AutoIt

AutoIt
Developer(s)	Jonathan Bennett & AutoIt Team
Initial release	January 1999; 25 years ago
Stable release	3.3.14.2 / September 18, 2015; 9 years ago
Operating system	Microsoft Windows
Type	GUI Scripting language Automation
License	Freeware closed source
Website	www.autoitscript.com/autoit3/

AutoIt /ɔːtoʊ ɪt/^[2] is a freeware automation language for Microsoft Windows. In its earliest release, the software was primarily intended to create automation scripts (sometimes called macros) for Microsoft Windows programs^[3] but has since grown to include enhancements in both programming language design and overall functionality.

While the scripting language in AutoIt 1 and 2 was statement-driven, designed primarily for simulating user interaction, from version 3 onwards the AutoIt syntax is similar to that found in the BASIC family of languages. In this form, AutoIt is a general-purpose, third-generation programming language with a classical data model and a variant data type that can store several types of data, including arrays. While version 1 and 2 were compatible with Windows 95, 98, ME, NT4, 2000, XP, 2003, Vista, Windows 7, support for operating systems older than Windows 2000 was discontinued with the release of v3.3.0 in December 2008).^[4] Currently AutoIt is compatibile also with Windows 2008, Windows 8, Windows 2012, Windows 10, and minimal requirement is XP+SP3.

An AutoIt automation script can be converted into a compressed, stand-alone executable which can be run on computers that do not have the AutoIt interpreter installed. A wide range of function libraries (known as UDFs, or "User Defined Functions")^[5] are also included as standard or are available from the website to add specialized functionality. AutoIt is also distributed with an IDE based on the free SciTE editor. The compiler and help text are fully integrated and provide a de facto standard environment for developers using AutoIt.

Features

File:Exampleau3.png

The AutoIt SciTE editor.

Scripting language with BASIC-like structure for Windows Desktop Environment.
Add-on libraries and modules for specific applications.
On-line support forum for AutoIt users and developers.
Supports TCP and UDP protocols.
Supports COM (component object modelling) objects.
Call functions in Win32 DLLs.
Run console applications and access the standard streams.
Include files in the compiled file to be extracted when run.
Create GUI interfaces, including message and input boxes.
Play sounds, pause, resume, stop, seek, get the current position of the sound and get the length of the sound.
Simulate mouse movements.
Manipulate windows and processes.
Automate sending user input and keystrokes to applications, as well as to individual controls within an application.
Scripts can be compiled into standalone executables.
Unicode support from version 3.2.4.0.
64-bit code support from version 3.2.10.0.
Supports regular expressions.
Works with Windows Vista's User Account Control.
Object oriented design through a library.^[6]

Usage

AutoIt is typically used to produce utility software for Microsoft Windows and to automate routine tasks, such as systems management, monitoring, maintenance, or software installation. It is also used to simulate user interaction, whereby an application is "driven" (via automated form entry, keypresses, mouse clicks, and so on) to do things by an AutoIt script.

Examples

Hello world

; Make available a library of constant values.
#include <MsgBoxConstants.au3>

; Displays "Hello, world!" in a messagebox.
MsgBox($MB_SYSTEMMODAL, "Title", "Hello, world!")

Automating the Windows Calculator

; Make available a library of constant values.
#include <MsgBoxConstants.au3>

; Display a message box with a timeout of 6 seconds.
MsgBox($MB_OK, "Attention", "Avoid touching the keyboard or mouse during automation.", 6)

; Run the Windows Calculator.
Run("calc.exe")

; Wait for the calculator to become active with a timeout of 10 seconds.
WinWaitActive("[CLASS:CalcFrame]", "", 10)

; If the calculator did not appear after 10 seconds then exit the script.
If WinExists("[CLASS:CalcFrame]") = 0 Then Exit

; Automatically type the current year into the calculator.
Send(@YEAR)

; Let's slow the script down a bit so we can see what's going on.
Sleep(600)

; Automatically type in 'divide by 4', and then sleep 600 ms.
Send("/4")
Sleep(600)

; Hit the return key to display the result, and sleep 600 ms.
Send("{ENTER}")
Sleep(600)

; Copy the result to the clipboard using the Windows shortcut Ctrl+C.
Send("^c")

; Declare, and assign the contents of the clipboard to, a variable.
Local $fResult = ClipGet()

; Check to see if the variable contains a decimal point or not.
If StringInStr($fResult, ".") Then
    ; Display a message box with a timeout of 5 seconds.
    MsgBox($MB_OK, "Leap Year", @YEAR & " is not a leap year.", 5)
Else
    ; This message will only display if the current year is a leap year.
    MsgBox($MB_OK, "Leap Year", @YEAR & " is a leap year.", 5)
EndIf

; Close the Windows calculator - always tidy up afterwards.
WinClose("[CLASS:CalcFrame]")

Find average

; Find Average by JohnOne, modified by czardas
#include <MsgBoxConstants.au3>

_Example() ; Run the example.

