# Is there a easy way to disable the cap locks key? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 6, 2013, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-easy-way-to-disable-the-cap-locks-key/657589 "2013-05-06T01:12:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2013, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-easy-way-to-disable-the-cap-locks-key/657589/21 "2013-05-06T05:43:47Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Is it the same edit in Windows 8 as it was in Windows 7? The article you linked to gives the code as “00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,02,00,00,00,00,00,3a,00,00,00,00,00” but I’ve seen other ones than use “00000000000000000200000000003a0000000000”. Minor details maybe but I worry about changing my registry and getting some minor detail wrong. I don’t really want to reboot right now to test it, but it probably still works. I don’t think Windows 8 changed the scan code maps. If it doesn’t, let me know and I’ll find something that does. And your code is the same as mine. The commas are just place indicators for human eyes. The actual registry doesn’t care. ---
**Author:** ![ThisSpaceForRent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thisspaceforrent/32/345_2.png) [@ThisSpaceForRent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThisSpaceForRent)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2013, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-easy-way-to-disable-the-cap-locks-key/657589/22 "2013-05-06T06:01:59Z")
> [@ataraxy22](#): > > I pried the caps lock keys off my home and work computer keyboards. hhmmmmm I don’t have a CAPS lock key on any of my key boards, and haven’t for 15 years. We think alike. ---
**Author:** ![tellyworth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/977dab/32.png) [@tellyworth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tellyworth)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2013, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-easy-way-to-disable-the-cap-locks-key/657589/23 "2013-05-06T06:43:53Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > I read somewhere, a few months ago, that manufacturers are considering eliminating it. The current style of Mac keyboard has a slight delay on the capslock key, so an accidental hit usually won’t toggle it. I’m not sure if that’s a function of the keyboard hardware or the OS. ---
**Author:** ![Aquadementia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aquadementia/32/555_2.png) [@Aquadementia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aquadementia)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2013, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-easy-way-to-disable-the-cap-locks-key/657589/24 "2013-05-06T13:44:33Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Works in my telnet emulator and in the DOS window. I’m on a laptop and haven’t installed Putty yet, but I’m pretty sure that can be configured to accept Ctl-S and Ctl-Q. Huh. I ran telnet on my only windows machine (it’s only XP but that’s good enough for it) and it didn’t scroll like that. But if I’m using windows or an X terminal then I’d probably have a scroll bar. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2013, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-easy-way-to-disable-the-cap-locks-key/657589/25 "2013-05-06T16:56:26Z")
> [@Reply](#): > > And your code is the same as mine. The commas are just place indicators for human eyes. The actual registry doesn’t care. Yes, I saw that. But as I said, I don’t want to make any small mistakes when I’m editing registry files. How do I know what typing 3A instead of 3a might do? Maybe it’ll make my computer inoperable. I could just not worry about these little details and simply copy what I see online. But the fact that what I see online has these minor differences concerns me. What if the guy I’m copying doesn’t know as much as he claims and he’s the one making a minor but critical error? ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2013, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-easy-way-to-disable-the-cap-locks-key/657589/26 "2013-05-06T17:27:19Z")
Is there a way to disable _other peoples’_ Caps Lock keys? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2013, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-easy-way-to-disable-the-cap-locks-key/657589/27 "2013-05-06T17:55:56Z")
> [@Sailboat](#): > > Is there a way to disable _other peoples’_ Caps Lock keys? 😉 No, because CAPS LOCK IS CRUISE CONTROL FOR COOL. ---
**Author:** ![Iggy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iggy/32/3364_2.png) [@Iggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iggy)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2013, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-easy-way-to-disable-the-cap-locks-key/657589/28 "2013-05-06T18:56:55Z")
> [@moriah](#): > > I highly recommend [Spanish Accents Capslock.](http://www.onehourprogramming.com/spanish-accents/) > > It changes your Capslock into a type of ‘shift’ key that allows easy typing of Spanish accented characters (like é, e.g.). So, if you accidentally hit it, you’re not in All Caps mode. And if you do want All Caps, you double tap it to go in and out of All Caps mode. Windows does have alternate keyboard configurations available through the Control Panel. The “United States-International” format does more or less the same as this Spanish Accents Capslock by changing the use of the right alt key so that RIGHT ALT + \ = \. Perhaps one of the alternate layouts disables the CAPS lock key? Not sure. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2013, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-easy-way-to-disable-the-cap-locks-key/657589/29 "2013-05-07T01:07:10Z")
