AutoHotKey: How to disable a Skype hotkey and make your keyboard behave normally

Question

Skype HotKeys are really annoying as they cannot be disabled from Skype itself. The most annoying of all was Ctrl+R, that started a Skype call with any of your contact if it was selected. This has been replaced recently by Ctrl+Alt+R.

See http://community.skype.com/t5/Windows-desktop-client/Disable-CTRL-R-on-windows/td-p/2877763

Unfortunately, it happens to me that I get AltGr+R as a mapped key to the "è" character (using microsoft keybord creator). So in all my applications, I can write happily in French with a US keyboard, using AltGr+r for my "è" character all the time. Except in Skype, now.

Reading the link above, I created an AutoKey script, to disable Skype's hotkey:

#IfWinActive, ahk_exe Skype.exe ; utilizes this script for Skype only
!^r:: ; replace [ctrl][alt][r] with nothing
#If     ; closes IfWinActive condition, needed if more code comes after this

But, although this disables the Skype hotkey, it prevents the normal input of my "è" character in a Skype discussion. So good, but not best, as my typing get all mangled in Skype now.

I have tried other options, but to no avail:

#IfWinActive, ahk_exe Skype.exe ; utilizes this script for Skype only
!^r:: 
Send è  
return
#If     ; closes IfWinActive condition, needed if more code comes after this

or

#IfWinActive, ahk_exe Skype.exe ; utilizes this script for Skype only
!^r:: 
SendInput {Raw}è  
return
#If     ; closes IfWinActive condition, needed if more code comes after this

But as soon as !^r is not strictly disabled, then it launched a Skype call.

Anyone with more experience with AutoHotKey and/or Skype to help me ?

Thanks.

Answer 1

You can avoid the whole problem if you assign the "unfortunate" hotkey combination to something else. What I did:

• Go to Tools->Options->Advanced->Hotkeys
• Turn on "Enable keyboard shortcuts"
• assign ctrl + alt + r to "Take a snapshot during video calls"

It was driving me crazy, I found the combined answer on skype forums.