Utilities Platinum/Windows_Utilities_Platinum_Vol1.iso/desktop/hk10/hk.doc

Text File | 1993-09-11 | 7KB | 113 lines

HK.EXE (VERSION 1.0)                         Copyright (c) Douglas Boling
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              First Published in PC Magazine October 12, 1993 (Utilities)
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Fire Up Windows Programs Fast with HK.EXE BY DOUGLAS BOLING

           HK.EXE is a Windows 3.1 utility that lets you assign hotkeys
to your programs with a much wider range of possible keystrokes than
Program Manager. You can also use hotkeys to launch applications without
switching to the Program Manager first.

     Do you find it tedious to grope for a mouse, open a group, and then
locate and double-click on an icon just to get to an application you want
to launch? If so, it must be all the more irritating to know that it's
quite possible for a keyboard veteran to have a program up and running
before you even start todouble-click.

     Microsoft provided a way to assign hotkeys to applications in
Microsoft Windows 3.1's Program Manager, but this support is inadequate
in several ways. For one thing, unless the Program Manager has the
current focus, Microsoft's hotkeys won't actually launch the application;
they take effect only if the program has already been started.
For another, the allowable hotkey combinations you can employ are
severely limited.

     HK.EXE, a Windows 3.1 utility, solves both these problems. With HK,
pressing the hotkey brings up your application even if it is not yet
running. And HK offers a much wider selection of possible keystrokes
to use for hotkeys than the Program Manager. Configuring HK to implement
your hotkey selections is simplicity itself.

     If you want to modify and compile HK's C language souce code, you'll
need either Microsoft's C 6.0 or Borland's C++ 3.1 (or a compatible)
compiler, and if your compiler does not already include the files needed
for compiling a Windows 3.1 program, you'll also need the Windows 3.1
Software Development Kit. We've included a make file for the Microsoft
C 6.0 compiler; if you use another compiler, you'll have to refer to
its manual for the proper syntax.

USING HK

     You install HK simply by copying or unzipping its files into a
subdirectory and then adding an icon for it in the Program Manager, just
as you would with any other Windows program. Since you'll probably want
the program to be running all the time, you'll most likely want to drag
its icon into the Startup group window; in this case, you'll want to
check the Run Minimized box in the Program Item Properties dialog box
to ensure that HK is started as an icon.

     To assign a hotkey to an application, just bring up HK by entering
its pathname in the File|Run menu of the Program Manager, or by
double-clicking on its icon there or on the desktop. You'll then see
a  dialog box that contains a list of the current hotkeys and a set of
buttons down the right side.

     To add a new hotkey, click on the Add button. HK will bring up a
dialog box with two entry fields. The first is for the program name and
any additional command line parameters. If the program file is in your
Windows directory or in a directory in your path, the program name alone
will suffice. Otherwise you'll need to enter the complete drive, path,
and filename for the application. If you can't remember the program's
location, clicking on the Browse button will present you with a file
selection box that will ease your search.

     After filling in the command line, click on or tab over to the
hotkey entry field and press the hotkey combination you want to assign
to this program. The names of the keys you press will be displayed as
you press them: For example, if you press the H key while holding down
the Shift and Ctrl keys, the box will display ``Shift + Ctrl + H''.

     Then click on the Add button in the Add dialog box to save your
program and your hotkey selection. (Clicking on the Cancel button will
close the Add dialog without saving the new hotkey selection.)

     Almost any shift combination, along with a letter, number, or other
symbol, is allowed, with the following exceptions: You cannot use
combinations (such as Alt-Esc) that are used by Windows as systemwide
command keys, and you cannot select any combination that uses the Tab key.
You should use your freedom in assigning hotkeys carefully, however, for
hotkey settings override all the accelerator keys in all your Windows
applications. For example, if you assign Alt-F to the Windows Notepad,
you'll no longer be able to display the File menu in any Windows
application. And if you use ProComm in a DOS box, don't use HK to assign
its exit key combination (Alt-X) to another program, or you won't be able
to get out of your communications session!

     After you add a hotkey, HK will display it, along with its program
name, in the HK list box. You can delete a hotkey by selecting it on the
list and clicking on the Del key; this will disable the hotkey and remove
it permanently from the list. Note that if the application associated
with a deleted hotkey is currently running, HK will disable the hotkey,
but it will not terminate the application.

     You can edit a hotkey combination by selecting the hotkey in the
list box and clicking on the Change button, or else by double-clicking
on the hotkey selection. A dialog box similar to the Add dialog box will
be presented, its fields filled in with the current settings for that key.
Both the command line and the hotkey can be changed at this point. To put
your changes into effect, press the Change button again; to discard the
changes, click on the Cancel button.

     The remaining two buttons in the HK window are the About and Exit.
Clicking on the About button displays information about the program
version, the copyright notice, and the author's name. Pressing the Exit
button ends HK. Note that when you terminate HK, the hotkey combinations
for programs not already started are disabled, but you can still use the
hotkeys for applications that were started with HK. All of your assigned
hotkey settings are saved in a file (HK.INI) so that they will
automatically be restored the next time you start it up.
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DOUGLAS BOLING IS A CONTRIBUTING EDITOR TO PC MAGAZINE.
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