dont want it running all the time

[John1]

Hi,

it runs everytime i bring up a txt file.

How do i stop this?

John

 

 

[AutoBert]

There is more info needed.

[John1]

Okay.

Its called Auto-It.

My machine is Win 7.

Most programs have some sort of icon, 

or means of turning them on when you want them,

and off when you arent using them.

How do i turn it off ?

(dont want to get rid of it, just turn it off)

John

[water]

Do you mean "start" when you say "turn a program on"?
When you start your PC does an AutoIt script get started or the SciTE editor for AutoIt?

[czardas]

I know what AutoIt is (a scripting language), but I don't know what Auto-It is. Have you installed this program? How do you know it is running and what does it do? Why do you only want to kill the process instead of getting get rid of it? Why do you want to keep it?

If you press the keys Ctrl + Alt + Del, you should get an option to open task manager. Take a look at the programs that are running and see if it's there.

[MuffinMan]

1 hour ago, John1 said:

it runs everytime i bring up a txt file.

Do you mean that Scite opens every time you open a .TXT file?  If so, then it sounds like your file associations are off.Find a text file and right-click on it.  Then choose "Open With" and then "Choose Default Program".  Then choose Notepad (or your preferred text editor).  See screenshot below:

[czardas]

This is just trolling.

[John1]

Hello WATER,
-----------
Thank you for responding.

Yes i mean start a program when i said turn a program on.
I am kinda new to this, so i expect to get things wrong a bit.

Most programs have a way to start them,
and a way to stop them.

This one starts up with the machine (Win7)
which is not what i want, but i wouldn't mind if it didnt get in the way.

But it does get in the way,
i try to open a txt file,
instead i get a message in a box,

AutoIt Error
Line 2 (file etc, etc)
Error Badly formatted.

At first i thought some sort of spell-checker had kicked in,
cos my spelling can be a bit off here and there.

But no, it thinks its checking a script for me.

So i would like to use it to do that, cos thats why i put it there,
but i would like it to check ones i want it to check.

Not all my txt files are gonna be scripts.
Maybe only a couple.

As to the SciTe editor,
I had not realised that was separate,
And no, when i start my PC nothing looks different unless i call up
and try to look at one of my many sets of notes in .txt then i get no
text file just an error box from 'AutoIt'

However i can bring up the file i want to see by asking to 'Edit' the txt.
but thats no way to live.

Regards John

**********************************

Hello CZARDAS,
--------------
Thank you for responding,

Yes i wrote it wrong a couple of times. Its called AutoIt, not Auto-It.
And yes, with PC stuff you're right, to question the spelling.
It has to be spelt right, or things go wrong.

Q:   Have you installed this program?
A:   Yes i have, it went into 'Program Files (x86)'

I didnt even know there was another program files folder,
and i dont know what x86 is or what it means.

Q:   How do you know it is running and what does it do?
A:   Well i didnt know it was running, til it got in my way.

     what does it do?
     It prevents the txt file i clicked on from showing itself,
     It displays an error box telling me stuff that it doesn't like.
     (i can show the txt file if i ask for edit)

Q:   Why do you only want to kill the process instead of getting get rid of it?
A:   I think its normal not to be running programs that aren't in use.
     I dont want to get rid of it, as i will want to use it.

Q:   Why do you want to keep it?
A:   Well i think its probably a very useful program,
     if it can imitate a two key pressing keystroke then i will be most pleased.
     Apparently a bat-file can not do this,
     and my monitor wants this at every start.
     In order to "Auto Config" which is set the screen in the right place.

Yes, i have looked in task manager, it is not there, but its running anyway.

Regards, John

**********************************

Hello MUFFINMAN,
--------------
Thank you for responding,

Im not sure that Scite opens every time i open a .txt file,
Scite may already be running, then when i click on a .txt file
it might decide to check it out for me, and tell me where my
scripting errors are.

As there is one .txt file which it does not complain about,
i suspect that may be the case.

There is one .txt file that i have called 'MyFirstScript'
and it has no complaints about that one.
It just shows 'Hello World'

Yes, very original.

So yes i think you are right,
The associations are off somewhere.

All the same,
i still see no way to turn this program off.

Regards, John

**********************************

Hello again CZARDAS,
--------------------

I had a look at the two links you posted,
one called Operator64,
and one called ArrayWorkshop.

The one called Operator64 looks quite complicated,
and way over my level of using scripts (or SciTe).
However, i hope you get it to work as you want it to work.

