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IdiomHotkeys version 7
by Samuel Murray

Quick keyboard shortcuts for users of browser CAT tools, other CAT tools and other text editors who need to type certain characters.

You must have AutoIt installed to use the scripts.

The "OTHER" folder contains older and experimental versions of the script

==

SHORTCUTS

Shift+Ctrl+Space = non-breaking space (e.g. between digits and SI symbols, "5 cm")
Alt+Ctrl+fullstop = ellips (...)
Ctrl+NumMinus = en-dash
Shift+Ctrl+NumMinus = em-dash
Alt+NumMinus = non-breaking hyphen (e.g. to prevent floating space+hyphens at ends of lines)
Ctrl+( = single upper 6-quote (‘)
Ctrl+) = single upper 9-quote (or curly apostrophe) (’)
Ctrl+Shift+( = double upper 6-quote (“)
Ctrl+Shift+) = double upper 9-quote (”)
Ctrl+Shift+" = double bottom 9-quote („)

You can also add e.g. French quotes by editing the .AU3 file.

==

VARIANTS

idiomhotkeys_v7.au3 = This is the normal script.
idiomhotkeys_v7_send.au3 = This version doesn't use the clipboard.
idiomhotkeys_v7_surround.au3 = This version puts quotes on either side of the selected text. (experimental)

For instructions on the "surround" version, see the surround_readme.txt file.

==

USAGE

1. To run the .AU3 file, you must have AutoIt installed.

2. To exit the script or to disable the shortcuts, click or right-click the round blue icon in the system tray.

3. You can disable any of the shortcuts by renaming the script before running it, by adding certain characters (enclosed in square brackets) in the script's name.  For example, if you want to disable the ellips and the double bottom 9-quote, simply rename "idiomhotkey_v7.au3" to "idiomhotkey_vs7[.][+quot].au3".

[S] = disables shortcut for: non-breaking space
[N] = disables shortcut for: en-dash
[M] = disables shortcut for: em-dash
[NH] = disables shortcut for: no-break hyphen
[.] = disables shortcut for: ellips
[9] = disables shortcut for: single upper 6-quote (‘)
[0] = disables shortcut for: single upper 9-quote (’)
[+9] = disables shortcut for: double upper 6-quote (“)
[+0] = disables shortcut for: double upper 9-quote (”)
[+quot] = disables shortcut for: double lower 9-quote („)

(If you add these characters to the script's name while the script is running, it won't affect the script until you exit and re-run the script.)

4. You can also disable a shortcut by editing the .AU3 file and removing its associated fragment that starts with "If NOT StringInStr".

5. You can, of course, change the script so that it works for e.g. French quotes, too. :-)

==

CAVEATS

1. Some characters e.g. the non-breaking space do not work in a browser text field.

2.1 The normal script uses the clipboard, so whatever was on the clipboard, is no longer on the clipboard.
2.2 The script with "send" in its name, does not use the clipboard (but may misbehave in some programs).
2.3 The script with "surround" in its name DOES use the clipboard.

If you use a variant that uses the clipboard, some programs may insert unwanted spaces next to the characters (e.g. in Microsoft Word if smart cut and paste is enabled).

3. If you want to edit the .AU3 file, you MUST edit it in a Unicode-aware editor, such as Akelpad or Babelpad.

4. If your Ctrl key gets stuck, try to unstick it by pressing Ctrl + Shift + Alt once or twice.

==

VERSION HISTORY

v1: only non-breaking space, ellips and en-dash
v2: added quotes, but one had to press Shift as well
v3: no longer necessary to press Shift when typing the quotes
v4: uses Ctrl+Shift instead of WinKey (since Windows 7 reserved many WinKey combinations)

v5: _HexToString misbehaved in Windows 7, so changed to different method to get the characters
v6: removed Ctrl+hyphen, since that is an optional hyphen in MS Word.
v6 withclip: briefly tried a version that remembers old clipboard

v7: includes non-breaking hyphen, ‑
v7: includes German opening quote, „
v7_send: uses the "Send" method instead of the clipboard, YMMV

