Using AutoHotKey to remap keys

Question

I recently purchased Rayman 2 from GOG.com. The game is old and thus does not give the option to remap keys, and I'd like to make them a little closer to what we're used to today.

Basically, I want normal movement with WSAD, jump with space, and shoot with left mouse click. Also, I'd like the keys to only be remapped when the Rayman window is active. I created the below script, but it does not work correctly.

This is the first time I've ever worked with AHK, so I'm not sure what to do. How can I correctly configure the script?

Here's what happens with this script active:

Script is active whether Rayman is open or not, let alone whether the window is active. (The window name can either be Rayman II or Rayman2.)
W: moves forward and turns camera to the right
S: works as intended
A: moves left and jumps
D: works as intended
LButton: works as intended
space: shoots and jumps

The script itself:

IfWinActive, Rayman2
{
    w::up
    s::down
    a::left
    d::right
    space::a
    LButton::space
}

@50-3 nope, AutoHotkey has always been used extensively to remap and disable keys. http://www.autohotkey.com/docs/misc/Remap.htm‎ — user 99572 is fine, Nov 04 '13 at 20:53
@user 99572 I retract my previous statement and have some reading to do (: — 50-3, Nov 04 '13 at 21:15
Related, general question: [Remapping keyboard keys for specific applications](http://superuser.com/questions/88238/remapping-keyboard-keys-for-specific-applications) — Lilienthal, Oct 21 '15 at 21:14

user 99572 is fine · Answer 1 · 2013-11-18T12:37:01.530

First, you're using the wrong command. Use #IfWinActive. This is for the whole script. The command you chose checks if a window is active within a script.
Then, check with WindowSpy what the ahk_class of the window is (which is useful if the window title changes). WindowSpy is included in the AutoHotkey installation.
Last, try different SendModes. There are a few that vary in the details. More info on the different Send commands can be found here.

Your code will look something like this:

#IfWinActive, ahk_class xyz ; put your ahk_class instead of xyz
SendMode Play ; try all of the following: Input|Play|Event|InputThenPlay

    w::up
    s::down
    a::left
    d::right
    space::a
    LButton::space

Qualification: Depending on the Windows version you're using, simulating key presses may or may not work. What works up to Windows 7, may not work in Windows 8 anymore. It has happened to me too and I haven't figured out an alternative within AutoHotkey yet.

You may need to try a different macro software (AutoIt, PhraseExpress, Macro Express).

`#IfWinActive` is exactly what I needed, thank you! However, the second part is not working. Having `SendMode Play` caused AHK to have no effect in the game, but using any of the other options caused the exact same results as in my original post. — vaindil, Nov 04 '13 at 21:15

score 1 · Answer 2 · answered Nov 04 '13 at 20:46

It looks like you have keys mapped to each other which can cause circular calling. Try putting a $ in front of each of your keys. That will prevent that problem.

Example:

$w::up

Source

Regarding your IfWinActive issue, I would suggest using ahk_exe instead. Just look up the process name in Task Manager and put the following line before all of your hotkeys.

#If WinActive("ahk_exe rayman.exe")  ; Rename exe to whatever it really is

Source

Good thought, but the $ unfortunately did not work. – vaindil Nov 04 '13 at 20:49 — vaindil, Nov 04 '13 at 20:49

Using AutoHotKey to remap keys

2 Answers2