Windows Hotkey(s)

[Eric Strain]

Does anyone here have any experience overriding OS registered hotkeys? For example, when the user presses Ctrl-Alt-Del specific things happen at the OS level. That hotkey sequence is registered on system startup by the OS and that makes it hard to override. I'm looking for pointers on how to override that hotkey. I suspect that I will need to use a global keyboard hook and trap that specific key sequence in order to override it. Any thoughts on this?

I have had limited success using RegisterHotKey( ) to override other hotkey combinations but when I try to register the Ctrl-Alt-Del sequence I get an error that translates to 'hotkey already registered' with this in mind, I also tried trapping this error and immediately calling UnregisterHotKey( ) with the required parameters but that always fails. Any ideas? Thanks guys.

-Eric

[tonyblair]

I didn't test it but it seems that : Hotkey Commander Explore, manage, disable or override hotkeys in Windows system.

http://hkcmdr.anymania.com/

If you are a programmer, here is a Snippet: HotKey (C#) :

http://www.codekeep.net/snippets/694d10f6-3aaa-4f6b-bb38-366c77fb5ec0.aspx

[CODYQX4]

I wonder though, if CTRL ALT DEL is deep enough to prevent something taking it's place. I have seen 2 programs register the same hotkey, and one either refuses since it's

been taken, or both respond.

You could try AutoHotKey, but I don't think that taking the CTRL ALT DEL hotkey sequence is a good idea if it is even possible.

[HX1]

Well...its fairly easy to use Hotkeys and assign them to your shortcuts in the Properties windows..other functions can get a little more difficult.. I have run on several programs for this however.. and I am big Hotkey user.. but I don't use them..( try to stick with well planned defaults for programs and windows ) Some may in fact even offer a Hotkey manager of their own..

CFi Shell Toys - Provides a Hotkey manager ( recommend this one anyway )

InchWest Hotkey Control

Launchy

Zencode Zenkey

[HX1]

CFi rocks.. love it.. especially the batch rename mechanism.. some really good and quick tools.. using version 7 now I believe..

[Eric Strain]

Thanks guys. But I'm looking for a way to do this programmatically. I'm using MSVC6.0 on XP Pro SP2 as my development machine. I found an app on CodeProject.com that allows the user to set various combinations of hotkeys, but I get the same error when I use that program that I do when I try to do this in my own program. For example, I tried to register the Win+R hotkey (which normally brings up the "Run" dialog from the start menu ) using this program and I still get error 1409 (hotkey already registered). The source code for that app uses the same basic functionality that my program uses, mainly RegisterHotKey( ) which explains the similar results. I have also tried trapping the WM_HOTKEY message and handling the hotkey(s) in the event handler but that hasn't worked either. I'm still researching this but I haven't found anything promising yet. I'll let the community know if I find anything that may be useful to the group.

-Eric

[HX1]

Usually when I have hotkeys overlap.. I either get a message that certain keys are in use by other programs and their function will not work by hotkey.. or it won't allow me to put it in..

Is it run type dialog specific.. or could you simply just change the key combo? Like I use Ctrl + Alt + R.. for runboxx...Instaed of trying to have it replace Win + R..I mean next to that it will be user orientated changes ...

[Sl@pSh0ck™]

Visually assign Windows keyboard shortcuts and hotkeys with Qliner

Qliner Hotkeys is a freeware Windows application that allows you to assign keyboard shortcuts and hotkeys in a visual manner. Qliner is a very simple to use and very effective keyboard productivity software. If you’ve ever started using keyboard shortcuts or hotkeys, you’ve probably noticed how hard it can be to remember which key combinations are assigned to which actions.

Qliner tries to solve this problem by making it very easy to quickly view all of the keyboard shortcuts possible by displaying a virtual keyboard on your desktop. Also, you can assign actions such as opening a program to a hotkey by simply dragging and dropping items to the virtual keyboard.

Simply hold the Windows key for 3 seconds and a virtual keyboard will instantly pop-up showing all shortcuts and hotkeys.

The keyboard is high configurable: you can change the color and the layout to exactly match your physical keyboard. Once the virtual keyboard shows up on your desktop, you can simply drag and drop icons onto the keyboard to assign shortcut keys.

You can also right click on any key and you’ll get a built-in list of shortcuts that you can assign such as taking a screenshot, running a shell command, opening the system clock, adjusting the volume, etc.

Another nice feature is that it switches based on the application you are using automatically. So if you open the virtual keyboard while in Word, you’ll see the Word shortcuts, open it in Excel, and you’ll see only Excel shortcuts, and same thing for IE, Photoshop, etc.

Overall, the program is very cool and really great for people who love to use keyboard shortcuts all the time. The software does not hog up resources and has a really nice interface, so it makes it more fun to use. Definitely worth checking out!

But I doubt you can re-assign hotkeys that have already been pre-assigned like CTRL-ALT-DEL.

here is the download link: http://qliner.com/hotkeys/overview.htm