Hi folks, I’ve been experimenting with using SC in conjunction with AutoHotKey (open source keyboard macro prog) to automate some SC keyboard shortcuts. Took a little while to get the hang of it but I tell you what - this is COOL!
To make AHK work, you have to write a short script to get it to do what you want.
First, I wrote 4 AHK simple scripts to make it so if you press the numberpad keys 1 or 2, or 4 or 5 in SC you automatically get:
Key 1: go to previous event (eg beginning of clip) (same as SC shortcut Alt+left arrow);
Key 2: go to next event (eg end of clip) (same as SC shortcut Alt+right arrow);
Key 4: select previous clip (same as SC shortcut Ctrl+left arrow);
Key 5: select next clip (same as SC shortcut Ctrl+right arrow).
OK, this may seem nonsensical to some (replacing one shortcut with another) but it can increase the workflow by only having to press one shortcut key instead of two. And numbers “1,2” and “4,5” are logically positioned next to each other.
But then… I wondered if I could ANIMATE some processes by combining shortcuts as a sequence.
So I came up with this:
If you select a clip on v1 (having already aded a V2 track) and press Numberpad 8, SC will:
a) Copy the clip, then b) paste it onto V2. All in one go! Like this:
Cool? Well there’s cooler! …
I wrote a script which automatically adds a 1-second transition to a row of clips on the timeline. You still have to drag the clips over each other, but the process is started by just pressing one key (number pad key 7).
You need several clips placed back to back on V1, and “ripple tracks” selected. Select the first clip, Press Number pad 7, and SC’s cursor will:
a) go to the end of the clip,
b) move back 1 second,
c) WAIT for 2.5 seconds (for you to drag clip 2 backwards over clip 1 to make a transition),
d) go to the end of clip 2 (in two movements),
e) move back 1 second,
c) WAIT for 2.5 seconds (for you to drag clip 3 backwards over clip 2 to make a transition),
etc etc etc… - with the LOOP function you can make it do this as amny times as you want…
Here’s a gif of me doing this. (I just pressed ONE key and the cursor moved on its own):
I’m happy to share the code for these scripts. I’ve put them into one text file below. To use, copy/paste into Notepad and save with the extension .ahk.
Numpad1::
Loop, 1
{
Send ^{left}
}
return
Numpad2::
Loop, 1
{
Send ^{right}
}
return
Numpad4::
Loop, 1
{
Send !{left}{Alt Up}
}
return
Numpad5::
Loop, 1
{
Send !{right}{Alt Up}
}
return
Numpad7::
Loop, 4
{
Send !{right}
Sleep 600
send, {PgUp}
Sleep 2500
Send !{right}{Alt Up}
Sleep 600
Send !{right}{Alt Up}
Sleep 600
send, {PgUp}
Sleep 2500
send, {PgDn}
Sleep 600
}
return
Numpad8::
Loop, 1
{
Send ^{c}
Sleep 600
Send, {Up}
Sleep 600
Send, {b}
Sleep 2500
}
return
If I get a bit of free time I’ll make a quick tutorial showing how to set AutoHot Key up. Hopefully others here can make up some similar ahk scripts to do more cool animated tasks within SC!
…
