A hotkey is a combination of keystrokes that initiates actions in the Windows operating system (OS). For example, the Windows clipboard has reserved several hotkeys such as Ctrl-c (^c) for copying selected text into the clipboard, while ^x cuts selected text and ^v pastes it. These clipboard hotkeys are common to most Windows text-based applications. Hotkeys Macros allows you to create your own hotkeys, which can be programmed to perform virtually any task in the Windows OS.

A Hotkeys Macros program represents lines of instructions for the Windows operating system to perform when a corresponding hotkey is pressed. Macro instructions are the equivalent of typing and/or clicking to the active window or issuing system commands to the OS. With the Hotkeys Macro Event Recorder any action you can do in Windows can be recorded into a macro file and reproduced by pressing an associated hotkey, no programming required. However, if you are familiar with "Basic" style programming such as VBScript, then along with keystrokes and mouse clicks, the Hotkeys Macros language includes 60 system commands to provide complete control of the Windows OS. The functionality of these commands is described in the Hotkeys Macros Tutorial.

The Hotkeys Macro Editor allows you to create a macro by recording keystrokes and mouse clicks or by writing a macro from scratch. A single macro file can contain the code for many hotkeys, which can work independently or as a single program unit. Macro files can be organized so that a main macro uses the other macros like functions  There are 4 attributes that define a Hotkeys Macro: the keystrokes that define the hotkey, a description of the macro, an enable flag and the actions to take when the hotkey is pressed.

The Hotkeys Macro Interpreter checks the code for syntax and logic errors and must be error free before it can run. Any errors are highlighted and reported in the Hotkeys Editor and once the macro code is error free the Macro Interpreter can execute the code.

Click here to see some sample macros programs.

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Recording A Macro

1. Select the New button in the Macro Editor or Make Hotkeys Macro in the ReadClip menu.

2. Perform a series of tasks via mouse clicks and keystrokes.

3. Click on the ReadClip icon to complete the recording and write the events to the Macro Editor.

4. Edit (if required) the macro code in the Macro Editor and define the hotkey that will activate the code.

5. Save the new hotkey code to the current Hotkeys file.

6. Enable all Hotkeys and press the hotkey to run the macro. (or Run the macro from the Macro Editor)