Download the AutoHotKey file.
There is no need to install the program, so you should not need administrator access to your computer.
Download the Getting Started template
Move both files to your desktop for convenience during setup. (They probably saved in a Downloads file.) Now is a good time to rename the template if you would like to do so.
These files can later be moved to any folder, or a USB drive. As you begin to build your script, you should occasionally save a backup copy.
Starting the Script
Select the template (one click). You do not need to open it at this time.
Drag and drop the template onto the AutoHotKey program icon.
A small green ‘H’ icon should appear in the lower right tool bar. If you don’t see it, you may need to expand the bar.
What just happened?
The file labelled “Getting Started Template” is a script. It contains instructions that we will later customize to your practice. Even better, we will be able to share scripts that others have already created, and customize those to your practice as well.
When you drag the script over the AutoHotKey icon, the AutoHotKey program will follow the instructions running in that script. You can see that your script is active by hovering over the green AutoHotKey icon in the lower right hand task bar - you will see that the name of your script appears. If you right click on the green AutoHotKey icon, you will see options to pause or exit the script.
Open any program that you use to generate text - your medical record, email or word processing program.
Type the word ‘quick’ and then press the spacebar.
The word ‘quick’ should disappear and be replaced with the sentence “The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.”
What just happened?
The word ‘quick’ is the ‘hot key’; typing quick is a bit like typing ‘otw’ in your phone, which autocorrect changes to ‘on the way.’ Our script has instructed our computer to change the word ‘quick’ to the sentence ‘The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.’
We used the spacebar after the hot key to indicate that we were ready for the script to step in and expand our hot key. If we had typed ‘quickly,’ the script would not have acted on it.
This will be a different when we use a different type of command later.
Why the spacebar? The script will expand hot keys when they are followed by an end character: space, comma, question mark, period, return.
I can use the hotkey “dexmed” to write any of the following without altering any keystroke that I would normally use in that line of text:
Dexmedetomine 150 ug OR give additional dexmedetomidine, if needed… OR I would avoid dexmedetomidine.
Try another prompt: #me. I chose to include the # before me in this case, so that it doesn’t insert my whole signature when I type “Please feel free to contact me….”
Our template has examples of a few other text expansion functions built into it. Let’s take a look.
Type ‘supercali’; AHK should expand into ‘supercalifragilisticexpialidocious’, without requiring an end character to prompt the text expansion. This is an example of the ‘now’ function, that acts as soon as the hot key sequence is typed.
Type ‘bannana’; AHK should correct this to ‘banana’. Using the ‘now’ function in this way is a great way to build your own autocorrect for your commonly misspelled or mistyped words.
Now it’s time to open the Getting Started Template. Double click the file to open. If prompted, select Notepad as the application to edit the template.
The script might look a little intimidating. But, if you are on this website, I know that you are capable to tackling things that seem intimidating. Let’s break it down.
Ignore the first set of lines and don’t edit them: They give the initial instructions of the script.
Note: lines that start with a semicolon are not instructions to the program - they are where you can makes notes to yourself or organize your script. I’ve included some notes in the template to guide you through the different types of commands.
Work through the first set of instructions, stopping after the line: ; Test your new, customized shortcuts, and considering adding a few more. Save your file, drag and drop onto the AHK program and accept the new instance (press “yes”.) Test it out and take a break.
Built in bonuses
Two bonuses are built into the template:
Left window key toggle: This brings up the previous window. Personally, I like to open up the electronic record and electronic treatment sheet, and use this button to switch between the two.
Kg to Kg + Lb: For clients, type the pet’s weight as: x kgg - it will be converted to x kg (y lb).
The key to building a highly useful script is to test and edit over time. When you’ve built a few of your own hot keys, move on to the next section of our site to learn how to integrate scripts from our shared library.