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Engadget Guide Shows How to Remap Wasted Keyboard Keys with PowerToys

Microsoft PowerToys can remap unused keyboard keys like Caps Lock and Insert; Engadget explains how.

AI News Feed · 2026-09-06 04:22

The recommended tool is Keyboard Manager, part of the PowerToys suite that can be installed from the Microsoft Store or GitHub. After opening PowerToys, a user selects Keyboard Manager in the left sidebar, enables the Keyboard Manager slider, clicks Remap a key and then Add key remapping. In the Select box they choose the key to overwrite, and in the To send box they choose the action the key should perform instead. For example, setting Caps Lock on the Select side and Delete on the To send side makes Caps Lock act as Delete, and multiple keys can be adjusted by repeating the process.

A remap does not have to result in a single key. The To send section accepts key combinations such as Ctrl+Shift+Esc to launch Task Manager, as well as dropdown options like Help, Play/Pause Media and Start Mail. The Disable option can switch off a key without assigning a new task, while Send Text mode makes a remapped key type a phrase entered in a box. For repeated text such as an email address, the guide recommends dedicated text expansion or clipboard managers as better productivity tools. A separate Remap a shortcut panel can change shortcuts in one app or across the whole system.

The guide also suggests specific keys to consider repurposing, such as Caps Lock for an extra Backspace key, Insert for opening Windows search, and Scroll Lock for browser favorites or home. Pause/Break does little by itself, and duplicate Alt or Control keys on one side are also good candidates. F1 through F12 vary in usefulness depending on the user's workflow. If a keyboard lacks media keys, another key can be remapped to Play/Pause for easier music control.

PowerToys is easy to reverse, according to the guide: toggling it off temporarily removes all remaps, but closing its background process also restores normal key behavior, so the app should be set to run at startup. Remaps apply only to the current user account and do not work on the Windows login screen. An alternative tool called SharpKeys modifies the Windows Registry, which affects all users and is less reversible. For game-specific changes, utilities from gaming keyboard makers such as Logitech and Razer are recommended.