Solved hot keys question

Many sites ask me to enter my email address to join, sign in, etc.
Is it possible to set my windows 8.1 desktop to enter ths email address by using a hot key or some kind of a shortcut? It would save a lot of time and typing. thx

You may even be able to use one of the programmable keys on your keyboard. But I would recommend Autohotkey. It's free and very versatile. For example what you want to do could be accomplished by a very short ahk program.


What happens in the code above is "^+e::" means listen for the key combination control-shift-e and when it is pressed send the email address written to the active window or control(such as an edit line in a form.)

SendRaw just means do not interpret any of the characters such as that at symbol to have any special meaning. Just send the characters as if they were typed.


ahk programs usually sit in the tray so they are always ready for hotkey press. If you want to do things a bit more involved there are forums that will help you overcome obstacles in your code. Also many example scripts and free utilities. I write most of my small Windows utilities using it.

If that sounds suspiciously like work you can get macro programs from freeware download sites where a Gui allows you to select a hotkey and what happens when it is pressed. There are many free ones out there. Just search the big freeware download pages and review sites.

For security purposes, I would not advise this - not for new sites you join.

Do note that most sites put cookies on your system that contain that information so the next time you enter that site, your information is automatically entered - unless you deleted the cookies.

If you use CCleaner to keep your drives clean of "clutter", you can designated specific cookies you want to keep during cleaning - eightforums.com, for example. Then, next time you visit the site, you are automatically logged in.

For forums, blogs and that type of thing I use an ID and password that are unrelated to anything confidential. Forums do not usually use https to sign in. So the password is going to be sent in the clear anyway.

I never use ID and Password paste utilities or cookies for anything critical such as online banking. What some people do also is create a skeleton Facebook account for sites that let you log in via Facebook instead of setting up an account. Just don't add any info to the Facebook page.

I haven't tried BugMeNot service(unless it's the same as the old FF AddOn.) That's another route to investigate.

thanks to all for your responses. much appreciated.