AutoHotKey Script for auto-refresh in Power Bi Desktop

phodges — Thu, 30 May 2019 19:22:52 GMT

Hello Community,

I have written a script in AutoHotKey for Power Bi Desktop to auto-refresh by hiting Alt - H - R. This is a combination that does work in Power Bi Desktop when done manually. The AutoHotKey code I wrote is below. This code works within Microsoft Word (r activates the replace command) and Excel (not r, but tried it with x, which activates the Cut command), but will only open the Power Bi window and will not activate the refresh button. Does anyone have an idea as to why it will not work in Power Bi Desktop?

--------------------------------------------Code----------------------------------------------------------------------------

#NoEnv ; Recommended for performance and compatibility with future AutoHotkey releases.
; #Warn ; Enable warnings to assist with detecting common errors.
SendMode Input ; Recommended for new scripts due to its superior speed and reliability.
SetWorkingDir %A_ScriptDir% ; Ensures a consistent starting directory.

#Persistent
SetTimer, PressTheKey, 30000 ;Refresh every 30 secs (Power Bi Desktop cannot do this and this is important for ;what I am trying to do)
Return

PressTheKey:
if WinExist("Test File")
{
WinActivate ;Activate the window (if it is not the current window it will reopen it and allow you to work in it)
WinMaximize ;Maximize window
Send !hr ;Alt h r keys
}

Esc::ExitApp ;Press "Esc" key to end code
return

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P.S. If anyone knows a shortcut key for refresh in Power Bi Desktop that would be helpful too.

Re: AutoHotKey Script for auto-refresh in Power Bi Desktop

andyclap — Tue, 11 Aug 2020 18:48:23 GMT

If you're up for a bit of python, there's a scipt here that is quite a useful demo of using pywinauto to do just this sort of thing:

https://github.com/dubravcik/pbixrefresher-python

Re: AutoHotKey Script for auto-refresh in Power Bi Desktop

phodges — Fri, 18 Sep 2020 16:12:23 GMT

Oh that is pretty neat! Thank you for sharing! The autohotkeys script works too, but it needs to be run as administrator. I found that out a little after posting this. But thank you for your reply!

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AutoHotKey Script for auto-refresh in Power Bi Desktop

Re: AutoHotKey Script for auto-refresh in Power Bi Desktop

Re: AutoHotKey Script for auto-refresh in Power Bi Desktop