ctrl+s not being sent in autohotkey script - autohotkey

Question

i.e. hitting ctrl+s should activate ctrl+s...the below does not work. Neither does the simpler
SendInput, ^s. Goal is to have ctrl+s save current doc and then load another via more code, the saving part never works tho. The bad code, depending on where i put sleep or no sleep, either returns s or shift s (in 1 code editor anyways) or nothing. I basically want a hotkey that mimics itself.
F4::ExitApp
<^s::
send, {lctrl down}
SLEEP 300
SEND s
SLEEP 300
SEND {lctrl up}
return

Answer 1

I would think that the issue your program is running into is that having the ^s send another ^s inside of itself is creating an infinite recursive loop in which nothing is ever able to run past the place you invoke ^s. To prevent this, we can use the $ modifier as so:
$<^s::
SendInput ^s
return
From the relevant section of the Modifier section of the docs:
This is usually only necessary if the script uses the Send command to
send the keys that comprise the hotkey itself, which might otherwise
cause it to trigger itself. The $ prefix forces the keyboard hook to
be used to implement this hotkey, which as a side-effect prevents the
Send command from triggering it. The $ prefix is equivalent to having
specified #UseHook somewhere above the definition of this hotkey.
Edit: it seems to work fine for me even if I remove the $ modifier. Testing the following code shows me there appears to be no problems regarding code execution before, after, or during the SendInput statement.
<^s::
MsgBox no
SendInput, ^s
MsgBox yes
return
Maybe check your version or installation of AHK?