You may have never realized it , but you do n’t necessarily have to locate for the keyboard nonremittal that you get on your laptop computer out of the box : If you require different keys to trigger dissimilar action mechanism besides the default I , it ’s potential to tailor-make them — and that opens up a wealthiness of new options for you in terms of productivity and get stuff done . Here ’s what you require to do to customize your key bindings on Windows laptops , MacBooks , and Chromebooks .
Windows
Microsoft ’s very own PowerToys is perhaps the best option for remapping Florida key on Windows , and you could download ithere . Besides keyboard customizations , there are other pecker for keeping sure window on top of others , burst up your background into custom zone , picking colors from anywhere on your calculator concealment , and more besides . When PowerToys launches after installation , you ’ll see all these tools listed on the left wing .
For our purposes , you need to get across the entree mark Keyboard Manager . You ’ll get a brief line of gab about how it works , and if you select undetermined configurations you may pop out making changes : With the Enable Keyboard Manager toggle switch flex on , click Remap a winder to do just that . You need to specify the physical key ( the literal tonality on your keyboard ) and the mapped key ( what take place when the physical winder is pressed ) , and this is done by either peck out key from a inclination or typing them directly .
The utility covers everything from item-by-item key presses ( make the E key put a B on the screen ) to keyboard shortcuts ( make Ctrl+V work like Ctrl+C alternatively ) to run key ( make the F1 key work like the F2 key ) . For crosscut , you need to take Remap a crosscut from the master screen rather than Remap a key fruit , but it works in the same way . On either duologue , tap the shabu can on the right to remove a particular remap .
Photo:Amelia Bartlett/Unsplash
You do have a few third - party pick when it descend to remapping key and create your own tradition keyboard crosscut on Windows . AutoHotKeyis a more complex and more powerful scripting program , and it get you do just about anything you care with specific key press , from launch diligence to filling out form . There ’s also an elder tool calledWinHotKeywhich still work with New versions of Windows , enabling you to quickly and well fix up custom keyboard shortcut .
MacBook
There is some functionality built into macOS when it come up to remapping the keyboard , but it only applies to keyboard shortcut ( compounding of keys ) rather than item-by-item keys . Open up the Apple menu , choose System Preferences and then pick Keyboard and Shortcuts . You ’ll be meet with all the keyboard shortcut that are presently set up on your Mac system — they’re engineer by family , and you could habituate the checkboxes to toggle them on and off individually .
To alter any of these keyboard shortcuts , click the cardinal imperativeness combination on the right to enter a fresh one . In some cases , there ’s no current keyboard shortcut , so you could create a mark new one . If you try out and set a keyboard crosscut that ’s already been assigned to something else , you ’ll see a monition in the form of a little yellow ecphonesis mark . To undo all of your changes , click Restore Defaults .
you could get more control over keyboard remapping with the help of a third - party software . The dependable one that we ’ve come across for remapping individual keys isRemap Keyboard — it will set you back $ 7 , but you could download and taste it out for free to see if it suits your needs first . To set up a new customization , snap the + ( plus button ) in the lower left corner , then tap the original cay follow by the samara ( or shortcut ) you require it to link up to .
Screenshot: Windows
For even more control over shortcuts , Alfredis a comprehensive productivity tool for Mac that includes keyboard shortcut customizations as part of its repertory of features — you may make some shortcuts for liberal while the most sophisticated ones require the Powerpack extension phone ( that ’s £ 29 or about $ 37 ) . Another alternative isKeyboard Maestro , which can lay out up even more complicated shortcut , tie them together , and take tending of options like program launches and text macro instruction — that will go down you back $ 36 , but there ’s a free trial available .
Chromebook
Chromebook keyboards have their own set of particular quirks — like the way that the Caps Lock clitoris is supercede by a Launcher clitoris instead — but again , you do n’t have to settle for the defaults if you do n’t want to . This being Chrome OS though , you ’re stuck with the alternative that Google has built into the operating system , and you ca n’t download and install third - political party cock to tweak the keyboard further .
Click the clock ( lower right ) and then the sprocket ikon to open up the Chrome OS preferences pane , then select gadget and Keyboard . You ’ve get a few dissimilar options to bet around with here : you may set the repeat pace speeding for example , and shift the oral communication of the keyboard you ’re using . The remap choice are listed at the top of the screen , and these are the only customization option available on the Chromebook keyboard .
Pick from any of the entries in the leaning to transfer the affair of the key . For instance , you could click the entry for the said Launcher button and commute it to the more schematic Caps Lock , if you require to . If you ’re not happy with the Ctrl and Alt modifiers , then you may swap them around , or disable them altogether . The dedicated Assistant button can also be remapped .
Screenshot: macOS
Also mark the Treat top - row samara as function keys toggle switch , which does exactly what the label propose it might — you could habituate the top quarrel of keys on your Chromebook for triggering conventional function keys instead of the default shortcuts . There ’s also a link on this screen to see the construct - in keyboard shortcuts on your Chromebook , although these ca n’t be edited .
AlfredChromebookComputer keyboardComputingFree softwareGooglesoftware
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Screenshot: Chrome OS
