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Welcome toAutoKey, the free desktop automation utility for Linux.
Do you often use templates, repeat keystrokes or other repetitive tasks?
If so, AutoKey is a great toolkit you do not want to miss out on!
What isAutoKey?
Let’s say you often key in your email address, or your postal address.
It can be a bit frustrating to have to pop in it out every time.
Let AutoKey do it for you!
Another easy to setup function is keyboard automation.
In other words, the seven
presses bring us nicely to just inside the
brackets.
We can also automate form-filling by inserting tabs etc.
Regrettably, there are some minor issues with theAutoKeyprogram that you should be aware of.
This functionality is generally speaking not needed for the purposes described in this guide.
You will find if you swap back to your workspace, the key sequences will work again.
Even with these shortcomings, which may be resolved in due time, AutoKey is a must-have tool.
InstallingAutoKey
This guide assume you already have AutoKey up and running on your system.
And, before doing so, you may want to backup your configuration in
.
Click Edit > Preferences.
UsingAutoKey: Keyboard Shortcuts
Ready to setup some keyboard shortcuts?
insert) scenario’s.
Now we need to assign a keyboard sequence/shortcut and for that we press ‘Set’ (5) forAbbreviations.
We are then presented with the following dialog:
In this case we set ‘//m’.
Now comes a slightly tricky part due to a minor shortcoming in the AutoKey GUI.
Do not click anywhere else then in the whitespace just under the newly defined abbreviation.
For example, click where the (2) circle is in the screenshot above.
This will lock in the abbreviation / keyboard sequence instead of removing it again.
You will soon get used to it.
Remember how we mentioned some things are slightly confusing?
This is one of them.
Finally, click ‘OK’ (5) to confirm everything.
Now simply open your favorite text editor (yes evenvi/viminside a terminal will work!)
and bang out your keyboard sequence ‘//m’.
Wrapping up
AutoKey is a great utility which may save you many hours of repetitive typing work.
It does however come with it’s own shortcomings and even issues as discussed.
