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#11
General Discussion / Re: Hotkey oddity
Last post by Paul (Lead Developer) - May 31, 2026, 01:12:57 PMThe "numpad#" trick has been there since the beginning. 
Also for resizing a window, you can specify "numpad3" to resize the window to the bottom-third of the desktop, or as "numpad5" to center it in the middle of the desktop, and even as "numpad46" to resize it as a strip across the middle-third of the desktop (since keys 4 to 6 are across the middle of the numeric keypad).
Also for resizing a window, you can specify "numpad3" to resize the window to the bottom-third of the desktop, or as "numpad5" to center it in the middle of the desktop, and even as "numpad46" to resize it as a strip across the middle-third of the desktop (since keys 4 to 6 are across the middle of the numeric keypad).
#12
General Discussion / Re: Hotkey oddity
Last post by oblivion - May 30, 2026, 10:50:09 PMIf you think I'm going to roll back to 24H2 (I do have a full backup, I could, but argh) you have another think coming. 
The refresh trigger list: yes, that's a useful thing to know, I'll try to remember that.
By the way, I just spotted the move to numpad# option for windows and mouse movements (in your Toolbox vs Autohotkey comparison post) and yay! Is that newish, or is it just one of the (many!) things in Toolbox I'd failed to notice / register when I was writing things?
At a tangent: the comparison between Autohotkey and Toolbox is interesting and useful. I'd also add that Toolbox scripts mostly don't need to be completely rewritten when there's a Toolbox version change -- I have an extremely complex Autohotkey script at work that operates as an automation robot: takes data from one source and copies it to another, in the absence of a "proper" backend interface. It was written in Autohotkey v1 and fails so hard in Autohotkey v2 it'd make your head spin.
The refresh trigger list: yes, that's a useful thing to know, I'll try to remember that.
By the way, I just spotted the move to numpad# option for windows and mouse movements (in your Toolbox vs Autohotkey comparison post) and yay! Is that newish, or is it just one of the (many!) things in Toolbox I'd failed to notice / register when I was writing things?
At a tangent: the comparison between Autohotkey and Toolbox is interesting and useful. I'd also add that Toolbox scripts mostly don't need to be completely rewritten when there's a Toolbox version change -- I have an extremely complex Autohotkey script at work that operates as an automation robot: takes data from one source and copies it to another, in the absence of a "proper" backend interface. It was written in Autohotkey v1 and fails so hard in Autohotkey v2 it'd make your head spin.
#13
Announcements / AlomWare Toolbox vs AutoHotkey
Last post by Paul (Lead Developer) - May 30, 2026, 09:19:24 PMQuite often the question arises of how AlomWare Toolbox compares to AutoHotkey. Basically, AutoHotkey is a full programming language, whereas AlomWare Toolbox is more of a scripting tool that can achieve similar things to AutoHotkey but on a smaller and less technical scale. This is partly why AlomWare Toolbox was created: because AutoHotkey is just too hard and complicated for the everyday PC user to deal with. Not everybody is a programmer, and neither do they want to invest the time and effort into becoming one.
So, let's compare both products to see how they'd automate the task of opening the Windows Calculator, move it to the bottom-right of the desktop, and set its transparency level to 75%.
With AutoHotkey, the coding (which is always done by manual typing) is like this:
This is not very user-friendly to read, and has confusing data (specifying "191" for 75%), and as mentioned requires manual typing by hand.
No, thanks.
By comparison, here's the exact same thing with AlomWare Toolbox, with easy-to-understand plain-English steps that are picked from a list instead of typing:
Here's how the above action looks in AlomWare Toolbox:
As you can see, the AlomWare Toolbox version is much cleaner, clearer to understand, and has nice icons for visibility (unlike AutoHotkey).
FAQ: What does numpad3 mean in step 3 above? Well, think of your desktop as being like the numeric keypad on your keyboard. See how the numpad's "3" key is at the bottom-right of the keypad, as shown in the image below? This means to automatically position Calculator at the bottom-right of the desktop (no matter what size the desktop is at the time), saving you the hassle of calculating the bottom-right corner of the desktop manually. Nice! But having said that, you can always manually specify a desktop position by typing the screen co-ordinates in step 3 using an X,Y format instead of the numpad# format.
So, let's compare both products to see how they'd automate the task of opening the Windows Calculator, move it to the bottom-right of the desktop, and set its transparency level to 75%.
