16 - Two apps that make life easier with less typing
Bitwarden
Unless you have superhuman memory or are using the same password everywhere, a password manager is necessary. Some people may rely on browser password managers such as the one in Chrome. I didn’t care for it because it lacked portability between devices. I wanted my passwords securely available anytime on any app or device.
I tried the open-source KeePass for a while. I eventually gave up because it had a clunky environment. You had to use different apps made by different developers depending on where you were using it. One app for PC, another for your browser, and another for your phone. I tried Microsoft Authenticator too and didn’t like it’s limited features. I felt there had to be a better way.
I looked at different options and decided on Bitwarden. It’s open source and free for personal users. They make apps for many devices and browsers, and they all synchronize well with each other. I use it on my desktop Windows, my Chrome browser, and my Android phone. I particularly like how it can autofill passwords on my Android apps and on my Chrome browser. It makes website and app entries a breeze. It even allows biometric entries on Android, so it makes it a snap to access. I never have to worry about losing or forgetting passwords to a site or app because I know it’s safe and secure with Bitwarden.
Auto Hot Key
Hot keys are where you can tap on a combination of keys, and it will operate something quickly for you saving you both time and repetition. As a Windows user my favorite program for this is the free and open-source AutoHotKey app.
This app has its own simple scripting language where you can customize to fit your own needs. For example, I like to type out the full date whenever I make a journal entry. Doing it manually each time is tedious whereas AHK can do this easily by using the FormatTime function.
:*:;l::
{
Send FormatTime(, "LongDate")
}
In this example I created what’s known as a hot string. When I tap the semi-colon key quickly followed by the “l” key it will automatically type out the current full date such as Saturday, April 15, 2023.
Another short example is re-configuring other combinations. Here I created an alternative to Ctrl + Alt + Tab window switcher shortcut so I can use Ctrl + Space instead because I find it easier.
;alt tab alternative
^Space::Send "^!{Tab}"
I like to put all my commands in a single AHK file. I then place a shortcut to the file in my startup folder (you can access this quickly by doing Win + R then entering shell:startup). That way it will automatically open and be available any time the PC starts up.
The included manual for AHK is thorough and easy to search for things. The simple commands that I do only scratch the surface of what this program can do. I sometimes use AI tools like BingAI or ChatGPT to help me create scripts and I find it helpful.
Keep in mind there is a V1 and V2 version of this program. AHK is officially on V2 now but there are many V1 examples online that won’t work if you only install V2. My own script was simple, so I converted it to the V2 scripting conventions and plan to use it for any future scripts.