• dan@upvote.au
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    7 months ago

    HKEY means “handle to registry key”… Not that that helps anything.

    When code opens a file, device, etc, it’s given a “handle” to it, which is an internal reference so that Windows knows which file you’re reading or writing, and it keeps track of where you are in the document. Similarly, HKEY_CURRENT_USER is the handle that gives you the current user part of the registry.

    • 0x4E4FOP
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      7 months ago

      I know that, the HOTKEY_* part of it was a mystery, why is the key hot… I mean, why does HK have to stand in front of it, it could be simple like just LM, CU, U (Users… still does nothing and nothing in it gets transfered as a setting in new user accounts), CR, etc.

      • dan@upvote.au
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        7 months ago

        It’s HKEY (handle to key), not HOTKEY. That’s what I was trying to say in my comment. There’s no “HOTKEY”.

        • 0x4E4FOP
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          7 months ago

          Huh… I don’t know where I’ve read this a long time ago, but I could swear it was HOTKEY, not HKEY… your explanation does make sense though, while what I thought never did make sense.