Author Topic: HowTo change global hotkey? (Read 17211 times)

Curt · « **on:** January 18, 2008, 01:08 PM »

For some time my Win+C have been used to open the Calculator, but I want to change it so the key will open the menu on a little new baby (e-Cat SpecChar) I want to test. I don't remember which program changed the hotkey in the first place long ago (but I feel sure I don't have it anymore), but I also don't know where or how to change this hotkey.

You must understand that in general I cannot remember hotkey combinations, so the first thing I normally do when I install a new program is to delete these confusing elements. I have ComfortKeys to handle the few hotkeys I do remember, but it says that Win+C is not occupied (

) - only, Calculator doesn't seem to know this. I also have WireKeys running, but with all hotkeys disabled, as far as I know.

A tricky little part may be that the new program will only open its menu via this hotkey - no hotkey: no program - and so must 'find' the hotkey by itself, I cannot direct the new hotkey to some file.

So WHERE and HowTo change global hotkeys, please?!
- or maybe

I should start by asking: How to get the hotkey away from Calculator?

sri · « **Reply #1 on:** January 18, 2008, 01:30 PM »

do you have AutoHotKey or any other key mapping program running?

Curt · « **Reply #2 on:** January 18, 2008, 01:39 PM »

No, AutoHotKey is way above my capacity...

Besides, I am not sure how to interpret the words "key mapping program". "Key mapping"??

lanux128 · « **Reply #3 on:** January 19, 2008, 05:52 AM »

~~do you have a shortcut to the Calculator in the start menu, quick launch area or on the desktop? check those *.lnk files to see if they contain the Win+c~~ no, those shortcuts can't be assigned with the Win-key.

A tricky little part may be that the new program will only open its menu via this hotkey - no hotkey: no program - and so must 'find' the hotkey by itself, I cannot direct the new hotkey to some file.
-Curt (January 18, 2008, 01:08 PM)

that sounds very rigid, maybe you should drop a hint to the author regarding this inflexibility.

another way is to use Autohotkey to execute the program. an example:

[Select]

#c::Run, %ProgramFiles%\UOSU\UOSU.exe

Curt · « **Reply #4 on:** January 19, 2008, 09:31 AM »

Sorry for been out of the house for so long when I had asked for your help at the same time!

As usual I didn't give enough informations from the beginning. This new program, SpecChar, is to be placed in Start. When started (no visible interface and no icon), the ONLY way to use it, is to first hit the hotkey! So the task is not to start the program, but to use it. Yes, I would very much like to mail the author, but the homepage doesn't offer such an option (and is in Russian), and I cannot open the program to reach her/him from there. I am tempted to install another of her/his programs just to see if there is an email address to be found, but I am hessitating - maybe even giving up trying.

lanux128 · « **Reply #5 on:** January 19, 2008, 09:56 AM »

or you can give AllChars a try, it provides almost similar functions minus the pop-up window.

Curt · « **Reply #6 on:** January 19, 2008, 01:03 PM »

..AllChars .. provides almost similar functions minus the pop-up window.
-lanux128 (January 19, 2008, 09:56 AM)

Thanks, lanux - I gave it a try because I am currious, but it is all hotkey combinations, which is not for me. I already have BabelMap (VERY competent AND gratis) and 'Text Editing Assistant', and really just wanted to try SpecChar because I would expect it to be faster to use due to the hotkey activation (I think I would be able to remember this ONE hotkey), so I am not into finding SOME "char"-program, only a faster-to-use one...

HowTo change global hotkey?

tomos · « **Reply #7 on:** January 19, 2008, 02:13 PM »

or you could try this one - [Win+S]

Sprankle is a handy keyboard activated character map. Find the character you need with leaving the keyboard.

Win+S to activate. Shift + key shows uppercase menu. Choose a number to select and it's pasted.

HowTo change global hotkey?

Can't believe I just found out about this.

Source included.
-Nighted (December 28, 2007, 10:08 AM)

edit: presumably they mean -
"Find the character you need without leaving the keyboard."

Curt · « **Reply #8 on:** January 19, 2008, 04:31 PM »

Sprankle is a handy keyboard activated character map.
-Nighted (December 28, 2007, 10:08 AM)
-tomos (January 19, 2008, 02:13 PM)

Yes, I read that, but I never gave it a second thought because of the reservations made by the author himself:

Sprankle is just a prototype, ....

Sprankle doesn't work on Mozilla Firefox (or other applications that do special keyboard processing). If anyone has an idea on how to fix this, please tell....

It might be better to implement Sprankle as a real IME so it integrates completely with the text field. I have no idea how to do this though, ...

