Tag: Windows

Find McMaster Details with AutoHotkey

Using AutoHotkey to open a URL.

AutoHotkey script for re-assigning the F6 function key to look up a selected part number on McMaster-Carr.

As you can see below, we’re able to highlight a McMaster part number with and then hit F6 which opens up the appropriate webpage.

McMaster

Prerequisites:

  • Google Chrome installed
  • AutoHotkey installed
  • AHK Script is running

Save the follow script as a .ahk file and execute it.  If you want your .ahk scripts to run immediately on system startup, create shortcuts to the .ahk files in your systems startup directory.  For me on Windows 7, this is in C:\Users\Craig\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup.


F6:: ; Open McMaster based on selected part number
 Clipboard =
 Send ^c
 ClipWait ;wait for clipboard to have content
 Run, chrome.exe https://www.mcmaster.com/#%clipboard%/

Thanks to Tom Sherman, McMaster now also supports OpenSearch!

Create Folder Structure with a Batch Script

Generate uniform folder hierarchies using a simple batch file.

Take for example, the folder hierarchy shown below. This is our default starting point for any new project.
FolderHierarchy
Using a batch file to create directories for a new project is an easy way of making sure that we’re maintaining consistent structure.

Save the following text as a .BAT file and run it anytime a new project needs to be created. The script prompts the user for a project name and will create all directories as shown above.

@echo off
set /p project="Enter Project Name: "

MkDir "C:\Engineering\%project%\Documents\"
MkDir "C:\Engineering\%project%\Documents\Assembly Procedures\"
MkDir "C:\Engineering\%project%\Documents\Design Requirements\"
MkDir "C:\Engineering\%project%\Documents\Test Procedures\"

MkDir "C:\Engineering\%project%\Drawings\"
MkDir "C:\Engineering\%project%\Drawings\Assembly Drawings\"
MkDir "C:\Engineering\%project%\Drawings\Part Drawings\"

MkDir "C:\Engineering\%project%\3D Models\"
MkDir "C:\Engineering\%project%\3D Models\3D Printer\"