Week in Geek: The Stupid Geek Tricks to Hide Extra Windows Edition
One of my favorite little features in Windows 7 is the shortcut key combination that hides all the open windows except for the one you are working on. It’s a great way to clear out the extra window clutter. Also, Wave invites.
Hiding Extra Windows
So, you’re using Windows 7 and you’ve got loads of stuff open on your screen. No matter, just press the Win+Home keyboard shortcut…
And all the windows hide except for the one you were using. Useful! But you probably already knew that…
What you didn’t think about is that there’s probably an easier way to use that shortcut key combination. Instead of using Win+Home, I prefer to use the Win+H shortcut combination since it’s easier to use without moving my fingers off the main row.
What we’ll do is create a really simple AutoHotkey script to do just that. You’ll need to make sure AutoHotkey is installed, then create a new .ahk script (you can use the New –> AutoHotkey script item on the context menu).
Next you’ll paste in some boilerplate code:
#InstallKeybdHook
#Persistent
#HotkeyInterval,100
SetKeyDelay, –1
And then here’s the line that actually does the work. When you press Win+H, which in AutoHotkey language is #h, it will use the Send function to push down the Windows key, press the Home key, and then release the Windows key. (of course, your keyboard keys won’t actually move. This isn’t an auto-play piano).
#h::Send,{LWin down}{Home}{LWin up}
Once you’ve created the script you can double-click it, and the shortcut key should start working immediately.
Oh, so you aren’t using Windows 7 yet? Well you can still get Mac’s Hide Others (cmd+opt+H) Keyboard Shortcut for Windows.
Wave Invites? Who Said Wave Invites?
We were given 20 invites to the Google Wave preview, and we offered them up to the readers. Out of a whopping 454 total comments requesting a login, we’ve picked 22 people that we’ll send an invitation to Google Wave.
Fuzzy math! And yes, we are aware that 22 > 20, but reader Xander volunteered to give up 2 of his invites as well, bringing the total to 22. He’s also on Twitter, in case you are wondering what generous soul would do such a thing. Thanks Xander!
Note: Google Wave invitations are being manually approved on Google’s end of things, so be patient.
The Weekly Random Links, Courtesy of Tiny Hacker
This is just a sampling of the random geekery over at Tiny Hacker this week. Want them in your feed reader or inbox each day? Head over to TinyHacker and subscribe.
Super User has Super Questions with Super Answers… Super!
More great stuff from Super User, as usual.
- Tips for approaching a hanging computer?
- When is the best time to purchase a new computer?
- Word 2003 .DOC formatting lost in HTML Emails
- Hidden features of Windows command prompt
- Installing Windows 7 (64 bit) on a Mac Pro without Bootcamp?
- How to install snow leopard in VMWare
- Can you store CDs/DVDs in a fireproof safe?
- Is there spyware in most crack/cracked/keygen software?
- Windows 7 “Libraries” – How do you back them up?
Did I use the same joke last week? I vaguely think I did. Oh well.
Last Year in Geek
One year ago, we were being lazy and not posting nearly enough. Here’s a couple of the interesting things that we did post during our non-lazy time.
- Keyboard Ninja: Toggle Hidden Files with a Shortcut Key in Windows
- Add Control Panel to the Desktop Right-Click Menu in Vista
- Easily Determine Windows Uptime in Windows 7, Vista or XP
- Power Up and Manage Your Windows Send To Menu with Send To Toys
- Benchmark Startup Times of Software Applications with AppTimer
The Weekly Geek Note
Daily Email Updates
You can get our how-to articles in your inbox each day for free. Just enter your name and email below:
Aero shake does exactly the same thing…although I suppose this is for people who don’t like shaking windows around…
Thats nice, making use of AutoHotKey.
Infact , you can make other scripts for AutoHotKey to do lot of customization as per your preference.