With AutoHotkey, the coding (which is always done by manual typing) is like this:
Code Select
Run, calc.exe
WinWait, ahk_exe CalculatorApp.exe
SysGet, WorkArea, MonitorWorkArea
WinGetPos, , , WinW, WinH, ahk_exe CalculatorApp.exe
NewX := WorkAreaRight - WinW
NewY := WorkAreaBottom - WinH
WinMove, ahk_exe CalculatorApp.exe, , %NewX%, %NewY%
; Set transparency to 75%
; 255 = fully opaque, so 75% = 191
WinSet, Transparent, 191, ahk_exe CalculatorApp.exe
This is not very user-friendly to read, and has confusing data (specifying "191" for 75%), and as mentioned requires manual typing by hand.
No, thanks.By comparison, here's the exact same thing with AlomWare Toolbox, with easy-to-understand plain-English steps that are picked from a list instead of typing:
Code Select
(Start)
0001 Computer: App launch "calc.exe"
0002 Window: Assign and wait to activate "CalculatorApp.exe"
0003 Window: Move to desktop position "numpad3"
0004 Window: Transparency "75"
(End)Here's how the above action looks in AlomWare Toolbox:
As you can see, the AlomWare Toolbox version is much cleaner, clearer to understand, and has nice icons for visibility (unlike AutoHotkey).
FAQ: What does numpad3 mean in step 3 above? Well, think of your desktop as being like the numeric keypad on your keyboard. See how the numpad's "3" key is at the bottom-right of the keypad, as shown in the image below? This means to automatically position Calculator at the bottom-right of the desktop (no matter what size the desktop is at the time), saving you the hassle of calculating the bottom-right corner of the desktop manually. Nice! But having said that, you can always manually specify a desktop position by typing the screen co-ordinates in step 3 using an X,Y format instead of the numpad# format.
#14
Tips and Tricks / Re: Case modification anywhere
Last post by Paul (Lead Developer) - May 30, 2026, 03:51:22 PMI can't reproduce the problem here. 
As a test, can you change the hotkey trigger for your action to NOT use the Ctrl key, and report back? Set the hotkey to just be F9 or something. Or maybe the action still sees the Ctrl key being held down, so you might need to use the "Wait: For action hotkey to be released" step first at the start of your action.
As a test, can you change the hotkey trigger for your action to NOT use the Ctrl key, and report back? Set the hotkey to just be F9 or something. Or maybe the action still sees the Ctrl key being held down, so you might need to use the "Wait: For action hotkey to be released" step first at the start of your action.
#15
Tips and Tricks / Re: Case modification anywhere
Last post by oblivion - May 30, 2026, 12:56:46 AMThe test version has a fair chance of replacing the selected text with C, which is what I was seeing previously too (maybe V depending on what was happening at the time.)
So my macro can't press C without the control key down and doesn't release the control key until C's been pressed, whereas -- presumably -- keyboard: copy works differently?
Oh, one observation: it's a capital C that gets typed, when I use keyboard: copy. Should it be ctrl-c rather than ctrl-C? Or shouldn't that matter?
So my macro can't press C without the control key down and doesn't release the control key until C's been pressed, whereas -- presumably -- keyboard: copy works differently?
Oh, one observation: it's a capital C that gets typed, when I use keyboard: copy. Should it be ctrl-c rather than ctrl-C? Or shouldn't that matter?
#16
General Discussion / Re: Hotkey oddity
Last post by Paul (Lead Developer) - May 29, 2026, 10:30:00 PMI moved this topic to "General Discussion" because I don't think it's a Toolbox bug. It sounds more like a one-time glitch of something with Toolbox and your Windows update at the time. But if the problem can be repeatedly reproduced with instructions for me to follow, then I'll happily look into it as a bug.
BTW, Toolbox "resets" its trigger list when you refresh the Action list (like when holding down the Ctrl key and clicking the list header). Any clashing triggers will be shown in red.
BTW, Toolbox "resets" its trigger list when you refresh the Action list (like when holding down the Ctrl key and clicking the list header). Any clashing triggers will be shown in red.
#17
General Discussion / Hotkey oddity
Last post by oblivion - May 29, 2026, 01:14:04 AMI finally allowed my laptop to update to Windows 11 25H2 today, on the basis that most of the issues with it are either ironed out or good workarounds exist. In fact, I have so many customisations in place that, at least superficially, I can't see a difference between it and 24H2.
But. I have a tiny action that opens Toolbox at the Automation tab (with ctrl-shift-A as the hotkey) instead of my usual default, for when I'm creating new Actions, and although I'd created a placeholder for my text case action, I hadn't written it yet.
So, update completed, I hit ctrl-shift-a to open Toolbox Automation and it didn't work.
Oh. The Toolbox icon in the notification area had gone away. Weird. Run Toolbox back up and I went to check that the action wasn't using a hotkey that the updated version of Windows had reserved for something new.
Clicked the "set trigger" button and, sure enough, Toolbox is telling me that that combo isn't available anymore. And although I could set other triggers, I found myself wondering if I'd lost any others.
Quite a few, it turned out.
