I just listened to the episode 118 (ask the automators) and would like to share some of my own Windows Automation workflows.
There is a script based automation tool called AutoHotKey (AHK). This is a very powerful tool to write automations of all sorts. You write a script with the proper syntax and save the file as an .ahk file. When you run it, it runs in the background and waits for the trigger to happen. When a trigger is detected it starts executing the script in the background. I use it for the following purposes:
-
text expansion
Since this is a trigger based automation, you can have multiple automations in one script file. I have made a dedicated one for text expansion.
The syntax for text expansion is in this format -
:*:trigger:*:expanded text -
hotkeys to run apps
The following scripts run todoist on when I pres windows +t
;launch todoist with "Win+t"
#t::
IfWinExist, ahk_exe Todoist.exe
WinActivate, ahk_exe Todoist.exe
Else
Run C:\Users\geetm\AppData\Local\Programs\todoist\Todoist.exe
sleep 2000
WinActivate, ahk_exe Todoist.exe
RETURN
There is a lot more AHK can do but i think this should be a good starting point for someone to get into it. It is available for free, i think it is open source and there is a huge community around it.
You could check out atext (alpha text) on windows store if you want a GUI based text expansion or hotkey tool. Most of its features are free with a few limitations that can be removed with a one time purchase.
Next tool i think that should be pointed out is Microsofts power tools. They make this collection of utilities that come in handy a lot.
- color picker tool - allows you to identify the hex code or rgb values of any color on the screen and give complementary and adjacent colors as well.
- power rename - you can rename multiple files with regex or just simple text replacement from the right click menu.
- Always on top- force any app to stay on top with a simple hotkey
- File Lock Smith - if a file is locked by a program but you can’t find what program is using it, you can use file locksmith from the right click menu to find what program has that file open.
SnipDo is a PopClip alternative for windows. It is available for free to start with. It has a huge list of extensions for text manipulation and sending the highlighted text to other third party services. It is definitely worth trying. It is available in the windows store.