And the other one called ArrayWorkshop,
well what can i say?
I am very new to this sort of thing,
i actually thought i could do what i need using a batch-file.
Unfortunately for me, No. Apparently a batch file cannot perform or 
generate keystrokes, this was news to me as i had thought it could do that.
Anyway it seems that a bat file can call up or invoke a "script file"
which can perform or generate keystrokes.

And that is what i want to do.

------------------

I have heard of Leibnitz vaguely, if you mean Godfrid Leibnitz a mathematician
from the early 17th cent, but i am not familiar at all with your usage of the
term dimensions.
I guess you might mean hypothetical dimensions, in addition to the 3 we are
familiar with, possibly for problem solving in ways i have no clue about.

Anyway, i had a look,
and i still dont know how to stop this AutoIt ( yes its not Auto-It) from
getting in my face every time i open a txt.

As to the trolling,
I had to look that up as i am unfamiliar with a lot of terms in wide use
these days.

No, this is not 'trolling' as the problem is genuine, and i think that
"MuffinMan" has put his finger on it.
He thinks that the associations are off somewhere.

As to turning the program off, i actually expected someone to simply say
"go here, go there, click that bit"
see that tick-box where it says Run At Startup ....
.... well remove the tick, then it wont run at startup.

But no.
there is no such tick box
(that i can find)
or any sort of equivalent.

cant find it in 'services'
it aint in task manager,
i dunno how to turn it off.

Even so, i dont really mind it staying ON so long as it only re-acts to
files that are supposed to be scripts,
even if i have to make up an association thats only for that.

Im quite new to this, there might already be file-type or group of
file-types which are just for scripts,
If there is such then i'll just pick one and that should sort it out.

Regards, John
 

[SadBunny]

Wow, what a read  Ok, looks like you are not the typical newbie on this forum. Let me try and help in helpdesk mode and very verbosely, bear with me please   I will go off topic and explain some basic Windows system concepts as well, as it sounds like your experience may be lacking in that respect. So... What it looks like to me is:

1. you wrote that "hello world"-script in that txt file 
2. then you tried to execute it, so you right-clicked the txt file and clicked "run with" or "open with" and navigated to an executable in the autoit directory, i.e. AutoIt3.exe
3. BUT you accidentally clicked "always use this app to open txt files" (or something along those lines, exact text depends on Windows version)

This is called "file association" as now the .txt file extension has become permanently associated with that AutoIt3.exe in the Windows registry, so that every time you know activate a .txt file, Windows looks in its registry to find the associated application to open that file with. There are myriad ways to fix that, but the easiest way is what MuffinMan said, which is pretty much those steps 2 and 3 that I just described as my suspicion what went wrong for you, but then instead of choosing AutoIt3.exe, choose Notepad. Normally Notepad it should be in the hotlist of choosable apps for associations for .txt files, if not you can browse to it by This Computer -> C-drive -> Windows dir -> notepad.exe. 

That should restore the issue.

More notes, to react to everything else you wrote:

• Your idea that this is a program that's running with Windows is probably incorrect - the problem is that file association. That's not a "background application" or something, it's just what Windows now thinks you want to open .txt files with. So there is not a program that's "ON" (in your words), it's a system setting that was inadvertently corrupted by you as the user. So, there is also nothing to kill, because your problem is not something that's an active thing, it's a passive setting that is used to steer system behaviour.
• What you should do is not write a .txt file, but an .au3 file. The easiest way to do that is to use the Scite editor that is included in the full installation from the AutoIt3 download page. If you use Scite, your files will be given the .au3 extentions. Also Scite has MANY added features that help you writing scripts, such as a shortcut to run the script while editing it (for testing), or for compiling it to an .exe file for standalone execution. Extra problem if you work in notepad, except for the lack of sheer coder convenience, is that there are more Windows basics that you may be unaware of (e.g. hidden file extensions) that may make your life harder. Bottom line: just don't use Notepad but rathher Scite to write your scripts.
• Czardas didn't post those two links (operator64 and ArrayWorkshop) for you - they are simply part of his signature, which is the default text that appears under all his posts. Most people here use that signature to write something funny or profound, or to link to some of their more comprehensive projects.

Hope this helps, sorry for the verbosity.

[Melba23]

John1,

Quote

At first i thought some sort of spell-checker had kicked in,
cos my spelling can be a bit off here and there.

But no, it thinks its checking a script for me.

So i would like to use it to do that, cos thats why i put it there,
but i would like it to check ones i want it to check.

Not all my txt files are gonna be scripts.
Maybe only a couple.

