# I pit the caps lock key **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 29, 2009, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-caps-lock-key/515648 "2009-10-29T19:50:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Mojo\_Pin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Mojo\_Pin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mojo_Pin)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2009, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-caps-lock-key/515648/21 "2009-11-06T18:25:51Z")
> [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](#): > > Don’t pop it off, turn it into another CTRL or ALT key. You can do that easily on any OS. Especially useful if you’ve got a laptop-style keyboard where those modifier keys are small and caps-lock is big. > > [http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?RemapCapsLock](http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?RemapCapsLock) A while ago I switched to a different keyboard configuration called Colemak, and the Caps key is now delete. It’s very useful that way. ---
**Author:** ![Yodalicious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yodalicious/32/8195_2.png) [@Yodalicious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yodalicious)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2009, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-caps-lock-key/515648/22 "2009-11-06T21:36:47Z")
> [@The\_Librarian](#): > > Compared to the \ key, \ is the epitome of usefullness. I fucking hate the \ key. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2009, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-caps-lock-key/515648/23 "2009-11-06T21:51:16Z")
I’d like to replace the Caps Lock key with a .com key. ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2009, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-caps-lock-key/515648/24 "2009-11-06T21:53:08Z")
I MPSIMS THIS THREAD!!!1! **Gfactor** PIT MODERATOR ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2009, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-caps-lock-key/515648/25 "2009-11-07T01:27:49Z")
> [@The\_Librarian](#): > > Compared to the \ key, \ is the epitome of usefullness. Windows users might like [this handy little app](http://www.brainsystems.com/capsunlock/). ---
**Author:** ![Fetchund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b2d939/32.png) [@Fetchund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fetchund)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2009, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-caps-lock-key/515648/26 "2009-11-07T01:57:44Z")
I need the Caps Lock key for work. What I pit is the boneheads that set the passwords on every freaking shared computer to all lower case - when we are using a software system that REQUIRES all caps! And, all computers are also set to lock after about two minutes - so you have to take caps lock off, type in the password, set caps lock again, and start working - every few minutes. Arrrrggh. ---
**Author:** ![PapSett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecc23a/32.png) [@PapSett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PapSett)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2009, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-caps-lock-key/515648/27 "2009-11-07T05:08:10Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > In CAD I use it all the time. And have learned to keep an instance of Word open so, after typing an entire email in caps without noticing, I can switch it back to Sentence Case without retyping. OK… how do you do this? A friend and I were just discussing if it’s possible… we both have touchy keyboards and barely grazing the caps lock will cauSE YOU TO TYPE LIKE THIS… Is there an easy way to corredt your capitol blunder without having to retype anything? ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2009, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-caps-lock-key/515648/28 "2009-11-07T17:43:01Z")
Yes. Paste it into your word processor, choose change case, select sentence case, then paste that back into whatever you’re typing. If you’re using an email program which uses a word processor as its editor, you don’t even need to do the cut & paste trick. Windows has a built-in feature to make a noise whenever you bump the caps lock. I turn that on. I still bump caps lock too often, but now I type 2 letters, not 2 paragraphs before noticing. On XP it’s at Control panel -\> Accessibility Options -\> Keyboard -\> ToggleKeys. Now if only that feature included beeping when I hit the Insert key. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2009, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-caps-lock-key/515648/29 "2009-11-07T18:11:19Z")
One guy who used to work for me would always pry the keys that bothered him from his keyboard. ---
**Author:** ![Uosdwis\_R.Dewoh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Uosdwis\_R.Dewoh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uosdwis_R.Dewoh)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2009, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-caps-lock-key/515648/30 "2009-11-07T19:34:17Z")
> [@Khadaji](#): > > One guy who used to work for me would always pry the keys that bothered him from his keyboard. Did you work at the [White house](http://www.macobserver.com/tmo/article/White_House_Says_Gimme_A_W_But_All_The_W_Keys_Are_Missing/)? ---
**Author:** ![KlondikeGeoff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3e96dc/32.png) [@KlondikeGeoff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KlondikeGeoff)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2009, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-caps-lock-key/515648/31 "2009-11-07T21:43:57Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > Windows users might like [this handy little app](http://www.brainsystems.com/capsunlock/). Super! Thanks for that. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2009, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-caps-lock-key/515648/32 "2009-11-08T13:24:49Z")
> [@PapSett](#): > > … we both have touchy keyboards and barely grazing the caps lock will cauSE YOU TO TYPE LIKE THIS… This is a pain, but you know what tops it? Sparcstation keyboards that put the Ctrl key where PC keyboards put CapsLock. Now, if you are using a Unix version of a Windows-compatible program (with Crtl-A for Select All), grazing this key selects all your text, and the next keystroke overwrites it all with a single letter, and the keystroke after that flushes it from the “undo” buffer. I had about a 50% probability of being able to write a single-page document. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2009, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-caps-lock-key/515648/33 "2009-11-08T20:52:50Z")
My EeePC gives me a popup message in the bottom of the screen if I accidentally hit the Caps Lock key. It just says “CAPS LOCK: ON”, but it’s noticeable enough in my field of vision that it catches my attention right away. Which is a good thing, because this keyboard is small and I hit that key a lot. Now if only they hadn’t put the UP arrow right next to the right Shift key, I’d be really happy! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-caps-lock-key/515648.md?page=1)