asked on

Create Hot Key?

I would like to keep a script running in the background that allows me to launch a subprocess at the press of a hot key combo (i.e. Ctrl+F5). Is this possible with Python?

RichieHindle

Here you go:

import os, sys
from ctypes import *
from ctypes.wintypes import *
 
user32 = windll.user32
 
WM_HOTKEY   = 0x0312
MOD_ALT     = 0x0001
MOD_CONTROL = 0x0002
MOD_SHIFT   = 0x0004
 
class MSG(Structure):
    _fields_ = [('hwnd', c_int),
                ('message', c_uint),
                ('wParam', c_int),
                ('lParam', c_int),
                ('time', c_int),
                ('pt', POINT)]
 
# Register a hotkey for Ctrl+Shift+Z.
hotkeyId = 1
if not user32.RegisterHotKey(None, hotkeyId, MOD_CONTROL | MOD_SHIFT, ord('Z')):
    sys.exit("Failed to register hotkey; maybe someone else registered it?")
 
# Spin a message loop waiting for WM_HOTKEY.
while 1:
    msg = MSG()
    while user32.GetMessageA(byref(msg), None, 0, 0) != 0:
        if msg.message == WM_HOTKEY and msg.wParam == hotkeyId:
            os.spawnl(os.P_NOWAIT, r"c:\windows\notepad.exe")
        user32.TranslateMessage(byref(msg))
        user32.DispatchMessageA(byref(msg))

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RichieHindle

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yokai

ASKER

Richie,

Works great, but how to I unregister it? :)

RichieHindle

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