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Winsupermaximize Fits Windows To Your Screen [Downloads]

Posted on May 12, 2009
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Windows only: Tiny utility Winsupermaximize adds a shortcut key that maximizes the current window and removes the title bar—a great tool for using more of your screen.

Using the utility is simple enough—just start it up and either use the tray icon or the new Win+F11 shortcut key to maximize the current window. In our testing, the tray icon was a little flaky—sometimes maximizing the wrong window, but the shortcut key works perfectly. Since the application is written in AutoHotkey, you can bundle the functionality into your own custom script instead of running a separate executable.

Winsupermaximize is free and open source, available for Windows only. For more, check out Deskhedron’s virtual desktop eye-candy, or use WinRoll to fold windows up into their title bars.

winsupermaximize [Google Code via [gHacks]





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ActiveHotkeys Shows You Which Keys Are Available [Downloads]

Posted on May 7, 2009
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Windows only: If you’re tweaking your system and adding new keyboard shortcuts, it’s handy to know which global shortcuts have already been claimed and which are open for use.

ActiveHotkeys is a portable Windows application that surveys your system and returns a list of global hot keys. You search by checking which modifiers and normal keys you want to include in the scan. If you want to use an ALT+ some key combination you would select ALT and then the corresponding key set you wanted to check against such as A-Z and 0-9. ActiveHotkeys would then return a list of potential combinations and whether or not they had been claimed by some application as a global hot key.

There is one shortcoming, no fault of the application’s author. Windows doesn’t keep a record of which hot key is assigned to which application, merely that the assignment has been made. So if you really want to use a combination already assigned, you’ll have to do some digging to figure out which application is using it and if you can disable or alter it. ActiveHotkeys is freeware, Windows only. Thanks Geakz!

Active Hotkeys [Donation Coder]





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Stop iPhone Auto-Correct with a “Z” [IPhone]

Posted on February 18, 2009
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Writing an email on your iPhone or iPod touch with a lot of jargon? Tapping out a text in another language? Here’s how you can prevent the overbearing auto-correct feature from slowing you down.

A bilingual reader of our Aussie cousin, Lifehacker Australia, found that by typing out a "z," then touching and dragging to back up the cursor behind it, he could write as far outside the constraints of his native land's language as he wanted. Typing behind the Z leaves auto-correct unable to guess what word you could possibly be forming—"Restaurantz?" it asks, with a resigned shrug—so it leaves you alone. Works on any iPhone/touch app that features spelling correction, actually. You could, of course, just turn off Auto-Correction in the Settings/General/Keyboard menu, but this method provides a quick tweak that leaves the finger-waving for the real typos.






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HoeKey Enables User Created Hot Key Combinations [Downloads]

Posted on February 17, 2009
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Windows only: HoeKey is a tiny portable application that helps you create user-defined hot key combinations that control a wide variety of Windows functions.

HoeKey uses an astoundingly low amount of system resources—on my system it used a mere 252k of memory. By comparison, the next most intensive non-system process was Notepad, consuming 1,298k of memory. Users can script a variety of macros going well beyond basic application launching. HoeKey has commands for emulating keystrokes, running applications, moving and manipulating windows, adjusting speaker volume and media playback, and a host of other things you might not want to do manually.

The application is completely portable and, because it doesn’t modify the system at all, you could safely use it for custom keyboard shortcuts on a work computer. Use HoeKey with some of the free ways we’ve suggested for syncing your files, and you’ll have the convenience of the same keyboard shortcuts at both your home and office terminals. HoeKey is a free download for Windows systems only.






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Media Keyboard 2 Media Player Adds Keyboard Support to Popular Media Players [Featured Windows Download]

Posted on January 23, 2009
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Windows only: Your system’s got a fancy keyboard with a host of handy media shortcut buttons, but they only work with a select few apps. Media Keyboard 2 Media Player fills in the support gap.

Once installed, MK2MP acts as a middle man between your keyboard and popular media-applications like VLC, Xion, XMPlay, 1BY1, and Winamp. The application runs almost invisible to the end user, passing the keyboard command onto the application with the right trigger. You can enable and disable common media-keyboard keys for each program, and specify whether it sits in your system tray or stays incognito. If the program you need to control isn’t yet available, the application is in active development and open to suggestions for new players to be added. Looking for a new media player in general? Check out the Hive Five results for best desktop media players.






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Windows 7 Shortcuts Enables the Best Win7 Shortcuts in XP or Vista [Windows 7]

Posted on January 16, 2009
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Windows only: If you like the look of Windows 7′s great new keyboard shortcuts but aren’t planning to upgrade for a while, Windows 7 Shortcuts enables some of the best Win7 shortcuts for XP and Vista.

Windows 7 Shortcuts was submitted by Lifehacker reader Rupert and was written in one of our favorite scripting languages, AutoHotkey. Right now, Windows 7 Shortcuts supports the following keyboard shortcuts:

Included:
Win+Left/Right arrows: Dock the window to each side of the monitor
Win+Up arrow: Maximize the active window
Win+Down arrow: Minimize the window/Restore the window if it’s maximized

Partially Included
Win+Space: Note from the developer: AHK won’t allow multiple windows to be made transparent easily. Therefore, I’ve changed it to make the active window transparent until it is released.

If you’re an AHK user, you can grab the source and paste it into the script you use daily. If not, download the EXE by clicking the Download link above.

Windows 7 Shortcuts is a free download, Windows only.






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