Persistent

Prevents the script from exiting automatically when its last thread completes, allowing it to stay running in an idle state.

PrevSetting := Persistent(Setting)

Parameters

Setting

Type: Boolean

If omitted, it defaults to true.

If true, the script will stay running after startup completes and all other threads have exited, even if none of the other conditions for keeping the script running are met.

If false, the default behaviour is restored.

Return Value

Type: Integer (boolean)

This function returns the previous setting; either 0 (false) for disabled or 1 (true) for enabled.

Remarks

By default, the script is not persistent. However, it becomes persistent automatically under certain conditions, specifically in common cases where the user would want it to keep running, such as when responding to hotkeys, executing timers, or displaying a GUI.

It is usually unnecessary to call this function, but there are some cases where it might be needed:

• Scripts which use OnMessage or CallbackCreate and DllCall to respond to events, since those functions don't make the script persistent.
• Scripts that are executed by selecting a custom tray menu item.
• Scripts which create or retrieve COM objects and use ComObjConnect to respond to the object's events.
• Scripts which respond to events only through Monitor.OnChange, Audio.OnDeviceChange or a CLR event subscription; see Keeping the Script Running.

If this function is added to an existing script, some or all occurrences of Exit might need to be changed to ExitApp. This is because Exit will not terminate a persistent script; it terminates only the current thread.

The KS module's A_Persistent variable reports the current setting, and assigning it is the same as calling this function.

In Keysharp, a script whose source defines hotkeys, hotstrings or remappings starts with this setting enabled, so the first call returns 1. In AutoHotkey, such definitions keep the script running without enabling the setting.

Related

Exit, ExitApp, A_Persistent

Examples

; This script will not exit automatically, even though it has nothing to do.
; However, you can use its tray icon to open the script in an editor, or to
; launch Window Spy.
Persistent