Many of the symbols in the character set are not present in most fonts...
-from year 2004

[hint] Maybe Nighted can tell how well or bad Sprankle performs? [/hint]

Edit: Besides, how does one ask for special characters like | ð Þ ʤ or ξ by typing a normal character? Well, maybe it really can handle such a problem, so I must of course give it a chance and go download and test at once!

tomos · « **Reply #9 on:** January 19, 2008, 04:38 PM »

have a look at the thread that quote is from
or maybe you've seen it by now..
(Armando tells how "how well or bad Sprankle performs?")

Curt · « **Reply #10 on:** January 19, 2008, 05:12 PM »

Oh, the thread is still living. Well, they are not praising Sprankle too loudly...

Anyway, I see no reason to write FARR plugins for a very unfinished program which has been abandoned by its' author for more than 3 years. Why not aim a little higher and re-write the Sprankle itself? The author is literally asking for it!

Edit: I couldn't get the proram to display, because the hotkey was taken. I closed the owner, but then the hotkey was still taken, just by another program! So I will not be further testing this Sprankle.

Curt · « **Reply #11 on:** January 19, 2008, 05:40 PM »

This can really not be that hard. Forget about Sprankle. Click your special character's icon and it is injected to the clipboard. The smallest monitor is appr 800 pixels wide. One small icon is 16 pixels + 1 pixel for space = giving room for at least 45 favourite special characters, one character per icon, on a 800x18 pixels auto-hiding special tool / task -bar. If your screen is any wider you can have more characters. Mouser could write this over night. How about "you"?

Armando · « **Reply #12 on:** January 19, 2008, 06:06 PM »

I actually like Sprankle (more intuitive and usable than Windows' character map). The only problem -- as you already read -- is that it doesn't work with all applications. One remedy would be to modify the script to send the selected characters to the clipboard. Since the app is open source (in c++ I believe) anybody with C++ knowledge could propbably modify the code.

Armando · « **Reply #13 on:** January 19, 2008, 06:56 PM »

BTW, Curt, to which hotkey would've you liked to assign SpecChar's menu?

lanux128 · « **Reply #14 on:** January 19, 2008, 10:04 PM »

... and really just wanted to try SpecChar because I would expect it to be faster to use due to the hotkey activation (I think I would be able to remember this ONE hotkey), so I am not into finding SOME "char"-program, only a faster-to-use one...
-Curt (January 19, 2008, 01:03 PM)

well, at least it's comforting to know that the author has provided the source-code and if you can get someone who has a Delphi compiler, you can change the hotkey & recompile.. it's in the SpecChar.dpr file.

Curt · « **Reply #15 on:** January 20, 2008, 03:41 AM »

Win+K is free, "K" for Karakter = Character

lanux128 · « **Reply #16 on:** January 20, 2008, 08:30 AM »

great, now all you need is a free delphi compiler and it's good to go..

Curt · « **Reply #17 on:** January 20, 2008, 11:43 AM »

No, thank you. I know I have joined DonationCoder's forum, but that is not to say that I must become a coder myself.

Armando · « **Reply #18 on:** January 20, 2008, 04:21 PM »

Lanux, what should I use :

Turbo Delphi Explorer edition : For native Win32 programming in Delphi ?

lanux128 · « **Reply #19 on:** January 20, 2008, 08:42 PM »

i'm not sure, Armando.. ~~the last time i worked on Delphi, it was called Borland Developer Studio. maybe TurboExplorer is its natural successor.~~

try CodeGear RAD Studio 2007 which is available in a 30-day trial version.

• http://cc.codegear.com/free/delphi

Armando · « **Reply #20 on:** January 20, 2008, 10:48 PM »

Thanks Lanux. I'll try that tomorrow!

Darwin · « **Reply #21 on:** February 02, 2008, 08:44 AM »

It's not free, but Mophy Accents is super easy to install and use:

If you need an ä, simply press the right hand Alt key (Alt Gr) and the letter A. Mophy Accents shows you all the accented letter "A"s and you pick the one you want - simple!

HowTo change global hotkey?

Of course, there is skrommel's Accents as well, which is also very easy to use:

Press a key three times or more to apply accents.

Curt · « **Reply #22 on:** February 02, 2008, 10:18 AM »

Really nice program, Darwin. However, I very much dislike that the $20 Mophy Accents will occupy every AltGr+ combinations - I mean, don't we all have some combinations occupied by other programs? I certainly have!

Darwin · « **Reply #23 on:** February 02, 2008, 10:27 AM »

Dunno, Curt... I just use the left Alt key for everything else (it's the way I intuitively do it anyway) and I don't have anything else the specifies the AltGr key (right Alt key). YMMV, of course!

Armando · « **Reply #24 on:** February 02, 2008, 10:13 PM »

I like skrommel's Accents. I never saw it before.

Thanks Darwin.