2006/11/13
Caps lock = Back space
What's the last time you really used your Caps lock key? And how many times since that time did you hit it by accident, giving you more letters in capitals than you ever wanted? For me the answers were "probably never" and "too many to count". This was a reason to take action.
I spend a lot of time using a computer. Some time ago it occurred to me I should do everything possible to make the way I use computers as pleasant as possible. One thing I did was switch to the Dvorak keyboard layout. Another is typing on a Microsoft Natural Keyboard -- it saves my hands from taking on really awkward positions while typing. The new 4000 model removed the two real flaws the previous models had: 1. the front side is elevated so your wrists bend down slightly instead of up (which is supposed to be BAD, BAD, BAD!) (hey, that's a phrase I could have used my caps lock with!). And 2. the Insert/Home/Delete/End/PgUp/PgDn keys are where they should be.
So when the thought about the Caps lock key popped up, I wouldn't rest until I had improved the situation. One option would be to disable the key altogether. Not very nice for a key in such a prominent place. Another (commonly used, as I found out) option is to let it function as a Control key. Since my keyboard already has two of those, also not very useful. A better use for the Caps lock key is to let it be a Backspace. The Backspace key is one I use a lot... I want to type fast, and usually I make a lot of typos so I'm constantly hitting Backspace. And the Backspace key is not in a good place to use frequently, my right hand either has to move a whole lot to the right (not good), or bend to the right (even worse) to hit it.
This is how you go about to make your Caps lock key into a Backspace. In Windows, save the following bit to a file named "capsbackspace.reg", double-click it as an Administrator user and reboot. The change is system-wide, so anyone else using your computer might be surprised when they WANT TO WRITE AN EMAIL IN ALL CAPS.
These days I use Ubuntu Linux on my primary system. In a desktop Linux version running X, the following two lines will do the trick. Add them to a small shell script and have this started everytime you log on.
Under Linux in text mode it's a bit more complex. This worked for me in Debian:
Where it says Caps_Lock, replace it with Control_H or BackSpace. Save the file.
The keymap is now loaded, test whether it works. If it does, reboot to verify whether the mapping is indeed applied on every boot.
Apparently I'm not alone in this. Join the crusade and free yourself of Caps lock! :)
I spend a lot of time using a computer. Some time ago it occurred to me I should do everything possible to make the way I use computers as pleasant as possible. One thing I did was switch to the Dvorak keyboard layout. Another is typing on a Microsoft Natural Keyboard -- it saves my hands from taking on really awkward positions while typing. The new 4000 model removed the two real flaws the previous models had: 1. the front side is elevated so your wrists bend down slightly instead of up (which is supposed to be BAD, BAD, BAD!) (hey, that's a phrase I could have used my caps lock with!). And 2. the Insert/Home/Delete/End/PgUp/PgDn keys are where they should be.
So when the thought about the Caps lock key popped up, I wouldn't rest until I had improved the situation. One option would be to disable the key altogether. Not very nice for a key in such a prominent place. Another (commonly used, as I found out) option is to let it function as a Control key. Since my keyboard already has two of those, also not very useful. A better use for the Caps lock key is to let it be a Backspace. The Backspace key is one I use a lot... I want to type fast, and usually I make a lot of typos so I'm constantly hitting Backspace. And the Backspace key is not in a good place to use frequently, my right hand either has to move a whole lot to the right (not good), or bend to the right (even worse) to hit it.
This is how you go about to make your Caps lock key into a Backspace. In Windows, save the following bit to a file named "capsbackspace.reg", double-click it as an Administrator user and reboot. The change is system-wide, so anyone else using your computer might be surprised when they WANT TO WRITE AN EMAIL IN ALL CAPS.
[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
These days I use Ubuntu Linux on my primary system. In a desktop Linux version running X, the following two lines will do the trick. Add them to a small shell script and have this started everytime you log on.
# Remove bindings for Caps lock function
xmodmap -e "clear Lock"
# Add binding from Caps lock key to Backspace function
xmodmap -e "keysym Caps_Lock = BackSpace"
Under Linux in text mode it's a bit more complex. This worked for me in Debian:
cd /etc/console/
gunzip boottime.kmap.gz
joe boottime.kmap
Where it says Caps_Lock, replace it with Control_H or BackSpace. Save the file.
gzip boottime.kmap
loadkeys boottime.kmap.gz
The keymap is now loaded, test whether it works. If it does, reboot to verify whether the mapping is indeed applied on every boot.
Apparently I'm not alone in this. Join the crusade and free yourself of Caps lock! :)