> [@Doug\_K](#): > > While I can understand that not everyone needs to use the caps lock key, I don’t understand the claim that so many people frequently accidentally hit the caps lock key. I’ve been using computers for about 30 years and I’ve never had problems with it. The enter key is in the same relative position for the right hand, and I don’t hear anyone complain about accidentally hitting it all the time. And that could have far more serious consequences than hitting caps lock by mistake. The Enter key is _not_ in the same relative position on a standard keyboard. Place your hands on the keyboard in the default home row positions. Look at them. Your left pinky is one key away from Caps Lock. Your right pinky is two keys away from Enter. Enter is _much_ harder to hit by accident if you touch-type. I (and I think many people) use the left shift button almost exclusively, both because it’s easier to reach (my finger is closer), and because the right shift button is right next to the Enter key, which, as you mention has much worse results if you hit it. Plus, it _feels_ worse to accidentally hit the Caps Lock key. If I accidentally hit the Enter key, potentially bad things happen, but I accept that the Enter key is quite useful and should be somewhat readily accessible to my fingers. I should just be more careful. If I accidentally hit the Caps Lock key, then dammit! Why is that stupid key there anyway. I never _want_ to use it, so the only thing I associate it with is being a big ol’ horrible design decision that screws things up. It has no redeeming purpose; it’s just a giant target right next to two of the most commonly used keys on the keyboard that screws up my typing. Even when I type in block capitals I don’t use Caps Lock. I just hold the left shift key with my left pinky and use my left ring finger to cover the other three keys it normally presses. I long ago remapped my caps lock key to be Control, which is a key that I use all the time, and I’m happy to have in an easy access position. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2013, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-easy-way-to-disable-the-cap-locks-key/657589/30 "2013-05-07T07:00:57Z")
When I used to do BASIC programming on my old BBC Micro I used Caps Lock all the time. These days, on my PC, it is just an annoyance. BBC BASIC keywords were all capitalized, so Caps Lock gave you the letters yo u needed whilst still allowing access to numbers and other symbols. The BBC model B, which was what I had, did not have a numeric keypad, although it did have a fairly useless Shift Lock key (I guess a hangover from typewriters), as well as the Caps Lock. Another oddity of its keyboard was that the **@** symbol had a key all to itself (Shift had no effect on it) despite the fact that this was long before the days when most people stared having email, and the **@** symbol had only one, rarely used function in the BBC OS and BBC BASIC (something to do with setting tabs for lining up columns of numbers, IIRC). It was very possibly the least used symbol on the keyboard, but the only one with a key all to itself ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2013, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-easy-way-to-disable-the-cap-locks-key/657589/31 "2013-05-07T07:34:57Z")
> [@Aquadementia](#): > > Huh. I ran telnet on my only windows machine (it’s only XP but that’s good enough for it) and it didn’t scroll like that. > But if I’m using windows or an X terminal then I’d probably have a scroll bar. I don’t know what you’re running, but this is a pretty standard method of scroll control going back before the invention of the PC. It is configurable in some Telnet emulators, but I’ve never heard one that didn’t implement it, and it’s generally OS level functionality so the terminal emulator doesn’t even matter as long as the control codes are passed to the server. Go into your DOS command prompt, find a very long text file, then enter the command ‘type file.txt’, obviously using the correct file name and extension. If you press Ctl-S, the display will stop scrolling. Any key will restart it, however printable characters will appear in the next line of input. ---
**Author:** ![Blakeyrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecd19e/32.png) [@Blakeyrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blakeyrat)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2013, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-easy-way-to-disable-the-cap-locks-key/657589/32 "2013-05-07T19:24:19Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > New computer so I’m getting used to a new keyboard. And one result is I’ve been hitting the cap locks key (which is right next to the A key and the shift key) by mistake a lot lately. If your keyboard installed a driver (Microsoft, Logitech, MadCatz, etc), check your Keyboards control panel, and it’ll almost certainly have an option to disable Caps Lock, or re-map it to Control. If it doesn’t, unfortunately, Windows doesn’t provide that feature in the default USB keyboard driver (although they really should), so you’ll have to use one of the other solutions. ---
**Author:** ![Running\_with\_Scissors](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a183cd/32.png) [@Running\_with\_Scissors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Running_with_Scissors)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2013, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-easy-way-to-disable-the-cap-locks-key/657589/33 "2013-05-07T20:08:57Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > And while we’re at it, does anyone know if the “Scroll Lock” key has ever done anything useful (or anything at all) in, say, the