Most conventional PS / 2 keyboards connected to stationary terminals or laptops come with standard settings. Even with equipment breakdowns, you can afford to buy a new keyboard, because it costs a penny. With laptops, the situation is somewhat more complicated. Replacing a keyboard is not cheap. Therefore, instead of buying it, you have to solve the problem of how to reassign the keys on the keyboard of Windows 7 or another system if some buttons do not work. There are several ways to do this. But not all of them are very simple. At least in the native means of Windows-systems you can get confused. But for the sake of completeness, we consider all the ways.
Why reassign keys?
Let's start with laptops. The main problem is that different manufacturers add additional keys to the keyboard or set the execution of different commands and running processes for standard buttons.
And especially the difference is felt when using Windows on Apple computer devices. But in Windows systems themselves, some buttons and keys have not been used by many users for a long time (for example, the same CapsLock button, which many people accidentally press when typing). It is in such situations that you have to solve the problem of how to reassign the keys on the Windows 7 keyboard on a laptop or on a stationary terminal, or disable some buttons completely. It goes without saying that the proposed solutions can be used with idle keys, and some even specially “sharpen” their keyboards for more comfortable process control in modern computer games.
How to reassign keys on a Windows 7 keyboard without third-party software?
First of all, consider the methodology proposed by the developer of Windows-systems. To do this, you need to download a small applet designed to control the keyboard and pointing device (mouse) on the Microsoft website.
How to reassign the keys on a Windows 7 keyboard using this application? Nothing is easier! After starting the program in the list, you need to select your device and use the basic parameters. A list of current settings appears. To change the assignment of a command to a specific key, use the display of all commands. Having selected the button and the desired command, you just need to save the current setting. If button deactivation is required, the button / key deactivation option is used.
How to reassign keys on a Windows 7 keyboard: registry
You may not use the aforementioned applet. By and large, the question of how to reassign the keys on the Windows 7 keyboard can also be solved through the registry. But here some difficulties may arise, since for each key you need to know its scan code in hexadecimal expression.
So, first the regedit command invokes the registry editor (always with administrator rights), after which the HKLM branch is navigated through the SYSTEM and CurrentControlSet directories to the Keyboard Layout directory. To replace one code with another, here, through the PCM menu, in the right window, create a new line parameter, specify the name Scancode Map for it, then enter the editing window and enter the scan code of the key in the window, the function of which will be executed after reassignment, then enter the code for the new key.
For example, to reassign a space to the right Alt, the combination looks like this: 0E 00 38 E0. To disable the key (take CapsLock as an example), the combination should start with four zeros and will have the form 00 00 3A 00. As already clear, the process is quite time-consuming, since you need to know not only the codes and the order of their entry. Reassignment can be done only once, so you will have to create many new string parameters.
MapKeyboard Application
In order not to deal with such complex procedures and solve the problem of how to reassign the keys on the Windows 7 keyboard in a simpler way, it is better to use some utilities designed for this. One such is the small MapKeyboard program.
After starting the application, a virtual keyboard will appear. First of all, you need to select a button or key whose function or symbol will be reassigned, then from the scrolling list to the right, called by the Remap selected key line, a new key is selected, and then the Save layout action button is pressed. Next, a notification of the reassignment will follow, and the changes are activated only after a full restart of the computer.
SharpKeys Program
Another simple program is SharpKeys. Alas, if you decide how to reassign the keys on the Windows 7 keyboard, the Fn button in particular, you can’t use it. It is better to use other solutions (the program does not recognize this key, and when changing the Cyrillic letters you need to use the same keys in the Latin layout).
Here the question of how to reassign the keys on the Windows 7 keyboard is solved just as easily. First, the Add button is used, after which a “reassignable” button is selected, and in the list on the right, a new action or symbol (to turn off completely, use the top line Turn Key Off). Upon completion of the actions, the Write To Registry button is pressed (saving the parameters in the system registry), and a reboot follows.
Applet mkey
Finally, another very interesting utility called MKey or Media Key. After installation, it will be in the system tray.
In the running program, the add button is pressed, then the key that needs to be reassigned is marked, after that the emulation string of the click is marked, and a new button is selected from the list below. Now it remains to click on the button with the image of the diskette at the very bottom to save the changes.
By the way, it is this program that allows not only to reassign individual buttons. With its help, you can create your own “hot” combinations, including combinations with the Fn key, as well as configure any manipulators, gamepads and other similar equipment.
Instead of an afterword
It remains to find out the most important question: what exactly to prefer for setting such settings? It seems that most users will agree that using the registry editor is a rather troublesome business. And of the programs reviewed, it is perhaps best to choose MKey, since the application has more features than the first two applets and is fully Russified. By the way, please note that before using any of the methods presented, it is first recommended that you create a recovery point for an emergency. But in any program, even after reassignment, you can set the default default settings by completely resetting the settings.
And, of course, only the most popular methods and programs were considered here, since today you can find quite a lot of similar applications in the computer software market. But they all work on similar principles, and they don’t really differ in interface either.