Your keyboard has duplicate keys for some of the functionalities. These include Ctrl, Alt, Shift, Home, Page Up, Page Down, etc. One benefit you could argue in favor of this could be the ease of user experience. While I am into it for some of the keys like Caps and Shift, I hardly believe the Home Page Up, or Page Down keys require a duplicate. Therefore, in this guide, I will be detailing the steps to remap any of these keys (or any other for that matter) to any functionality of your choice on your Windows PC.
For example, You could directly open My Computer via the Home Key. Now you won’t have to raise your hands, grab hold of the mouse, and open the desired option. With that said, here are the required steps. But before that, keep a hold of this important note mentioned below. On that note, also check out the steps to create custom shortcuts for various Windows applications.
Remapping Keys: Why Choose a Third-Party App Rather than Windows’ Default Registry Editor?
You could perform the steps of remapping Keys in Windows by editing certain values in the Registry Editor. However, the steps are highly complicated and might result in unforced errors. Take this as an example. If you wish to disable the functionality of the Caps Lock key, you’ll have to browse to the following location:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Keyboard Layout
We will then have to modify the ScanMap code file, which has the following value, with 3a being the Scan Code of Caps Lock.
"Scancode Map"=hex:00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,02,00,00,00,00,00,3a,00,00,00,00,00
The four bold zeroes before 3a represent the feature that we are going to associate it with. Since we are disabling its functionality, hence the value 00,00. On the other hand, the 3a,00 in italics represents the code of the key we are remapping in Windows (on which you could enable the Secure Sign-In feature), which in this case is Caps Lock. Once you do this, save it as a disable_capslock.reg file and merge it with the original ScanMap file.
All this just to disable the Caps Lock key is asking for way too much of an effort, apart from the risk factor being involved. As a result, we will be carrying out the steps using the SharpKeys software. This application does all the work in the background. All you have to do is just perform one or two clicks, and that is it. With that said, here are the steps that need to be followed to remap keys in Windows Vista, 7,8, and 10.
Don’t Miss: 10 Google Chrome Keyboard Shortcuts Every User Should Know
Warning: I tried the steps personally on my laptop, and everything went perfectly. Even then, I cannot guarantee for sure that the app will work 100% of the time and with full efficiency. You should only try these steps at your own risk, understanding the risks involved. Technastic or any of its members won’t be held responsible if you mess up big time while remapping any of the keys on your Windows PC via this software.
Remap Keys using SharpKeys
- Download and install the SharpKeys software on your Windows PC.
- Now, click on Add to create a new key mapping on Windows.
- The next step is self-explanatory. Under the “Map this key” section, select the key that is to be remapped in Windows. And from the “To this key“, select the functionality that is to be mapped to that key. Say, you wish to open the My Computer using the Home key.
- In that case, select Home in the “From Key” section and select “My Computer” from the “To key” section. Once done, click OK. If you are having trouble finding the right key, take the help of the Type Key functionality.
- Finally, click on Write to Registry and restart your PC once for the changes to take place.
That’s it. You have successfully remapped a key on your Windows PC. If you are having any trouble, do let us know in the comments section below.
Read next: How to Remotely Sign Out and Lock Windows 10 Devices