To me this sounds as if you have installed ("cos thats why i put it there") some form of spellchecker app written in AutoIt on your machine and this is now operating on every text file you open - and unfortunately failing in most cases, thus producing the error dialog which you see.

From where did you get this spellchecker app? Do you remember how you installed it? That would give us some clue as to how you might get rid of it.  Then perhaps we can look into how you might modify the app to work as you wish - but let us get rid of the immediate nuisance first.

M23

 

[SadBunny]

John1 explained that he wrote a script called "MyFirstScript.txt" and that that still works as an executed script when he opens it. He also says "Not all my txt files are gonna be scripts. Maybe only a couple.". 

I'm pretty sure it has nothing to do with spellcheckers.

[Melba23]

SadBunny,

I based my comments on my reading of his (admittedly rather hard to understand) posts - so how about allowing John1 to reply rather than trying to impose your personal interpretation? My crystal ball has proved to be pretty accurate on occasions.....

M23

[czardas]

9 hours ago, John1 said:

No, this is not 'trolling' as the problem is genuine

In that case I apologize for what I said. I agree that's it's a good idea to right click on a text file and see what options you get given.

[Skysnake]

This makes for interesting reading...

My 2 cents worth - on install, there is a choice as to what should happen with a click on .au3 files - Edit or Run.  I would suggest to uninstall the Scite installation, force the system back to where it was without AutoIt/Scite installed.  Check that text file behaviour is as expected (not starting all the time).

Re-install Scite.  Make sure of the install options.  Do not associate Scite with all txt files and only Edit au3 files.

Perhaps that would re-establish some form of control? 

Good luck

[czardas]

Well I always choose the default option when installing SciTE, but if it's a text file surely it should just open in the editor. If double clicking a text file causes SciTE to trigger the AutoIt interpreter, which I very much doubt, then what's this all about? It makes no sense to me.

Edited July 10, 2016 by czardas

[John1]

00:15 Monday 11 July 2016

Hi Everybody:
Thank you all for responding.

Its been a busy day for me today,
and probably like a lot of people when the hustle and bustle of the day is done,
and you settle at the evening in a comfy chair, thats usually when i try to get
the computer to do what i want, which is not always what it wants to do.

So, ive come back and there are several replies,
and i have taken the necessary instructions, and i have been into the file associations.

I had written stuff in a .txt, or notepad file which seems to have not been a good idea.
Probably stems from back in the day, when i used to do minor bibs and bobs using DOS
it was similar in some respects to assembler and i related to most of the DOS stuff.
But that was years ago now, and maybe using .txt was not such a good idea at all.

SO, I've been to that file called MyFirstScript and ive changed its association from
.txt to .au3 and it now works exactly the same, it shows "Hello World"

But more importantly for me, when i click on other .txt or Notepad files, they
come up as normal notepad files without the script checker involved.

So i am well pleased about that.

I will also try to answer individually.

SADBUNNY
--------
Thank you for your reply,
Verbosely ... dont talk to me about verbosely. I do try to get things right,
and sometimes when im a bit lost or out of my depth i dont always get it right.

I seems you are correct, i used Notepad when i should have used the au3 pad.
And its picked up on that, for all the txt files.

Now that bit is straightened out, i should be able to get on with what
i am trying to do, which is get this monitor under control.

Yes i had thought that it was a program kicking in, but now i see that it was
just acting properly. From now on i will be using the au3 pad that comes up.  
(this is probably what is called the 'Scite editor').

I realised after reading through my last reply that those two links were part
of Czardas' signature, and not really for me.

Verbosity ? dont worry i found your post perfectly readable and clear.
(unlike mine which are apparently hard to follow, i'll have to work on that)

Regards, John

--------------------------

Hi MELBA23,
There was no spellchecker,
the editor was apparently  picking up on scripting errors,
but not being used to it being applied to ordinary writing,
i didn't realize at first what it was doing,
and it sort of seemed a bit like a spellchecker.

"thats why i put it there"
yes, poorly written. Should have said:

So i would like to use autoit to check my scripts, cos thats
why i downloaded it and installed it,
but i would like it to check the ones i want it to check.

However, as it now has the au3 ext. its not responding to the other
texts, which is fine.

-------------------- 

SADBUNNY
--------
Yes, nothing to do with spellcheckers.

My fault, i shouldn't have mentioned spellcheckers.
But i havent seen that thing before,
and it sort of looked a bit like a spellchecker.

-------------------- 

MELBA23,
Sorry i didnt write that bit very well,
but it seems Ok now.

