ToolBox and AutoHotKey
I've been getting quite a lot of emails regarding ToolBox my little application launcher which I've been developing since 1996. Most users are asking for a hot-key feature that will allow them to bring ToolBox to front with the press of a button.
I have looked at how to implement such a feature, years ago, and when I found out that I had to write a keyboard hook I decided to resist the temptation and keep ToolBox as "clean" and non-intrusive as possible. What is more, the portable nature of ToolBox (it can run from almost everywhere, doesn't need installation, etc.), requires some consideration on how far new features can go into the host's internals.
Having decided to provide some solution to those emails, I did a bit of investigation on third-party tools that could be used to bring an application to the front and I found a real Gem!:
AutoHotKey is an open-source utility that can do just that. With a simple script that looks like this:
...you can bring ToolBox to the front by pressing Win+Z. Bliss!
I have looked at how to implement such a feature, years ago, and when I found out that I had to write a keyboard hook I decided to resist the temptation and keep ToolBox as "clean" and non-intrusive as possible. What is more, the portable nature of ToolBox (it can run from almost everywhere, doesn't need installation, etc.), requires some consideration on how far new features can go into the host's internals.
Having decided to provide some solution to those emails, I did a bit of investigation on third-party tools that could be used to bring an application to the front and I found a real Gem!:
AutoHotKey is an open-source utility that can do just that. With a simple script that looks like this:
#z::
IfWinExist ToolBox
WinActivate
return
...you can bring ToolBox to the front by pressing Win+Z. Bliss!
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