Auto Keyboard - Variable
I previously posted about the simple little program Auto Keyboard, which can be used to automate a series of keystrokes and mouse clicks that you need to repeat over and over again. Tonight I just want point out a feature of version 9.0 which can easily allow you to bulk download filings from a site.
Some websites post data - PDF images and other files - so that it cannot be automatically downloaded with an add-in like Firefox's DownThemAll, does not have direct links listed in the source code, and does not provide for a bulk download utility. The site may also give the exact same address to each successive file that is downloaded in a new file. When the files are then saved, Windows will prompt the user to replace the previous file.
Auto Keyboard lets you get around this problem with its variable function. It allows a different value to be entered each time a cycle of commands completes. In this example, we're starting with the value of 3 and incrementing it by 1 each time a cycle completes.
See this example of a series of commands which will download one file posted to a web site after another.
We begin with a link on a web page selected.
1. Enter is pressed so the links opens in a new tab.
2. CTRL + S prompts the user to save the PDF that has been loaded.
3. The variable command enters a number for the file name, increasing this value by one each time Auto Keyboard goes through a cycle.
4. Enter saves the file to a folder.
5. CTRL + W closes the browser tab for the downloaded document.
6. Press tab twice advances to a the next link on the web page.