But then, instead of using the "set trigger" button to set a new trigger, I hit the "delete trigger" button and, having done so, found that I could set a new trigger of ctrl-shift-a without an issue -- in other words, there was an issue with the chosen trigger but deleting it and replacing it with the same trigger put it back how it was.
Is this a real bug? Dunno. Is it Windows' fault? Maybe. But I thought I'd post it here in case it bites anyone else...
But. I have a tiny action that opens Toolbox at the Automation tab (with ctrl-shift-A as the hotkey) instead of my usual default, for when I'm creating new Actions, and although I'd created a placeholder for my text case action, I hadn't written it yet.
So, update completed, I hit ctrl-shift-a to open Toolbox Automation and it didn't work.
Oh. The Toolbox icon in the notification area had gone away. Weird. Run Toolbox back up and I went to check that the action wasn't using a hotkey that the updated version of Windows had reserved for something new.
Clicked the "set trigger" button and, sure enough, Toolbox is telling me that that combo isn't available anymore. And although I could set other triggers, I found myself wondering if I'd lost any others.
Quite a few, it turned out.
But then, instead of using the "set trigger" button to set a new trigger, I hit the "delete trigger" button and, having done so, found that I could set a new trigger of ctrl-shift-a without an issue -- in other words, there was an issue with the chosen trigger but deleting it and replacing it with the same trigger put it back how it was.
Is this a real bug? Dunno. Is it Windows' fault? Maybe. But I thought I'd post it here in case it bites anyone else...
#18
Tips and Tricks / Re: Case modification anywhere
Last post by Paul (Lead Developer) - May 28, 2026, 10:44:00 PMHi oblivion.
That would normally be if Toolbox has been run as standard and you're trying to do something on an admin window. I'm considering forcing Toolbox to always run as admin by default in a future update, to avoid these issues.
I've emailed you a test version that should make "Keyboard: Cut", "Keyboard: Copy" and "Keyboard: Paste" work better. Please let me know by replying in this topic. Thanks!
There's a system tweak in "Settings" that can partially assist with that:
Quote from: oblivionOne caveat: it won't work if Toolbox isn't running as Admin -- or it won't for me, anyway.
That would normally be if Toolbox has been run as standard and you're trying to do something on an admin window. I'm considering forcing Toolbox to always run as admin by default in a future update, to avoid these issues.
Quote from: oblivionI think it's an idiosyncracy of my PC -- they don't work reliably for me, so I've used the macro steps to replicate copy and paste with some fifth-of-a-second delays plugged in, which DOES seem to be solid on my kit.
I've emailed you a test version that should make "Keyboard: Cut", "Keyboard: Copy" and "Keyboard: Paste" work better. Please let me know by replying in this topic. Thanks!
Quote from: oblivionhitting Caps Lock, forgetting it's on and typing a load of text with the case inverted.
There's a system tweak in "Settings" that can partially assist with that:
#19
Tips and Tricks / Case modification anywhere
Last post by oblivion - May 28, 2026, 09:12:47 PMIf you're anything like me -- half-decent typist but have to look at the keyboard more than a touch typist would -- you might get similar issues to one of my greatest bugbears -- hitting Caps Lock, forgetting it's on and typing a load of text with the case inverted.
lIKE THIS.
Last time I did it, I felt fairly sure that there was an action in Toolbox's default library that could deal with this -- and I couldn't find it. But there are script actions that can handle all that stuff, so I wrote one.
One caveat: it won't work if Toolbox isn't running as Admin -- or it won't for me, anyway.
The sharp-eyed will probably wonder why I used a couple of macro steps to replace the commented-out
and
commands. I think it's an idiosyncracy of my PC -- they don't work reliably for me, so I've used the macro steps to replicate copy and paste with some fifth-of-a-second delays plugged in, which DOES seem to be solid on my kit. By all means experiment: just use the "right click, toggle disabled step" on steps 3, 4, 19 and 20 to swap the Macro approach with the Keyboard approach to see if it'll work better for you that way. The baked in version is definitely easier to read!
The menu in step 7 can also be modified to present the options in the order you prefer: I have the option I use most at the top, but because of the way the rest of the code works, if you change the order of the options, as long as you don't change the text of the entries, it'll work fine.
The super sharp-eyed among you will wonder why I missed out an option for MiXeD cAsE. Simples: I never use it. If you do, by all means amend line 7 to
and add another action block at line 18 like this:
And obviously assign the action to a memorable hotkey.
So the usage is: highlight the text you want to modify, activate the hotkey you've chosen and pick the modification of choice from the popup menu. In my setup, because the Invert option is first, that's the default so all I have to do is press the Enter key if that's what I want.
lIKE THIS.
