I submit that we agree that the Capslock key should be banished form the keyboard. It needs to be harder to type in all caps. Now I can understand that there is a need for it in certain cases. Actually no I don’t. I can see it being used for titles, etc, but when, really was the last time you hit the button on purpose? Outside of video games, I’d say it’s been years.
If you really, really need it. Microsoft Word and change things into all caps though the style menus.
I do kind of wish the Caps Lock key was just a wee bit less accessible - I often hit it by accident and have to start over.
That said, I treat people who shout at me in type the same way I treat people who shout at me in person - I go away. I just don’t listen to/read what they have to say. If you can’t treat me politely, I don’t consider that I have any obligation to listen to you.
i AGREE. i’LL FREQUENTLY LOOK UP FROM TYPING SOMETHING AND SEE THAT i’VE ACCIDENTALLY HIT THE caps lock KEY, AND IT’S ALL MESSED UP.
iF YOU DON’T MAKE IT LESS ACCESSIBLE, AT LEAST COME UP WITH AN “undo” KEY SO THAT, LIKE bOLDING, iTALICIZING, OR uNDERLINING, YOU CAN JUST HIGHLIGHT THE AFFECTED AREAS AND SWITCH THEM!
Historically, the caps lock key was where the ctrl key is now and vice-versa. You can actually buy keyboards with this configuration or it is easy enough to remap a keyboard in software that way these days.
But I use the caps lock key frequently, for example in programming.
Wish they’d move it tho.
Could be worse - on Sun Sparcsystems the ctrl key is (or was 10 years ago) where PCs put the caps lock. So, if you’re using a Windows-compatible version of something, you hit ctrl-a together with your pinky when you’re aiming for the a. That selects all your work. The next keystroke overwrites all your work with a letter. The following keystroke flushes all your work from the 1-deep undo buffer.
Sadly, because the person who created the samples database where I work does not understand Access that well, I have to hit the stupid Capslock key every time I enter a sample request. I don’t know why they didn’t just format the page to change everything to caps. I am honestly thinking of going in and fixing it for her, since inevitably I end up typing at least one sentence in all caps in a chat window (yup, I am a chat operator here too) and having to apologise to the customer for “yelling.” I hate that!
Several times a day. I work with a lot of long part numbers, which, by convention, always use capital letters. I would be quite willing to have it moved up by the tilde though.
I just noticed something, on my keyboard the right edge of the caps lock key isn’t as high as normal–actually, it’s below the depth of a key that’s been pushed down. So you can’t hit it accidently while going for the ‘a’ key as easily. I think this is the first time I’ve seen proof that the person who designed something actually uses it.
There is a utility for Windows that deactivates the capslock key unless you press it and hold it down for a second or two. It seems to me this is the perfect solution.
I say keep the caps lock, but dump the scroll lock instead. The scroll lock is absolutely useless to me, and when I accidentally deploy it in Excel it makes navigating the spreadsheet to be more difficult.
I don’t think I’ve ever once used the Caps Lock intentionally. Even when for some reason I need to type in all caps, it feels more natural to just hold down Shift.
I guess I’m in the minority. I use it very, very frequently in my job, probably at least one every five minutes or so, for headings, and having to hold down shift would slow me down a lot. I don’t use Microsoft Word, either, so I need my caps lock.
I’m a touch-typist going at about 100 wpm, and hitting the Caps Lock is about as natural as any other readily-reachable key on the keyboard. I’m on and off it frequently throughout the day.
But I’ll agree with everyone else who thinks that people who yell in IM or email should be drawn and quartered. (OK, no one else suggested that specific solution, but you were all thinking it.)