Wiki
What is Setupesc?
Setupesc is a collection of tweaks and small programs to enhance productivity and ease of use of a Windows 10 system.
This project was born out of frustration aimed at the default win10 experience, its clunky and awkward interface had always been a barrier between the user and his/her instructions. My goal is to make your computer work for you and not the other way around by replacing the interface for common tasks with a keyboard shortcut, all my common tasks have been completely replaced with shortcuts, so much so that I no longer need a desktop or windows home menu.
Made using autohotkey and licensed under the GPL.
A desktop with no icons needed
Thanks to setupesc I achieved a desktop with zero icons and distractions, your computer is a tool not a toy, the less distractions and layers of menus: the better.
Download
click here to download. To download the source code, just clone this repository or click download zip.
How to launch common programs
Since most of your time on a computer is spent in front of a text editor, web browser or video streaming service I’ve turned these actions into shortcuts.
| Key combination | Program |
|---|---|
| Win + b | Firefox |
| SHIFT + Win + b | Waterfox |
| CONTROL + Win + b | Brave |
| Win + v | FreeTube |
| Win + n | Notepad++ |
| Win + k | KeePassXC |
| Win + m | Thunderbird |
| Win + p | Gpodder |
| Win + r | RSS Reader |
| CONTROL + ESCAPE | Launchy |
and much more!
Since I use multiple browsers I choose between them using SHIFT and CONTROL, you can modify these shortcuts and modify them with little effort, for example you could change FreeTube for YouTube or Netflix, I will go in more detail on a later section.
How to launch any program
You may not recognize all programs on the list, but the last program ‘Launchy’ is a great tool for opening any program of file without looking inside folders. Launchy works very much like ‘Spotlight’ on a mac but it has more options and customizability.
To launch any program or open any file
- Install launchy here
- Run it and press Alt + Space
- Search for any file or program on the pop-up
Later you can right lick on launchy to change the hotkey to call the search function, I personally use CONTROL + ESCAPE.
How to make your own shortcuts
If you want to add a shortcut or edit an existing one you need to download the source code and compile your own version. To make / edit a shortcut you must understand the autohotkey scripting language, you can begin by:
- Downloading & installing autohotkey from their website.
- Download the setupesc source code or clone this repository.
- Open setupesc.ahk and edit the desired shortcut or create your own (following autohotkey’s rules and syntax, guide here).
- Right click on your modified version of setupesc.ahk and click compile, and wait a second or two.
- Run the new executable or add it to your startup program list.
Remember that this software is licensed under the GPl, meaning you may copy, distribute and modify the software as long as you track changes/dates in source files. Any modifications to or software including (via compiler) GPL-licensed code must also be made available under the GPL along with build & install instructions. Full license included and on http://www.gnu.org/licenses/.
GPl summary by tldrlegal.com
Simple explanation of an ahk shortcut:
Example: shortcut for firefox
#b::
Run, firefox.exe
return
This means: run ‘firefox.exe’ when ‘Windows + b’ is pressed. # means the windows key, whatever is next to it will be the next button to push to trigger the shortcut.
What symbol means what?
| symbol | key |
|---|---|
| # | Win (Windows logo key) |
| ! | Alt |
| ^ | Control |
| + | Shift |
What if I don’t know the name.exe of the program I want?
Use the path of the program:
^#b::
Run, C:\Users\alex-esc\AppData\Local\Brave\Brave.exe
return
Remember that ^ means control and # means win, therefore to run this shortcut you need to press ‘CONTROL + Win + b’
Infinite possibilities!
Check out the Autohotkey documentation for more information, link here and ask any questions on the public forum.
But I don’t want to program!
On a later release I will implement a prompt for creating your own shortcuts, for now you need to dive in the source code.
Credits & contributions:
Most of the small changes and shortcuts are made by me and the most complex functions were taken from the autohotkey publuc forums.
Credits
- Lexikos from the AutoHotkey Foundation for mouse acceleration toggle script
- MsgBox for inserting Spanish accents script
- leekohlbradley for hide taskbar script
- LPChip from superuser.com for making possible the power mode switch script
Contact info
email alexesc@disroot.org
website https://alex-esc.github.io
Keybind Listing
This are the default keybindings, you can change them at any time by editing setupesc.ahk
| Key combination | Function |
|---|---|
| Windows key | nothing |
| Win + c | Alt+f4 / close program |
| ALT + Capslock | CapsLock |
| CapsLock | Mouse2 |
| alt + n | ñ |
| Alt + n | create a new document here |
| win+numpad9 | set powerplan to high |
| win + numpad6 | set powerplan to mid |
| win + numpad3 | set powerplan to low |
| win + NumpadAdd | Enable mouse acceleration |
| win + NumpadSubstract | Disable mouse acceleration |
| win + NumpadEnter | Toggle mouse acceleration |
| win + numpad8 | open windows audio settings |
| Ctrl + win + numpad8 | open sound blaster audio settings |
| win + numpad7 | open showoff |
| Win + t | hide taskbar |
| Win + [ | insert Spanish accent |
| Win + b | Firefox |
| SHIFT + Win + b | Waterfox |
| CONTROL + Win + b | Brave |
| Win + v | FreeTube |
| Win + n | Notepad++ |
| Win + k | KeePassXC |
| Win + m | Thunderbird |
| Win + p | Gpodder |
| Win + i | itunes |
| left Ctrl + g | github |
| left Ctrl + r | |
| left Ctrl + b | blackboard |
| left Ctrl + v | netflix |
Default programs
This script assumes the following programs, some of them assume the default installation path, this means that they will not work until you change them to the correct path.
List of programs you need installed anywhere
- Firefox
- Notepad++
- Waterfox
- Brave dev (beta version)
- Thunderbird
- iTunes
List of programs that need specific paths
- Brave browser (release version)
- FreeTube
- KeePassXC
- G-Podder
In the future this script will include a gui for updating paths, for now you must dive in the source code.
Specific paths that need modification
to modify them, just do a search for the following paths and replace them with your own.
- C:\Users\Alejandro\AppData\Local\Brave\Brave.exe
- C:\Users\Alejandro\AppData\Local\freetube\FreeTube.exe
- C:\Program Files\KeePassXC\KeePassXC.exe
- C:\Program Files (x86)\gPodder\bin\gpodder.exe
Experimental features
Some features not fully developed or realized are also available on my github under the folder called ahk-experiments, these are separate files not included here, such features include shortcuts for more programs.
Some of these features will eventually find their way onto this master script.
License
GNU GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE: Version 3, 29 June 2007
Setupesc Copyright (C) 2018 by alex-esc (Alejandro Escalante)
This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or any later version.
This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more details.
Full license included and also on http://www.gnu.org/licenses/.