How to turn off the CAPS LOCK key

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How to turn off the CAPS LOCK key

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Earlier today, I talked about the fact that some people hate the CAPS LOCK key. Well, Jeff D. posted the steps to turn the CAPS LOCK off in Windows XP and Server 2003, and I thought that I would repost them so that others who are not looking at the comments would benefit:

The other solution I've used is to simply change the cancellation of CAPS LOCK to be done with the Shift key instead. sO THAT i CAN'T ACCIDENTALLY DO THIS.

  1. Control Panel | Regional and Language Options applet | Languages tab | Details button, which gets you to the "Text Services and Input Languages" dialog.
  2. On that page "Add" a second input language (you don't have to make it the default). The two (or more) I usually have installed are "English (Canada) - US" and "English (United States) - US". Once you've got more than one input language installed, the "Key Settings..." button becomes enabled: click it. That opens the "Advanced Key Settings" dialog. Right at the top you'll see:
  3. To turn off CAPS LOCK: [ ] Press the CAPS LOCK key [x] Press the SHIFT key

Voila! Now if you have accidentally hit the CAPS LOCK key, as soon as you start typing the next sentence, which presumably starts with a capital letter, you'll cancel the CAPS LOCK immediately.

Very cool.... thanks, Jeff!

 

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  • That's cool, but it doesn't truly disable the caps lock key, so it is only a partial solution. I hate caps lock and would like to be able to completely disable it.
  • The best way to disable the Caps-Lock is via a registry hack.
    http://panda.cs.ndsu.nodak.edu/~achapwes/PICmicro/keyboard/scancodes1.html http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/hwdev/tech/input/w2kscan-map.mspx
    The following registry hack maps Caps-Lock to Backspace, which makes it possible to correct errors without moving from the home row.
    Administrative privileges and reboot required.
    _____________________________________
    REGEDIT4

    [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Keyboard Layout]
    "Scancode Map"=hex:00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,02,00,00,00,0e,00,3a,00,00,00,00,00
  • I wrote up SharpKeys to manipulate the Scancode Map, actually... I got tired of trying to find the keycodes I needed for remapping... I find I need to remap more than just cAPS lOCK, although that's how it started!
  • tzagotta wrote:
    "That's cool, but it doesn't truly disable the caps lock key, so it is only a partial solution."

    Yep, it's not a way to "disable" the CAPS LOCK key. That setting just enables a simple way of turning off the CAPS LOCK key when you've accidentally turned it on.

    To "disable" the CAPS LOCK key just remove it.
  • Or just pry the thing off, haha.
  • <P>Offtopic but any way - &lt;deleted by michkap&gt;</P>
    <P>You should put it in the suggestion box if its not on topic for here, sorry!</P>
  • It's an interesting idea, but I think that would be more annoying than the occasional accident of pushing the caps lock when you didn't mean to. If the shift key turns off the caps lock, then you can't get any keys that require the shift. That makes it so that legitimate purposes for the caps lock are made more frustrating. A few examples would include coding <HTML> (if you prefer to code HTML in caps), bulleting that ends or starts with a ":", or quoting in caps.

    I hate to be a jerk about it, but honestly if you're hitting the caps key on accident that much, you should be more careful with your typing. Nobody expects the world to remove the "q" key because it happens to stand in the way of the pinky hitting the "1." Granted, it was perhaps given an overly prominent place on the keyboard, but I don't think software hacks are a good way to cover it up.
  • > A few examples would include coding <HTML> (if you prefer to code HTML in caps)

    Why would you prefer to code HTML in caps? It will only make transition to XHTML harder.
  • I used the Remapkey.exe tool in the Resource Kit Tools ( http://tinyurl.com/6csco ) to map CAPS to another Ctrl key. I don't have to twist my hand as much anymore to cut, copy, and paste.

    Not so much to get rid of the CAPS key, but to help my left wrist out...

    - Aaron
  • Some of you who are regular readers (an odd term, since I tend to consider anyone who reads this blog

  • To turn off CAPS LOCK: [ ] Press the CAPS LOCK key [x] Press the SHIFT key

    That used to be standard up to a certain point, when Microsoft decided to change that and adapt to the Linux world.

    Remember:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typewriter

    Used to be like that from the invention of CAPS LOCK onwards until it changed back in the 90ies.

    Never knew, why it changed.

  • This hack is far, far harder than it needs to be.

    Just run KaneBT Caps Lock Disabler!

    [FYI Azaiaa -- this is hardly a hack and provuides an entirely different functionality than the tool you mention, to address an entirely different issue. -- SiaO]

  • That was a little harsh on the Azaiaa guy Michael.

    He was just trying to help. I think...

    It does disable the caps lock key without any hacks.

    Anyway, thanks for the info!

    Yanike

  • Your steps are a life saved - I work in a call center troubleshooting issues for students, walking them through steps.  One student called a few moments ago - she spilled coffee on her laptop rendering her text in capital letters, the Caps Lock button no longer functioned.  Using these steps, I was able to return functionality to her machine.  Kudos to you!

  • There is a very good small utility called sMaRTcaPs that I have used for many years without any problem for various Windows versions from Win 95 through to XP Pro. It allows you to disable/enable  the Caps Lock and/or Num Lock keys from the system tray.  It's very unobtrusive, you can toggle it on and off at anytime, and you can customize its settings quite extensively. I purchased it many years ago from the publisher, although I am not sure if they are still around. However, it looks as if it is available as freeware from

    http://www.download.com/sMaRTcaPs/3000-2347_4-10043115.html

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