--------------------

Hi CZARDAS,

No need to apologise, apparently i dont write so good,

Re-setting the associations has apparently set that all straight now. 

--------------------

Hi SKYSNAKE,

I dont think i will need to do a re-install,
Ive re-set the associations and it seems to be working Ok now.

well, i havent really used it much yet.
I should be Ok cos the guys on this board seem to know their stuff good.

--------------------

Hi CZARDAS,

Double clicking on a .txt file was bringing up a sort of error message in
a message box, telling me of errors on lines with line numbers.

I dont know if thats called the 'Autoit Interpreter'
it might be.

But its Ok, its not doing that any more.
Resetting the associations seems to have removed that problem.

***********************************************

Now i hope to concentrate on getting this monitor under control.

MANY THANKS TO YOU ALL

Regards, John

[SadBunny]

Dude, nothing to apologize for, you are quite diligent in your communication (albeit quite non-standard  ) and that is an internet virtue in my book. What probably made your story somewhat hard to follow was that you jumped to a few assumptions and conclusions which distorted your explanation.

Anyway, glad to hear your functionality is back to normal! And I'm sure I can speak for all the other posters here when I say glad we could help   If you are still looking to write a script, please see how far you get now that you have those associations in order, and if you encounter script-specific questions please start a new topic.

On another note: you can simply tell whether your current editor is Scite by looking at the title bar (and if it is and everything else is OK, then no you don't have to reinstall anything) as it will contain a little autoit logo to the top left and the word "SciTE"

Finally, if you want to be easier to read, please try to form full sentences and to not break them off mid-sentence for no reason with so much whitespace  At the risk of my crystal ball overheating (thanks to Melba for the metaphor), could it be that you are writing your response in Notepad and then copypaste it into this site? If so, try to just write your stuff into directly into the reply box and only use enter if you want to start a new paragraph.

Cheers.

[czardas]

4 hours ago, John1 said:

I dont know if thats called the 'Autoit Interpreter'
it might be.

I wouldn't have expected it but that would account for your description of this problem.  Anyway I'm glad you sorted out your file associations.

[Skysnake]

@John1 good to hear.

 

[John1]

Hello,

Thank you all for your help, i hope now to get on with what i am trying to do. Which is to get my new (second hand really) monitor to behave itself in a less intrusive way. I have been told that a batch file cannot imitate or perform keystrokes, which i had always thought that it could. Ive been given a nice ACER monitor, an 'AL1917' and it works quite nicely and has a good screen with a decent viewing angle range. BUT it has a built in system making it align its display screen with the incoming display information. Not the resolution, but the positioning of the display, it positions the display nice and central, and up to the edges top and bottom. it does this every time it gets turned on. It obviously thinks its being helpful by doing this for me. And yes, the P.O.S.T. pages are nicely aligned, and i dont need to fiddle with the left and right adjustments or the up and down adjustments, or the vertical size, or the horizontal size. They all come out fine. And i can watch the Pre-pages (as they are sometimes called) as they come and go. Then the PC Operating system starts, which in most cases is higher res than the POST screens, and usually in colour. This is now in a different place, about a third to a half of the picture is lost to the left of the screen, and a section to the right is black. After some occasions spent repositioning the screen display by hand, i found i could 'kick' the monitor into 'self adjust' by pressing the leftmost button once, and it would self align nicely with the new incoming display. Well thats not too bad i thought, but it soon gets old (as they say) and becomes irksome to have to do this every time. Then after a while it gets annoying, cos i have seen other monitors on other peoples stuff, and they dont do that. When most people start up their stuff, the monitor goes back to where they left it, or if it does any self adjusting it doesnt do it on the black and white bits, it just does it on the coloured picture. I have tried and tried to get this monitor to behave normally, but i dont think it can. However, i have found that when its all started up and running, that is the PC and the monitor, i can press the 'Alt Gr' and 'F11' keys both at the same time, just once, and the monitor will then realign itself nicely with the current incoming picture. Great, but still a workaround and still annoying, but it had to my mind, the possibility that a batch file could cut in at startup, and do it for me. Great, so i start trying to do such a bat file, Thats when i got told that batch files cant do that. I still dont know if its true that they cannot do that, but i can only find stuff about scripts to do that. So i want to write a script which will cut in at start-up, then press once on Alt Gr and F11 together, then end.

That should mean that i can turn on my PC and my monitor, and go and make a cup of tea, when i get back hopefully all will be peachy.

I am now going to try and upload a photo so you can see what i mean.

Regards to all, John

Edited July 11, 2016 by John1
typo