autohotkey-v2-gui skill

---
name: autohotkey-v2-gui
description: AutoHotkey v2 GUI development for advanced applications. Use when creating windows, handling events, optimizing performance, or working with controls like ListView, ComboBox, CheckBox. Covers event handling, data submission, positioning, and common GUI patterns.
---

# AutoHotkey v2 GUI Applications

Advanced GUI development patterns and optimization techniques for AutoHotkey v2.

## When to Apply

- Building complex GUI applications with multiple controls
- Implementing event-driven user interfaces  
- Optimizing GUI performance and memory usage
- Working with advanced controls like ListView, ComboBox, Tab

## Critical Rules

**Event Handling**: Use OnEvent method, not g-labels

```autohotkey
; WRONG - v1 g-label syntax
MyGui.Add("Button", "gButtonClick", "OK")

; RIGHT - v2 OnEvent method
Btn := MyGui.Add("Button", "w80", "OK")
Btn.OnEvent("Click", ButtonClick)
```

**Data Submission**: Use Submit() method with variable names

```autohotkey
; WRONG - accessing controls directly
EditText := MyGui["MyEdit"].Text

; RIGHT - Submit returns object with named values
MyGui.Add("Edit", "vUserName")
Data := MyGui.Submit()
UserName := Data.UserName
```

**Control Visibility**: Use Visible property, not Show/Hide commands

```autohotkey
; WRONG - v1 command syntax
GuiControl, Hide, MyButton

; RIGHT - v2 property syntax
MyButton.Visible := false
```

## Key Patterns

### Basic GUI Structure

```autohotkey
MyGui := Gui("+Resize", "Application Title")
MyGui.OnEvent("Close", AppClose)

; Add controls with variables for data retrieval
NameEdit := MyGui.Add("Edit", "vUserName w200")
SubmitBtn := MyGui.Add("Button", "Default w80", "OK")
SubmitBtn.OnEvent("Click", ProcessForm)

MyGui.Show("w300 h150")

ProcessForm(*) {
    Data := MyGui.Submit()
    MsgBox("Hello " . Data.UserName)
}

AppClose(*) {
    ExitApp
}
```

### ListView with Event Handling

```autohotkey
MyGui := Gui()
LV := MyGui.Add("ListView", "r20 w700", ["Name", "Size (KB)"])
LV.OnEvent("DoubleClick", LV_DoubleClick)

; Populate ListView
Loop Files, A_MyDocuments "\*.*"
    LV.Add(, A_LoopFileName, A_LoopFileSizeKB)

LV.ModifyCol()  ; Auto-size columns
LV.ModifyCol(2, "Integer")  ; Enable numeric sorting

LV_DoubleClick(LV, RowNumber) {
    RowText := LV.GetText(RowNumber)
    MsgBox("Selected: " . RowText)
}
```

### Tab Control with Organized Layout

```autohotkey
MyGui := Gui()
Tab := MyGui.Add("Tab3",, ["Settings", "Data", "Output"])

; First tab controls
MyGui.Add("CheckBox", "vAutoStart", "Start automatically")
MyGui.Add("ComboBox", "vTheme", ["Light", "Dark", "Auto"])

; Second tab controls  
Tab.UseTab(2)
MyGui.Add("Edit", "vDataPath w200")
MyGui.Add("Button", "x+10 yp", "Browse...")

; Third tab controls
Tab.UseTab(3)
MyGui.Add("Edit", "vOutput r10 w300")

Tab.UseTab()  ; End tab association
MyGui.Add("Button", "Default", "Apply")
```

### Modal Dialog Pattern

```autohotkey
MainGui := Gui("+Resize", "Main Window")
MainGui.Opt("+OwnDialogs")  ; Make dialogs modal

ShowSettingsBtn := MainGui.Add("Button", "w100", "Settings")
ShowSettingsBtn.OnEvent("Click", ShowSettings)

ShowSettings(*) {
    ; Modal dialogs prevent interaction with main window
    Result := MsgBox("Save current settings?", "Confirm", "YesNoCancel")
    if (Result = "Yes") {
        ; Save logic here
    }
}
```

## Performance Optimization

### Memory Management for Large Data

```autohotkey
; Pre-allocate string capacity for concatenation
VarSetStrCapacity(&LargeString, 5120000)  ; ~10 MB

Loop Files, "C:\*.*", "R"
    LargeString .= A_LoopFileFullPath . "`n"

; Free memory when done
LargeString := ""
```

### Object Capacity Tuning

```autohotkey
; Pre-allocate array/map capacity for performance
DataArray := []
DataArray.Capacity := 1000  ; Avoid frequent reallocation

DataMap := Map()
DataMap.Capacity := 500
```

## Advanced Control Patterns

### ComboBox with Validation

```autohotkey
ColorBox := MyGui.Add("ComboBox", "vColor", ["Red", "Green", "Blue"])
ColorBox.OnEvent("Change", ValidateColor)

ValidateColor(Ctrl, *) {
    if (Ctrl.Text = "Red")
        MsgBox("Warning: Red selected!")
}
```

### Dynamic Control Management

```autohotkey
; Get control position for dynamic layouts
MyEdit.GetPos(&x, &y, &w, &h)
NewBtn := MyGui.Add("Button", "x" . (x + w + 10) . " y" . y, "Next")

; Retrieve control values without Submit
CurrentText := ControlGetText("Edit1", MyGui.Hwnd)
```

## Common Mistakes

- **Missing variable names**: Controls need "v" prefix for Submit() to retrieve values
- **Incorrect positioning**: Use "xm ym" to reset to margins, "x+m y+m" for relative positioning
- **Event handler parameters**: Modern event handlers receive (Ctrl, Info) parameters, not just (*)
- **Window activation timing**: Use NoActivate option when showing background windows to avoid focus stealing