Access common windows functions by hotkey

I bet there are some Windows operations you perform regularly like flushing Internet Explorer’s cache, visiting the Add/Remove programs screen (aka “Programs & Features” in Windows 7), changing folder options, tweaking the firewall’s whitelist etc. Using PTFB Pro’s macro recorder you can get access to some of these functions a whole lot faster than you might think.

Here’s an example. Let’s say you want to flush IE’s cache of temporary files:

1. Create a screen based macro in PTFB Pro, and quit recording immediately by hitting the Pause/Break key.  That’s right – you’re not going to simply record the action of going to the Start Menu, selecting Internet Options in the control panel and digging through IE’s screens. There’s a faster way!
2. Open the macro you’ve just created. Give it a meaningful name on the first page, then switch to the Triggers page. Turn off “Trigger spontaneously” and click on “Hotkey”. Choose the hotkey combo you want to use for this action, and switch to the Editing page.
3. On the Editing page, delete any existing actions and add a “Run Executable” item. Type (or copy paste) the following line into the command line box: RunDll32.exe InetCpl.cpl,ClearMyTracksByProcess 8
4. Click OK to save your changes and you’re done!

You can use the same technique for a lot of other operations, just by changing the command line you use in step #3. Below there’s a list of the more common ones on Windows 7, but a bit of Googling will no doubt find you more. Also, bear in mind that this can be just the starting point for much more powerful actions.  For example, you could define a macro that uses a RunDLL command to bring up a screen, then create another macro to carry out a specific operation on that screen, then create a third “wrapper” macro that runs both the other two in sequence in response to an entirely different hotkey.

Some more RunDLL command lines for Windows 7

Content Advisor
RunDll32.exe msrating.dll,RatingSetupUI

Control Panel
RunDll32.exe shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL

Date and Time Properties
RunDll32.exe shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL timedate.cpl

Display Settings
RunDll32.exe shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL desk.cpl

Device Manager
RunDll32.exe devmgr.dll DeviceManager_Execute

Folder Options – General
RunDll32.exe shell32.dll,Options_RunDLL 0

Folder Options – Search
RunDll32.exe shell32.dll,Options_RunDLL 2

Folder Options – View
RunDll32.exe shell32.dll,Options_RunDLL 7

Forgotten Password Wizard
RunDll32.exe keymgr.dll,PRShowSaveWizardExW

Flush IE’s Temporary Internet Files:
RunDll32.exe InetCpl.cpl,ClearMyTracksByProcess 8

Flush IE’s Cookies:
RunDll32.exe InetCpl.cpl,ClearMyTracksByProcess 2

Flush IE’s Browsing History:
RunDll32.exe InetCpl.cpl,ClearMyTracksByProcess 1

Flush IE’s Stored Form Data:
RunDll32.exe InetCpl.cpl,ClearMyTracksByProcess 16

Flush IE’s Stored Passwords:
RunDll32.exe InetCpl.cpl,ClearMyTracksByProcess 32

Full IE browsing cleanup:
RunDll32.exe InetCpl.cpl,ClearMyTracksByProcess 255

Full IE browsing cleanupfiles inc settings stored by Add-ons:
RunDll32.exe InetCpl.cpl,ClearMyTracksByProcess 4351

Hibernate
RunDll32.exe powrprof.dll,SetSuspendState

IE Favourites
Rundll32.exe shdocvw.dll,DoOrganizeFavDlg

Keyboard Properties
RunDll32.exe shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL main.cpl @1

Lock Screen
RunDll32.exe user32.dll,LockWorkStation

Mouse Button – Swap left button to function as right
Rundll32 User32.dll,SwapMouseButton

Mouse Properties Dialog Box
Rundll32 Shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL main.cpl @0,0

Map Network Drive Wizard
Rundll32 Shell32.dll,SHHelpShortcuts_RunDLL Connect

Network Connections
RunDll32.exe shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL ncpa.cpl

Open With Dialog Box
Rundll32 Shell32.dll,OpenAs_RunDLL Any_File-name.ext

Power Options
RunDll32.exe Shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL powercfg.cpl

Printer Management Folder
Rundll32 Shell32.dll,SHHelpShortcuts_RunDLL PrintersFolder

Programs & Features, aka Add/Remove programs
RunDll32.exe shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL appwiz.cpl,,0

Region and Language Options
Rundll32 Shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL Intl.cpl,,0

Safely Remove Hardware Dialog Box
Rundll32 Shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL HotPlug.dll

Sound Properties Dialog Box
Rundll32 Shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL Mmsys.cpl,,0

Stored Usernames and Passwords
RunDll32.exe keymgr.dll,KRShowKeyMgr

System Properties – Advanced
RunDll32.exe shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL sysdm.cpl

System Properties – Advanced
Rundll32 Shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL Sysdm.cpl,,3

Taskbar Properties
RunDll32.exe shell32.dll,Options_RunDLL 1

User Accounts
RunDll32.exe shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL nusrmgr.cpl

Unplug/Eject Hardware
RunDll32.exe shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL hotplug.dll

Windows Security Center
RunDll32.exe shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL wscui.cpl

Windows – About
RunDll32.exe SHELL32.DLL,ShellAboutW

Windows Firewall Options
RunDll32.exe shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL firewall.cpl

Windows Fonts Folder
Rundll32 Shell32.dll,SHHelpShortcuts_RunDLL FontsFolder

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