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How to Turn the Caps Lock Key Into Something You’ll Actually Use
How often do you actually use caps lock? Unless you're a PERPETUALLY ANGRY UNCLE, the answer is probably not much. It's odd, then, that caps lock takes up a huge amount of space on the keyboard; it's downright annoying that it's so easy to hit accidentally.
Google's Chromebooks replaced caps lock with a search key years ago, and there's an easy easy way to remap caps lock on the Mac. Microsoft, though, doesn't offer a built-in tool for the job. But that doesn't mean you're out of options.
We've talked before about PowerToys, a Microsoft bundle full of utilities worth trying. One of those utilities, called Keyboard Manager, allows you to re-map any key on your keyboard. This means you can change the caps lock key to mimic another key, or even keys that your keyboard doesn't offer. If you'd rather not install PowerToys, there's a dedicated tool called sharpkeys that works similarly, but honestly PowerToys is so useful that you might as well install it.
Setting up Keyboard Manager
To get started you'll need to download PowerToys from the Microsoft Store or from Github. After installing, you'll find Keyboard Manager in the left hand sidebar of PowerToys.
Click Remap a key and you will be asked to select a key on your keyboard. Press Caps lock and then click OK.
Now you can choose what you want to replace the caps lock with. Click the Select button and then press the key, or keyboard shortcut, that you want to emulate. Alternatively, you can use a drop-down box to select any key—including those that aren't on your keyboard (this is how I turned the caps lock key into a key for pausing my music). You can also opt to disable the key entirely by selecting "Disable" from this same list.
