Ideally I'd like ctrl+space to bring up "search everywhere" from anywhere in windows (8.1) and also dismiss it if it's already active (with something like #IfWinActive ...).
So far I've been able to make ctrl+space simulate pressing the winkey with the following AutoHotKey script:
<^Space::
KeyWait Ctrl
Send {RWin}
return
...but not winkey+s. It feels sort of hackish anyway because it doesn't initiate "on press." It only initiates once I've released the ctrl key.
P.S. If I can't get this figured out I'm taking suggestions for a good third party launcher application
EDIT: Thanks to Robert. Here is the result:
<^Space::
SendInput {RWin Down}s{RWin Up}
return
KeyWait Ctrl
if you want the hotkey to trigger directly? – MCLSend {RWin}
toSendInput {RWin Down}s{RWin Up}
. – TheBlackKeys