🤫 Unveiling the Secret to Automate Old Unruly Windows Programs!
Channel: AUTOHOTKEY Gurus
Date: 2023-04-27

Older windows programs are easy to automate with AutoHotkey using their menus.  This simple script will write the v1 or v2 code for you!  You can get the script here:  https://the-Automator.com/MenuWriter

UPDATE:  We just updated the script with the following changes
1) Double-clicking now copies the syntax to the clipboard
2) Control+Double-click now performs the action and copies to clipboard
3) We added an in-line comment explaining what action will be triggered
4) we fixed a bug where typing in the search triggered events.

1. 00:00 💻 Automator script simplifies automation of older Windows programs with V1 and V2 code options.
 1.1 Automator created a script that writes the syntax for automating older Windows programs, making it easy to use with both V1 and V2 code options.

2. 00:54 🔍 Use the tool's search function to find specific font options in the program.
 2.1 The tool checks if a window has a Windows 32 menu, which can be used for automation, by listing all the options in the menu with their paths.
 2.2 Use the built-in search function to find specific font options by double-clicking on the font option in the program.

3. 02:58 💻 Sending a specific message to a window automates Windows without interacting with the GUI.
 3.1 Sending a specific message to a window is the best way to automate Windows, as it opens the action or sends the notification for the action without interacting with the GUI.

4. 04:25 💻 Automate program by selecting code, copying to clipboard, and pasting into toolkit to run script.
 4.1 The speaker demonstrated how to automate a program by selecting the type of code, copying the action to the clipboard, and pasting it into their toolkit to run the script.

5. 05:47 📰 Adjust code to get the active title right and set title match mode to ensure correct ID matching.

6. 07:10 💻 Programs can perform actions like changing language without a button or mouse click.
 6.1 You can access the font window and perform various actions such as copy-pasting, replacing, and changing languages in many programs' menus.
 6.2 Programs with full menus can be programmatically triggered to perform actions, such as changing language, without the need for a button or mouse click.

7. 09:50 👨‍💻 Use Ctrl G and filtering in Fiddler to remove sessions, and accessing old Windows menus can be helpful for automating older programs and identifying menu IDs.
 7.1 The speaker demonstrates how to remove all sessions in Fiddler by using the Ctrl G shortcut and utilizing the filtering feature to easily find options.
 7.2 Accessing old Windows menus can be useful for automating older programs and identifying menu IDs, and while newer APIs may become available in the future, it is still a valuable tool.

8. 12:14 💻 APIs simplify coding by automating tasks and providing reliable functionality.
 8.1 APIs are reliable and write code for you, making them simple to use.