiling this list. It's very useful. Keep it up!
You may want to look into Signo as well (www.kerkia,com). This is a hotkey manager which includes tons of built-in actions such as auto-correct, Windows management (switch between monitor, snap to borders, hide, tray, etc.), screen capture, magnify, etc.
What about PowerPro?
I'll take a look.
Sorry for the delay in getting all the new software reviewed. It's a little hard since I want to do more than just test them out, I want to see if they really integrate well enough to become everyday use.
At the moment I am using HotKeyz, its a freeware program that I am very impressed with, very light on system resources and you can edit/add any number of hot keys, and also does stuff like turning monitor off, volume control, launch program, etc, check it out.
Gl.
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