AutoIt

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I’ve found this great little automator program called AutoIt. It’s like a very simple (and obviously limited) VBS and works well for automating or scheduling things like backups, file moves, deletions etc.
Check it out here, see what you think.
Peter

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I’ve never tried it, but this one has been mentioned here in The Lounge before, like in this TimOz post.

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And I’m still a believer. I’ve found AutoIt handy for conditional execution of scheduled tasks. For example, i use it to regularly check for info at certain sites, but only if my dalup connection is live. It’s also great for automating access though layers of dialogs to a buried setting(s) that you may want to toggle or change frequently. I’ve limited my use of it to the “quick & dirty” end of the scale, but it’s robust, capable of far more, and well worth knowing about..

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Hi Tim,

I

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Diegol, I’m glad you intend to , politely . I found it one of the best for freeware. It has all the information you need, and is a good reference once you get a feel for AutoIt. Because of the amount of information, it can seem a bit overwhelming at first.

You asked about doing a script from scratch. Notepad, or whatever your favourite text editor is, is fine to edit scripts. My approach is to cheat, if possible, and find the closest thing to what I need, then hack it to suit. To that end, it’s worth downloading and looking at the sample scripts from the site – they vary from basic to “what the ?” . The (v2) example script to kill GeoCities and Tripod sponsor windows is a good example of a simple and effective script. I’ve also appended a small script to refresh my broker’s screen during the day so I can keep an eye on the share prices.

If you want to try something basic, from “scratch” (and if the manual and examples haven’t scared you off), I can try to coach you through it. No promises though, as is often the case, a simple need doesn’t always succumb to a simple solution.
[indent]

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; Sanford Refresh – Run by Task Scheduler every 20mins during trading hours & days

; Allow window headings in TaskBar & Icon Tray to be ‘seen’
detecthiddentext, on
; Skip if dial up connection not in use
ifwinnotexist, Connected to, , goto, DONE
; Skip if broker screen not open
ifwinnotexist, Sanford: , , goto, DONE

; Restore broker screen, make it the active window, and refresh it.
winrestore, Sanford:
winactivate, Sanford:
winwaitactive, Sanford:
send, {F5}

DONE:
exit

---

[/indent]

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Tim,

Thanks for your prompt response. I swear I’ve been trying to, but my daily chores kept my hands from engaging the time-consuming funny-manual-reading operation.
Your script example shows how AutoIt can be put to some real good use. This refresh thing is a major drawback most of us go thru, still very little are so open-minded to think it can be solved (because the solution is way too far from our common usage of PCs – call it ignorance, that’s my case). And I’m sure there are many such other annoyances that one thinks of getting rid of once they get to know this kind of apps.
So… here is my promise: “I will post back as soon as I my rear can rest a while long enough to let me read till I sense that I have, if not mastered, at least understood the basics of the allmighty AutoIt“. Amen.

I am confident that a good reading will suffice. Should it not, I’ll opt for your kind trying to coach offer (BTW… do you KNOW what you’re getting into?? )

Thank you very much

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Hey, there was a disclaimer with that offer! What’s life without a few risks anyway?

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Ahhrghh, I knew it!!! I never read the small print!!!
BTW… your acceptance of the challenge makes me think you have a different conception of what ‘few’ means… maybe you’re trying to redefine it?

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Redefine? [indent]

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When I use a word, it means just what I choose it to mean – neither more nor less

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[/indent] (Humpty Dumpty, in “Alice Through The Looking Glass”, by Lewis Carroll)

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Now, wait up a sec!

A few hours from my last post I can say I thoroughly read the manual, and am up to nearly any programming task .
Well, maybe not just so, but at least I understand the basics and feel eager to optimize many simple mouse-and-keyboard driven steps.

My first script is attached below, buy I must admit to having mostly copied and pasted from one of the FAQs. It’s purpose is to get directly to the always shy Install/Uninstall Programs dialog box. It’ll run on a Win 98 Spanish PC, so you’ll have to tweak it a little for it to work in an English Win Ver. The keystrokes and the windows’ titles mainly.

—— Script Starts HERE

Send, ^{ESC}
Send, c
Send, {ENTER}
WinWaitActive, Panel de control
Send, aa{ENTER}
winclose, Panel de control
Exit

—— Script Ends HERE

As you’ll notice by its lower case, all my glory lies in the “winclose” command, which is the only one I really had to put in the alrady compiled script.

Thanks Tim, hope to be able to find many other wastes of time to do away with.

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You’re well on the way! I think I’ll downgrade the tutoring offer to “maybe help debug” . The real fun starts when you get ambitious and think you’ve got it licked. Let me know if you find a way to automatically restock the beer fridge.

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I’ve just checked back and I’m not sure but I do believe I first got AutoIt from TimOz’s post. Oops, I wasn’t trying to steal anyone’s thunder.
Any way it is a great little program.
Peter

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I’m big, bad & ugly enough to look after my own thunder (besides the initial rumblings belong to unkamunka almost a year ago). Anyway, I’m glad you like it Peter . It’s one of those little gems that crop up now and then. And the great thing about it is that it costs nothing to share.

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