{"id":348,"date":"2010-08-23T14:40:20","date_gmt":"2010-08-23T14:40:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/us111.siteground.us\/~tlhouse0\/ptfbpro.com\/automate\/?p=348"},"modified":"2012-06-13T21:55:38","modified_gmt":"2012-06-13T21:55:38","slug":"access-common-windows-functions-by-hotkey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ptfbpro.com\/automate\/access-common-windows-functions-by-hotkey\/","title":{"rendered":"Access common windows functions by hotkey"},"content":{"rendered":"

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.<\/p>\n

Here’s an example. Let’s say you want to flush IE’s cache of temporary files:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Create a screen based macro in PTFB Pro, and quit recording immediately by hitting the Pause\/Break key.\u00a0 That’s right – you’re not <\/em>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!<\/li>\n
  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<\/em> “Trigger spontaneously” and click on “Hotkey”. Choose the hotkey combo you want to use for this action, and switch to the Editing page.<\/li>\n
  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<\/code><\/li>\n
  4. Click OK to save your changes and you’re done!<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    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.\u00a0 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.<\/p>\n

    Some more RunDLL command lines for Windows 7<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Content Advisor
    \nRunDll32.exe msrating.dll,RatingSetupUI<\/code><\/p>\n

    Control Panel
    \nRunDll32.exe shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL<\/code><\/p>\n

    Date and Time Properties
    \nRunDll32.exe shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL timedate.cpl<\/code><\/p>\n

    Display Settings
    \nRunDll32.exe shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL desk.cpl<\/code><\/p>\n

    Device Manager
    \nRunDll32.exe devmgr.dll DeviceManager_Execute<\/code><\/p>\n

    Folder Options – General
    \nRunDll32.exe shell32.dll,Options_RunDLL 0<\/code><\/p>\n

    Folder Options – Search
    \nRunDll32.exe shell32.dll,Options_RunDLL 2<\/code><\/p>\n

    Folder Options – View
    \nRunDll32.exe shell32.dll,Options_RunDLL 7<\/code><\/p>\n

    Forgotten Password Wizard
    \nRunDll32.exe keymgr.dll,PRShowSaveWizardExW<\/code><\/p>\n

    Flush IE’s Temporary Internet Files:
    \nRunDll32.exe InetCpl.cpl,ClearMyTracksByProcess 8<\/code><\/p>\n

    Flush IE’s Cookies:
    \nRunDll32.exe InetCpl.cpl,ClearMyTracksByProcess 2<\/code><\/p>\n

    Flush IE’s Browsing History:
    \nRunDll32.exe InetCpl.cpl,ClearMyTracksByProcess 1<\/code><\/p>\n

    Flush IE’s Stored Form Data:
    \nRunDll32.exe InetCpl.cpl,ClearMyTracksByProcess 16<\/code><\/p>\n

    Flush IE’s Stored Passwords:
    \nRunDll32.exe InetCpl.cpl,ClearMyTracksByProcess 32<\/code><\/p>\n

    Full IE browsing cleanup:
    \nRunDll32.exe InetCpl.cpl,ClearMyTracksByProcess 255<\/code><\/p>\n

    Full IE browsing cleanupfiles inc settings stored by Add-ons:
    \nRunDll32.exe InetCpl.cpl,ClearMyTracksByProcess 4351<\/code><\/p>\n

    Hibernate
    \nRunDll32.exe powrprof.dll,SetSuspendState<\/code><\/p>\n

    IE Favourites
    \nRundll32.exe shdocvw.dll,DoOrganizeFavDlg<\/code><\/p>\n

    Keyboard Properties
    \nRunDll32.exe shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL main.cpl @1<\/code><\/p>\n

    Lock Screen
    \nRunDll32.exe user32.dll,LockWorkStation<\/code><\/p>\n

    Mouse Button – Swap left button to function as right
    \nRundll32 User32.dll,SwapMouseButton<\/code><\/p>\n

    Mouse Properties Dialog Box
    \nRundll32 Shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL main.cpl @0,0<\/code><\/p>\n

    Map Network Drive Wizard
    \nRundll32 Shell32.dll,SHHelpShortcuts_RunDLL Connect<\/code><\/p>\n

    Network Connections
    \nRunDll32.exe shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL ncpa.cpl<\/code><\/p>\n

    Open With Dialog Box
    \nRundll32 Shell32.dll,OpenAs_RunDLL Any_File-name.ext<\/code><\/p>\n

    Power Options
    \nRunDll32.exe Shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL powercfg.cpl<\/code><\/p>\n

    Printer Management Folder
    \nRundll32 Shell32.dll,SHHelpShortcuts_RunDLL PrintersFolder<\/code><\/p>\n

    Programs & Features, aka Add\/Remove programs
    \nRunDll32.exe shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL appwiz.cpl,,0<\/code><\/p>\n

    Region and Language Options
    \nRundll32 Shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL Intl.cpl,,0<\/code><\/p>\n

    Safely Remove Hardware Dialog Box
    \nRundll32 Shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL HotPlug.dll<\/code><\/p>\n

    Sound Properties Dialog Box
    \nRundll32 Shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL Mmsys.cpl,,0<\/code><\/p>\n

    Stored Usernames and Passwords
    \nRunDll32.exe keymgr.dll,KRShowKeyMgr<\/code><\/p>\n

    System Properties – Advanced
    \nRunDll32.exe shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL sysdm.cpl<\/code><\/p>\n

    System Properties – Advanced
    \nRundll32 Shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL Sysdm.cpl,,3<\/code><\/p>\n

    Taskbar Properties
    \nRunDll32.exe shell32.dll,Options_RunDLL 1<\/code><\/p>\n

    User Accounts
    \nRunDll32.exe shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL nusrmgr.cpl<\/code><\/p>\n

    Unplug\/Eject Hardware
    \nRunDll32.exe shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL hotplug.dll<\/code><\/p>\n

    Windows Security Center
    \nRunDll32.exe shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL wscui.cpl<\/code><\/p>\n

    Windows – About
    \nRunDll32.exe SHELL32.DLL,ShellAboutW<\/code><\/p>\n

    Windows Firewall Options
    \nRunDll32.exe shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL firewall.cpl<\/code><\/p>\n

    Windows Fonts Folder
    \nRundll32 Shell32.dll,SHHelpShortcuts_RunDLL FontsFolder<\/code><\/p>\n

    Find out more about boosting your productivity with autoclicks and macros.<\/a>
    \n    CLICK HERE to download a free 30 day trial, no strings attached<\/a>. If you aren’t entirely happy simply uninstall!<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    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, Continue Reading →<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-348","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-automate-repetitive-tasks","category-automation-power-users"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ptfbpro.com\/automate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/348"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ptfbpro.com\/automate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ptfbpro.com\/automate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ptfbpro.com\/automate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ptfbpro.com\/automate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=348"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ptfbpro.com\/automate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/348\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ptfbpro.com\/automate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=348"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ptfbpro.com\/automate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=348"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ptfbpro.com\/automate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=348"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}