But, as we will see, it also appears for dedicated keyboard buttons.Īt the bottom of this article, I've included an image of a standard keyboard, followed by a scancode list. Some scancodes are two bytes, with the lead-in byte being e0 or e1 this is usually used to distinguish keys that are duplicated for instance, the R-Alt key is 0e,38. If you want to map more than one key, then you need to change the third item ( number of entries) to a higher value and include more of the map entry values. This registry remapping technique is awkward, since it requires a reboot, and I only recommend it in unique situations (such as attempting to avoiding insanity or suicide if you hit CapsLock even one more time :-) For instance, you can write a short program (one or two lines of script), create a shortcut to it, and edit the properties of that shortcut to assign it a keyboard combination. It's just not necessary because there are lots of programs that will let you set up macros so that a Shift-, Ctrl-, and/or Alt-key combination will make the computer take a desired action. To undo the change, just use RegEdit to drill down to that Keyboard Layout key and delete the Scancode Map entry.įirst, I want to point out that most of the time it's unwise to make permanent changes to your keyboard mapping. Note: The change will not go into effect until you reboot. Just copy that text to a text file named, for instance, CapsLockToCtrl.REG, then double-click that file. The desired scancode is "Left-Ctrl" (scancode 0x1d) and the key to remap is CapsLock (scancode 0x3a). The hex data is in five groups of four bytes:Ġ0,00,00,00 - header version (always 00000000)Ġ0,00,00,00 - header flags (always 00000000)Ġ2,00,00,00 - number of entries (including terminating NULL)ġd,00,3a,00 - map entry: desired scancode, key to remap First, I'll show an example, then I'll provide a full description. The Scancode Map value probably does not exist on your computer. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ CurrentCon trolSet\Co ntrol\Keyb oard Layout There is a little-known entry in the system registry that is checked by the lowest-level keyboard driver before the keystrokes get sent to the rest of the system: But I found a way to remap it - make it into a clone of the Ctrl key. I first thought of just popping the key out and sticking a wad of chewing gum in there. That key should have been moved away from the home row decades ago. Among other irritations, it has caused endless tech-support grief relating to user-entry of passwords. Who among us has not hit that totally useless CapsLock key by accident? In 35 years of keyboarding, I've had a need for the CapsLock key perhaps twice. Not only does the desired action not happen, but CapsLock turns on and the current selection is replaced by one letter. In short: For common keystrokes such as Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V, I invariably hit CapsLock and it irritates me beyond belief. So I had to switch to one of the half-dozen "new" keyboards that were gathering dust in a closet. It had taken more abuse that you can imagine over the years, but it finally had one too many cups of coffee spilled on it. Well those OmniKey keyboards all eventually died the original IBM keyboard outlasted them all. In fact, when I heard that NorthGate was discontinuing that line in the mid 90's, I bought five of them. Even on secondary computers, like the ones at work, I've always been able to find keyboards that were finger-memory-compatible, such as the NorthGate OmniKey which has the function keys on the left side, where God intended them. Those keyboards were built to last (and last, and last.). I've been using the same IBM 84-key PC/AT keyboard for over 25 years. I'm having to retrain myself on a new keyboard. In this article, I'll describe how to make registry changes that will remap low-level keyboard scancodes and I'll also show you how to set/change the functions of the extended-function buttons and controls that may be on your keyboard.
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