Last time I did it, I felt fairly sure that there was an action in Toolbox's default library that could deal with this -- and I couldn't find it. But there are script actions that can handle all that stuff, so I wrote one.
One caveat: it won't work if Toolbox isn't running as Admin -- or it won't for me, anyway.
Code Select
(Start)
HOW TO USE: Copy from Start to End, and then paste into an action.
REFERENCE : See an example of pasting at alomware.com/paste.png
0001 Window: Assign active ""
0002 Clipboard: Clear all content ""
0003 ;Keyboard: Copy ""
0004 Macro: Type keys or use mouse "{z200}{ctrldown}{z200}c{z200}{ctrlup}{z200}"
0005 Action: Abort if no clipboard text ""
0006 String: Assign from clipboard text ""
0007 Alert: Ask for a choice "Case modification type?~iNVERT~lower case~Sentence case~Title Case~AL¬
L CAPS~"
0008 Action: Do next step if "alert$=iNVERT"
0009 String: Case swap ""
0010 Action: Do next step if "alert$=Title Case"
0011 String: Case title ""
0012 Action: Do next step if "alert$=Sentence case"
0013 String: Case sentence ""
0014 Action: Do next step if "alert$=lower case"
0015 String: Case lower ""
0016 Action: Do next step if "alert$=ALL CAPS"
0017 String: Case upper ""
0018 Clipboard: Assign text "string$"
0019 ;Keyboard: Paste ""
0020 Macro: Type keys or use mouse "{z200}{ctrldown}{z200}v{z200}{ctrlup}{z200}"
(End)The sharp-eyed will probably wonder why I used a couple of macro steps to replace the commented-out
Code Select
Keyboard: Copy and
Code Select
Keyboard: Pastecommands. I think it's an idiosyncracy of my PC -- they don't work reliably for me, so I've used the macro steps to replicate copy and paste with some fifth-of-a-second delays plugged in, which DOES seem to be solid on my kit. By all means experiment: just use the "right click, toggle disabled step" on steps 3, 4, 19 and 20 to swap the Macro approach with the Keyboard approach to see if it'll work better for you that way. The baked in version is definitely easier to read!
The menu in step 7 can also be modified to present the options in the order you prefer: I have the option I use most at the top, but because of the way the rest of the code works, if you change the order of the options, as long as you don't change the text of the entries, it'll work fine.
The super sharp-eyed among you will wonder why I missed out an option for MiXeD cAsE. Simples: I never use it. If you do, by all means amend line 7 to
Code Select
[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]0007 Alert: Ask for a choice "Case modification type?~iNVERT~lower case~Sentence case~Title Case~AL¬[/font]
L CAPS~MiXeD cAsE"and add another action block at line 18 like this:
Code Select
0018 Action: Do next step if "alert$=MiXeD cAsE"
0019 String: Case mixed ""
And obviously assign the action to a memorable hotkey.
So the usage is: highlight the text you want to modify, activate the hotkey you've chosen and pick the modification of choice from the popup menu. In my setup, because the Invert option is first, that's the default so all I have to do is press the Enter key if that's what I want.
#20
Tips and Tricks / [Tip] Search for text in the c...
Last post by Paul (Lead Developer) - May 27, 2026, 10:00:31 PMSometimes you are looking at an image (or folder/window) that has a lot of text, and you need to know if certain text is in it. For documents, you'd normally use the search function with the document's app, but for viewed images or a folder/window this isn't possible. This action, when bound to a hotkey, will search the current folder, image or window for the text you specify. Just press the hotkey when the item is active, and enter the text to find. You will then be told if the text is present or not (the action can't highlight or select the text for you).
Note: This action uses Windows OCR, so any failure to find the text is due to Windows (the OS) and not AlomWare Toolbox.
Note: This action uses Windows OCR, so any failure to find the text is due to Windows (the OS) and not AlomWare Toolbox.
Code Select
(Start)
HOW TO USE: Copy from Start to End, and then paste into an action.
REFERENCE : See an example of pasting at alomware.com/paste.png
0001 Alert: Ask for a line of text "Search for this text:"
0002 Window: Assign active ""
0003 Window: Set windoc$ variable ""
0004 Action: Do this block if "windoc$<>blank$"
0005 Image: Assign "windoc$"
0006 Data: Assign "image"
0007 Action: End of block ""
0008 Action: Do this block if "windoc$=blank$"
0009 Image: Assign "window"
0010 Data: Assign "window"
0011 Action: End of block ""
0012 Action: Match case "0"
0013 String: Assign from assigned image ""
0014 Action: Do next step if "string$?alert$"
0015 String: Assign "The data$ DOES contain "alert$"."
0016 Action: Do next step if "string$!alert$"
0017 String: Assign "The data$ does NOT contain "alert$"."
0018 Alert: Show a message "string$"
(End)