Func _Example()
    ; Display an input box and ask the user to enter some numbers separated by commas.
    Local $sInput = InputBox("Find Average", "Enter some numbers separated by commas: 1,2,42,100,3")

	; If an error occurred then exit the script.
	If @error Then Exit

    ; Populate an array with the user's input.
    Local $aSplit = StringSplit($sInput, ",")

    ; Pass the array to the function _Find_Average() and then check for errors.
    Local $fAverage = _Find_Average($aSplit)
    If @error Then Exit

    ; Display the result in a message box.
    MsgBox($MB_OK, "Find Average", "Result: " & $fAverage)
EndFunc   ;==>_Example

Func _Find_Average($aArray)
    ; If the input is not of the correct type (an array), then return an error along with the details.
    If Not IsArray($aArray) Then Return SetError(1, 0, VarGetType($aArray))
	; More detailed checks are possible, but for brevity just one is performed here.

    ; Declare a variable to store the sum of the numbers.
    Local $iArraySum = 0

    ; Loop through the array.
    For $i = 1 To $aArray[0]
        ; Increment the sum by the number in each array element.
        $iArraySum += Number($aArray[$i])
    Next

    ; Return the average rounded to 2 decimal places.
    Return Round($iArraySum / $aArray[0], 2)
EndFunc   ;==>_Find_Average

History

January 1999 - First AutoIt Version (1.0)
August 1999 - AutoIt v2 and AutoItX
September 1999 - First AutoIt version with Compiler
December 2002 - AutoIt v3 (Public Beta)
February 2004 - AutoIt v3 (Stable)
September 2006 - Auto3Lib started
November 2007 - AutoIt v3.2.10.0 released, Auto3Lib incorporated into AutoIt v3
May 2008 - AutoIt v3.2.12.0 released, incorporating added GUI functionality
December 2008 - AutoIt (and AutoItX) v3.3.0.0 released
December 2009 - AutoIt v3.3.2.0 released
January 2010 - AutoIt v3.3.4.0 released
March 2010 - AutoIt v3.3.6.0 released
April 2010 - AutoIt v3.3.6.1 released
December 2011 - AutoIt v3.3.8.0 released
January 2012 - AutoIt v3.3.8.1 released
December 2013 - AutoIt v3.3.10.0 released
June 2014 - AutoIt v3.3.12.0 released
July 2015 - AutoIt v3.3.14.0 and v3.3.14.1 released
September 2015 - AutoIt v3.3.14.2 released^[7]

The developers of AutoIt originally released the source code under the GNU General Public License (GPL), but the practice was discontinued beginning with version 3.2.0 in August 2006. Following the terms of the GPL, some of the code from version 3.1 was used to create a fork by the AutoHotkey project,^[8] where the community is continuing to develop and release the code under the GPL.

References

^ "AutoIt Downloads".
^ Reply by Jon (AutoIt creator) to a forum topic discussing correct pronunciation^{[permanent dead link]}
^ Kaplan, Steve (2003). Citrix Metaframe Access Suite for Windows Server 2003. New York: McGraw-Hill. ISBN 0-07-219566-5.
^ Jon (2008-12-24). "AutoIt v3.3.0.0 Released - Announcements and Site News - AutoIt Forums". Autoitscript.com. Retrieved 2014-01-23.
^ https://www.autoitscript.com/wiki/User_Defined_Functions
^ AutoitObject. a library to use object oriented design in autoit Archived February 26, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
^ "AutoIt History". www.autoitscript.com. Retrieved 2016-04-19.
^ Chris Mallet (author of AutoHotkey)'s post

External links

Official website

[1] "AutoIt Downloads".

[2] Reply by Jon (AutoIt creator) to a forum topic discussing correct pronunciation^{[permanent dead link]}

[Kaplan000-3] Kaplan, Steve (2003). Citrix Metaframe Access Suite for Windows Server 2003. New York: McGraw-Hill. ISBN 0-07-219566-5.

[4] Jon (2008-12-24). "AutoIt v3.3.0.0 Released - Announcements and Site News - AutoIt Forums". Autoitscript.com. Retrieved 2014-01-23.

[5] ttps://www.autoitscript.com/wiki/User_Defined_Functions

[6] AutoitObject. a library to use object oriented design in autoit Archived February 26, 2010, at the Wayback Machine

[7] "AutoIt History". www.autoitscript.com. Retrieved 2016-04-19.

[8] Chris Mallet (author of AutoHotkey)'s post

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