New to FastKeys... having some trouble.

[dennisl]

Hello, first time posting here - I'm very new to FastKeys. I just love the idea of the possibilities that AHK can do - though I'm not experienced in programming at all, so I really like the idea of FastKeys making it much easier to do all the various things that can be done.

I've limited myself to using only 3 modules at this time, as I don't want to get too overwhelmed: Text Expander, Start Menu, and Shortcuts were the most useful ones I could start using.

Some things over the past few weeks with me giving it a try as I go about my usual computer work I've noticed that haven't been working as I had expected:

Start Menu:
I have never had one of recent files in my list open for me, even after immediately creating the item - so it was not moved or deleted.
I cannot change the delay time for the menu to appear in the preferences, no matter what I set it to, it reverts to 1.

Text Expander:
I've noticed that changing the string of an expansion command, that if I hit apply or save after making the change. it will not "stick" - I need to exit HotKeys, start it up again, and then the changed text expansion string will work as planned.

Preferences:
Since having some of these issues, I have tried to change some pages of preferences to "defaults" and selecting "this page only" - only to see that some of the defaults have changed and others have not. e.g. Start menu: I had it set to the right side of the screen, with 6 recent items (files), with the "AppsKey" set as the Menu Shortcut. The ONLY item to revert from a changed value is the recent items (files) - back to 1. I can only presume the original value is 1, but that does seem odd. I am fairly positive that I assigned the "AppsKey" and Start Menu was set to the TOP of the screen.

So while there are many cool features I have been able to try out such as launching apps and custom keyboard commands, I have also been hindered with some strange behavior that has been disappointing to have not work as easily as i had thought it would. I could very well be doing something wrong, but when I cannot revert to defaults, etc. it makes it very difficult to know where I went wrong if I can't get back to the initial state.

Is there a error-logging module that might report issues as they occur?

Thanks for any help with a new FastKeys user - I'm very proficient at the computer in general, but I don't know programming at all, so please be gentle with me I would love to learn the intricacies of AutoHotKey one day, but that is for another time... as it looks very complicated to me

Much appreciated!

[Marko]

Hi and welcome to FastKeys.

Start Menu:
Recent files work on all of our computers (Win10 and Win7, 32 and 64 bit). Please copy a simple txt file to your desktop and open it. The recent item should show in FastKeys - click on it - does it work? A small bug preventing user to change Start Menu delay was already resolved - please download and install again.

Text Expander:
I cannot reproduce this - could you please post exact steps?

Preferences:
All preferences change to defaults except for shortcuts and menu edge settings - this is intentional to prevent losing this key preferences.

[dennisl]

thanks very much Marko for responding to my questions. my apologies for getting back to the issues late... i have been having computer issues

my cousin pointed me to FastKeys one day recently and i have been so glad he did so - i am very excited about the potential. i was not eager to learn the intricacies of AHK (well, maybe one day in the future) to do some of the out of the ordinary things i wanted to have the computer "do", but this was very appealing. but alas, my computer has been acting up and i and due for a new purchase one day soon. it may even be the cause of the oddities that i have seen with FastKeys, i'm not sure, as there have been a number of strange things just not working quite right with my rig lately.

i did reinstall FastKeys.

1) i tried your suggestion of creating a simple file on the desktop, opening it, and then seeing it in the recent items list in the FastKeys menu. i have tried clicking on it to no avail still. for some reason i haven't been able to get any of my really recent files to ever open through FastKeys (menu). one strange thing i did notice one day was a file that was a few days old, that was still considered a recent file of course, actually did open!? BTW, none of these files were moved from their original location.

2) since reinstalling fastkeys i haven't had this issue with the text expander again. whew!

3) thanks for the explanation for the preferences. i understand it much better.

is the settings.ini and settings .fdb files the only files i need to backup or transfer to another computer if i want to use the same settings?

for instance, i've been cautious not to delete existing settings that i change - i just turn them off and create another entry. i'm probably being needlessly too "careful" as i don't want to mess anything up but i would like to get in there and mess around and explore, and essentially want to learn more about how this all works. i've always had an interest in AHK and how all the modules of FastKeys work. so if i should happen to screw anything up, it's easy enough to get back to the default state of things with FastKeys?

any recommendations for me to check out to learn more about how this works and some of the more advanced topics (for the future)? would you recommend me just lurking around these forums and staying away from AHK's for the time being?

many thanks Marko, for all the help and advice! i'm eager to learn and i love tinkering around. my mom has seen some of the things i've done with FastKeys and you'll be happy to know, she is anxious for a license as well! so i'll be buying another one from you shortly.

much appreciated!



Last edited by dennisl on Tue Jun 27, 2017 6:46 pm, edited 2 times in total.

[Marko]

Settings.fdb contains command settings and is the only file you need to backup. You can also save Settings.ini if you wish to have a backup of user preferences. FastKeys creates automatic backups - check File/Backup menu.

For learning FastKeys it's the best to study all provided examples - start with Text Expander and available macros, they are self explanatory.

I would ecourage you to learn AutoHotkey. It's very simple after you understand the basics. You can start here: https://www.autohotkey.com/docs/Tutorial.htm

[dennisl]

That is perfect! Thanks for the suggestions Marko.

I really would love to figure out more about how AHK itself works. My computer has been acting up lately, and I'm due for a refresh of the OS, so some of these strange things happening are not just in FastKeys. Strangely, I still can't open a 'new' recently created text file on the desktop, through the FastKeys menu - I must be doing something wrong or it is me in need of having a clean OS install.

Thanks again for all the tips for learning the basics with FastKeys and AHK. I'll be sure to delve deeper as I have some more time in the near future - I seem to be too busy lately...

[dennisl]

I just purchased another license, and installed it on that computer - which is running Windows 7 x64, and strangely... the same thing occurred upon starting FastKeys right after it installed.

* None of the "recent items" in the menu would open on this computer either!?

* I even tried rebooting, then creating a new text document on the desktop and opening that file from the menu, and it was the same thing - nothing happened.

Anyone else having issues launching previous/recent items in the start menu of FastKeys?

Thanks

[Wyrn]

Hi dennisl,

I have the same issues as you : recent items don't open, and some recent folders neither.
I just opened a new thread about it in General Discussion.

[Marko]

FastKeys attempts to run links from Windows Recent folder. Which Windows version do you use?

[Wyrn]

I use Windows 10.