last 20 years? It used to be functional on old VT-52 and similar terminals on DEC machines. In Excel, Scroll Lock allows you to scroll the sheet one row or column at a time using the arrow keys, without the cursor having to be at the top or bottom of the window. That’s the only software I’m aware of that uses it. On the VT52 (wow, it’s probably been 30 years since I’ve used one of those) and VT100, the NO SCROLL key would send (alternatively) a Control-S or Control-Q to the host. Woe to he who pressed that key while in EMACS (it’s worth noting that NO SCROLL could be easily disabled in Setup). I use an [IBM Model M keyboard](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Model_M_keyboard), which lacks a Windows key, so I have the Scroll Lock remapped to that. ---
**Author:** ![Running\_with\_Scissors](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a183cd/32.png) [@Running\_with\_Scissors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Running_with_Scissors)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2013, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-easy-way-to-disable-the-cap-locks-key/657589/34 "2013-05-07T20:22:10Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > Caps lock is a vestigial left-over from the days of _manual typewriters!_ Well, sort of. Manual and electric (but not usually later electronic) typewriters had a Shift Lock, which also shifted the symbols on the top (number) row. Not particularly useful, that, but since it was actually a mechanical shifting of the typing mechanism, it had to be that way (although I believe the IBM Selectric had a Shift Lock, probably more for convention than anything else). ---
**Author:** ![CurtC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce73a5/32.png) [@CurtC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CurtC)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2013, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-easy-way-to-disable-the-cap-locks-key/657589/35 "2013-05-07T20:33:04Z")
I didn’t know about these ways of disabling it. For years, I’ve used Windows’ Accessibility features (in Control Panel) to beep at me if I hit Caps Lock, at least letting me know that I’ve done it. ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2013, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-easy-way-to-disable-the-cap-locks-key/657589/36 "2013-05-07T21:03:23Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > CapsLock is pointless and can be accomplished all sorts of other ways “All sorts”? Besides holding the Shift down, can you please name a few? or even one? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2013, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-easy-way-to-disable-the-cap-locks-key/657589/37 "2013-05-07T21:50:00Z")
> [@Keeve](#): > > “All sorts”? Besides holding the Shift down, can you please name a few? or even one? I meant the functioning of the CapsLock key. It could have different physical response when people hit it so they know they’ve hit the wrong key. It could be moved to a different place on the keyboard. It could require two keys to activate, like Shift-CapsLock, or just use control and some other key to make it work. I’m not saying there exists now other ways to do it, but there could be other ways to do it. Not to mention just holding down the Shift key which is what I do in those rare cases I need to type more than one uppercase character. ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-easy-way-to-disable-the-cap-locks-key/657589/38 "2013-05-08T00:17:27Z")
Oh. Okay, now I understand. But now that’s making me wonder: > [@Senegoid](#): > > Caps lock is a vestigial left-over from the days of _manual typewriters!_ And what did they use it for? Seriously, if we use all caps nowadays for nothing more than book titles and chapter titles and such, what other functions did it have fifty years ago? ---
**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:** [May 8, 2013, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-easy-way-to-disable-the-cap-locks-key/657589/39 "2013-05-08T01:14:51Z")
> [@Keeve](#): > > Oh. Okay, now I understand. > > But now that’s making me wonder: And what did they use it for? My mother was a typist for most of her working life, and I saw her use caps lock a lot in that time. I can’t remember the specifics, but anything more than two letters required a lock. Holding shift down was difficult on a manual typewriter. It literally “shifted” the carousel, lifting it up so that you could access the lower character on the striker thingies\*, and it was quite heavy. If you use your little finger for Shift, as most do, then it can be quite a strain. Therefore if you need to have all capitals (like in legal documents) you definitely need a lock. \*Wikipedia calls them type bars ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-easy-way-to-disable-the-cap-locks-key/657589/40 "2013-05-08T02:15:28Z")
> [@Keeve](#): > > Oh. Okay, now I understand. > > But now that’s making me wonder: And what did they use it for? Seriously, if we use all caps nowadays for nothing more than book titles and chapter titles and such, what other functions did it have fifty years ago? There have been many, even some still used today, programming languages that require everything, or at least keywords, to be all caps. It would be murder to code in those languages without a caps lock key. Even in languages that ignore case, for some people use of all caps makes debugging easier because it forces you to slow down when reading it over. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-easy-way-to-disable-the-cap-locks-key/657589.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-easy-way-to-disable-the-cap-locks-key/657589.md?page=3)