How to Automate Mouse and Keyboard Activity with PlayStatic

PlayStatic is a free program for Microsoft's Windows operating system to automate mouse and keyboard activity.

Automation can be useful at times to complete repetitive tasks faster or without user action. Basic examples include a test scenario where the same set of actions is performed over and over again, or a computer game where you need to repeat the same task over and over again (think Idle games or games that involve a lot of farming).

PlayStatic needs to be installed before it can be used. The installer holds no surprises and you get the option to run the program directly after setup completes.

Automate Mouse and Keyboard

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PlayStatic supports two main modes: you can use the recording mode in which all mouse and keyboard activity is recorded automatically, or use manually mode to specify actions individually.

Automatic mode is without the shadow of a doubt easier to setup. Activate the Recording tab in the interface and click on the "start recording" button to create a new list of tasks. Check the "hide PlayStatic interface" to hide it automatically when you start a recording.

The application records mouse and keyboard activity automatically and displays all recorded events in the interface.

Each event is listed with its type, e.g. keydown or mousemove, position on the screen, delay value, and other data. Select "stop recording" when you are done.

You get options to manipulate the recording; you may remove items from the listing or modify them individually.

Recordings can be saved to the local system and loaded at a later point in time.

Manual mode picks up any recording that you loaded or created so that you may add manual actions to the list of tasks.

One limitation of the supported manual mode is that you can't create certain tasks, e.g. mousewheel events. The majority of tasks, key presses, mouse clicks or movement, are supported, however.

Select the "run tasks" tab when you are ready to run a recording. You can run recordings once or multiple times. While there is no "run until stop" option, tasks can be repeated up to one million times.

PlayStatic supports some options such as hotkeys to start and end recordings, or to run a task automatically on program start.

Closing Words and Verdict

PlayStatic is a well designed program to record mouse and keyboard activity to replay the recorded list of events automatically and near indefinitely. The program can be useful for a number of scenarios, from the already mentioned test and gaming scenarios to stress tests and any other task that requires the same set of mouse and keyboard actions.