Which keyboard keys you never use — and how you can remap them

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• Enable Keyboard Manager and remap a key
• What you can change
• Type text with a key — and when not to
• Remap shortcuts across apps or system-wide

If a particular key or shortcut on your Windows PC feels awkward or useless, you can change it without buying extra software. Microsoft’s free PowerToys includes a tool called Keyboard Manager that makes remapping keys and shortcuts straightforward.

Enable Keyboard Manager and remap a key

Install PowerToys from the Microsoft Store or GitHub, then open the app and choose Keyboard Manager in the left sidebar. Flip the Enable Keyboard Manager slider on to start.

Next, click Remap a key, then Add key remapping. Use Select to pick the physical key you want to change—either type it or choose it from the dropdown. Then set what it should become under To send:. Save the mapping and test it immediately.

What you can change

Single keys, key combinations and system controls are all supported. For example, mapping Caps Lock to Delete makes the Caps Lock key act as Delete instead of toggling capitalization.

• Key combos — you can send shortcuts like Ctrl + Shift + Esc.
• Controls — the dropdown includes actions such as Help, Play/Pause Media and Start Mail.
• Disable — choose this from the top of the list to turn a key off entirely.

Type text with a key — and when not to

Switch the Send Key/Shortcut option to Send Text and the remapped key will insert the exact text you enter. That can speed up typing recurring snippets like an email address.

But text expansion tools and clipboard managers are better suited to repeat typing tasks. If you regularly insert long phrases or manage multiple snippets, consider a dedicated utility instead of relying on Keyboard Manager.

Remap shortcuts across apps or system-wide

Use the Remap a shortcut panel to alter existing shortcuts for a specific program or for the whole system. For instance, you could change an often-used but awkward combination like Ctrl + P to a more convenient key like Ctrl + Q.