6 ms·

Somewhat timely. AHK is one of those utilities I absolutely cannot go without. I've been running it on all my Windows machines for 15 years now. Just a few day

Somewhat timely. AHK is one of those utilities I absolutely cannot go without. I've been running it on all my Windows machines for 15 years now. Just a few days ago I was complaining¹ about how Excel handles formula input. After some back and forth on my yak-shaving attempt, I realized I could shave it myself with AHK. With this little bit of code, my [Enter] and [Tab] keys work the way I want them to in Excel. This is still version 1.1, not 2.0: ; Try to "fix" Excel formula bar ; ============================== IsExcelFormulaBox() { ControlGetFocus, F, A return (F="EXCEL<1") } #if IsExcelFormulaBox() Tab:: ; Look for the little function list that pops up when suggestions are available. ControlGet, X, Visible,, SysListView321, ahk_class __XLACOOUTER ; If list is visible, then pass [Tab] through. If not, insert 4 spaces if (X) { Send {Tab} } else { Send {Space}{Space}{Space}{Space} } return ; Swap [Enter] and [Alt]+[Enter] $!Enter::Send {Enter} $Enter::Send !{Enter} #if [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34176791 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34176791

cfiggers 4y ago
...holy crap. You just blew my mind. I have HUNDREDS of little AHK hotkeys. I use some of them dozens of times a day. I've been wanting some way to directly target Excel like this for literal years. Thank you!!!
- function_seven 4y ago
  :) I’m kinda both proud and ashamed. I’ve also hated the ergonomics of the formula bar for years, but never tried to do anything about it. I’ll bet I find more weird corner cases with this hot key. My first attempt didn’t handle the autocomplete, and that was a big letdown until I found the workaround. I’m sure I’ll run into something else as well.
  - snthpy 4y ago
    Sorry I'm on my phone right now so can't test this out so what does this do exactly? I just have my formula bar set at 3 lines and F2 edits in the formula box always. I find that works well for me. What frustrations do you have with the default setup?
    - function_seven 4y ago
      I like to do multi-line formulas and use indentation as well. To insert a newline you have to press [Alt]+[Enter]. To indent you can’t use [Tab], so you have to manually space it out. My script swaps the [Enter] key behavior so regular pressing inserts the newline and Alt+Enter commits the formula. It also converts a Tab press to 4 spaces (rather than focusing away from the bar)
  - snthpy 4y ago
    Also, are you aware of the new Advanced Formula Environment? https://youtu.be/yIAl1XbuVzU https://youtu.be/yIAl1XbuVzU
    - function_seven 4y ago
      I wasn’t until last week. Pony_Sheared linked me to it https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34178234 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34178234 I downloaded it but haven’t had a chance to tinker.
  - cfiggers 4y ago
    In return, as a token of my gratitude, I give you a script that allows horizontal scrolling in Excel with Shift + Mousewheel (bafflingly not a default in Excel, even though that's becoming standard almost everywhere else): ; Excel horizontal scroll with Shift + Mousewheel #IfWinActive, ahk_exe EXCEL.EXE +WheelUp:: SetScrollLockState, On SendInput {Left} SetScrollLockState, Off Return +WheelDown:: SetScrollLockState, On SendInput {Right} SetScrollLockState, Off Return #if
    - function_seven 4y ago
      I just added it. Yes, thank you, this works great.
- sieabahlpark 4y ago
  [dead]
animal531 4y ago
My favourite script was from when I was playing Diablo 3 heavily (around 2015), but for a while I had been pressing my mouse hand too hard into my mouse pad which were causing some RSI issues. I found a +-300 line script which allowed me to play with a controller (made by zarzare), I modified it for the different classes and it worked ridiculously well. It used basic trig to create a circle around the player's position and cast abilities in that direction. You could specify a short/long range so abilities could be cast either short or far, depending on the range of the ability.

cfiggers 4y ago

...holy crap. You just blew my mind. I have HUNDREDS of little AHK hotkeys. I use some of them dozens of times a day. I've been wanting some way to directly target Excel like this for literal years. Thank you!!!

function_seven 4y ago
:) I’m kinda both proud and ashamed. I’ve also hated the ergonomics of the formula bar for years, but never tried to do anything about it. I’ll bet I find more weird corner cases with this hot key. My first attempt didn’t handle the autocomplete, and that was a big letdown until I found the workaround. I’m sure I’ll run into something else as well.
- snthpy 4y ago
  Sorry I'm on my phone right now so can't test this out so what does this do exactly? I just have my formula bar set at 3 lines and F2 edits in the formula box always. I find that works well for me. What frustrations do you have with the default setup?
  - function_seven 4y ago
    I like to do multi-line formulas and use indentation as well. To insert a newline you have to press [Alt]+[Enter]. To indent you can’t use [Tab], so you have to manually space it out. My script swaps the [Enter] key behavior so regular pressing inserts the newline and Alt+Enter commits the formula. It also converts a Tab press to 4 spaces (rather than focusing away from the bar)
- snthpy 4y ago
  Also, are you aware of the new Advanced Formula Environment? https://youtu.be/yIAl1XbuVzU https://youtu.be/yIAl1XbuVzU
  - function_seven 4y ago
    I wasn’t until last week. Pony_Sheared linked me to it https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34178234 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34178234 I downloaded it but haven’t had a chance to tinker.
- cfiggers 4y ago
  In return, as a token of my gratitude, I give you a script that allows horizontal scrolling in Excel with Shift + Mousewheel (bafflingly not a default in Excel, even though that's becoming standard almost everywhere else): ; Excel horizontal scroll with Shift + Mousewheel #IfWinActive, ahk_exe EXCEL.EXE +WheelUp:: SetScrollLockState, On SendInput {Left} SetScrollLockState, Off Return +WheelDown:: SetScrollLockState, On SendInput {Right} SetScrollLockState, Off Return #if
  - function_seven 4y ago
    I just added it. Yes, thank you, this works great.
sieabahlpark 4y ago
[dead]

animal531 4y ago

My favourite script was from when I was playing Diablo 3 heavily (around 2015), but for a while I had been pressing my mouse hand too hard into my mouse pad which were causing some RSI issues. I found a +-300 line script which allowed me to play with a controller (made by zarzare), I modified it for the different classes and it worked ridiculously well. It used basic trig to create a circle around the player's position and cast abilities in that direction. You could specify a short/long range so abilities could be cast either short or far, depending on the range of the ability.