Good Windows macro/automation software?

In My Humble Opinion
1

I’ve been using AutoHotkey to automate common tasks such as software configuration, but there are a few problems with it

  • It sometimes seems to run ahead of itself and replay the macro steps too quickly, before the appropriate window/dialog/button has gained focus. Even when you slow down the key replay rate, this still happens sometimes.
  • It struggles to select the correct window. You are supposed to be able to identify a window using some unique text that appears in it, but sometimes it just doesn’t work. It also means that you often have to modify the scripts even for minor updates to the application.

Anybody had better results with alternatives? I’m looking at AutoIt, which is also free, but does it have a macro recorder? Any decent free or not-free alternatives?

2

I use Macro Express http://www.macros.com . Works good. Free trial, $40 to keep.

Unfortunately, the only info Windows offers to applications about other applications’ UI is the window titles. So that’s what every macro app must use to try to understand what’s going on on-screen.

3

Don’t know if it will work for your needs, but I use Dataload to automate a number of tasks.