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registry remap capslock to another key - why does it need to be *two* entries ?



 
 
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  #1  
Old July 14th 19, 06:17 PM posted to microsoft.public.windowsxp.general
R.Wieser
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 1,302
Default registry remap capslock to another key - why does it need to be *two* entries ?

Hello all,

Poked along by an article on slashdot (
https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/...-caps-lock-key) I
decided that I would just that and "get rid of" the capslock key - by
remapping it (got bitten a few times by what the article described :-) )

For that I found (among others) this page:
https://superuser.com/questions/1957...apped-to-shift (which
works).

My only question is: All three registry examples show why a trailing NUL
keymapping entry (target equals source equals zero). Why ? The count is
known (the eight byte in the examples), giving this the feel of a
belt-and-suspenders kind of approach.

Regards,
Rudy Wieser

P.s.
I /assume/ I can kill a key by setting its target to Zero. But the article
(nor a quick google) mentions nothing of the kind (side effects ?).


Ads
  #2  
Old July 14th 19, 11:16 PM posted to microsoft.public.windowsxp.general
JJ[_11_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 744
Default registry remap capslock to another key - why does it need to be *two* entries ?

On Sun, 14 Jul 2019 19:17:32 +0200, R.Wieser wrote:
Hello all,

Poked along by an article on slashdot (
https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/...-caps-lock-key) I
decided that I would just that and "get rid of" the capslock key - by
remapping it (got bitten a few times by what the article described :-) )

For that I found (among others) this page:
https://superuser.com/questions/1957...apped-to-shift (which
works).

My only question is: All three registry examples show why a trailing NUL
keymapping entry (target equals source equals zero). Why ? The count is
known (the eight byte in the examples), giving this the feel of a
belt-and-suspenders kind of approach.

Regards,
Rudy Wieser

P.s.
I /assume/ I can kill a key by setting its target to Zero. But the article
(nor a quick google) mentions nothing of the kind (side effects ?).


The registry value data structure seems to be a generalized format for both
the "Scancode Map" and the undocumented "Scancode Map Ex" registry values.

So far, there's no research regarding the "Scancode Map Ex" registry value.
I only know that it has 0x10 bytes of header instead of 0x0C bytes.
  #3  
Old July 15th 19, 03:39 AM posted to microsoft.public.windowsxp.general
J. P. Gilliver (John)[_7_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 603
Default registry remap capslock to another key - why does it need to be *two* entries ?

In message , R.Wieser
writes:
Hello all,

Poked along by an article on slashdot (
https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/...-time-to-get-r
id-of-the-caps-lock-key) I
decided that I would just that and "get rid of" the capslock key - by
remapping it (got bitten a few times by what the article described :-) )

[]
There seems to be a lot of hatred of the Caps Lock key/function!

The _main_ reason for the dislike (not the only one, granted), seems to
be from people who hit it by mistake and don't realise until they've
tyPED SEVERAL WORDS WITH IT ON.

There's an alert that you've done that, called Toggle Keys: it's been
part of Windows since at least XP. It's for some reason hidden under
accessibility (disabled access) - I guess partly because other features
for helping the disabled also are related to the keyboard, and partly
because they weren't sure where else to put it. How to get to it varies
slightly between Windows versions; on this Win7-with-classic-shell, one
way is Start | Settings | Control Panel | Ease of Access Centre | Make
the keyboard easier to use. On XP, IIRR it was under Accessibility.

I use Caps Lock once in a blue moon, but I don't mind it being there.

There doesn't seem to be the same hatred of Scroll Lock, which I'm
unaware of having _any_ function since DOS days; I've very occasionally
come across a novelty or utility that uses it. Granted, it's harder to
hit accidentally, but at least Caps Lock _has_a function
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

Abandon hope, all ye who ENTER here.
  #4  
Old July 15th 19, 06:57 AM posted to microsoft.public.windowsxp.general
R.Wieser
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 1,302
Default registry remap capslock to another key - why does it need to be *two* entries ?

John,

There seems to be a lot of hatred of the Caps Lock key/function!


No hate involved here. Annoyance at most - at myself, for /again/ having
pressed it.

The _main_ reason for the dislike (not the only one, granted), seems to be
from people who hit it by mistake and don't realise until they've tyPED
SEVERAL WORDS WITH IT ON.


Yep, exactly that one. :-\ And as I can't remember having ever needed the
capslock (and the change is easily reversable) I took the opportunity to see
what it is to live without it.

Currently I've remapped it to left-shift, but was wondering if I could make
it a dead key (redirect to 0x0000)

There doesn't seem to be the same hatred of Scroll Lock


:-) That one isn't living just below the TAB, above the LEFT-SHIFT and left
of the A key.

But yes, that one doesn't have had a general use for as long as I have used
x86 machines. Though its (again) useful to me, as my KVM uses it as a
command trigger (press twice and than 1 ... 4).

Regards,
Rudy Wieser


  #5  
Old July 15th 19, 10:15 AM posted to microsoft.public.windowsxp.general
Apd
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 132
Default registry remap capslock to another key - why does it need to be *two* entries ?

"J. P. Gilliver (John)" wrote:.

I use Caps Lock once in a blue moon, but I don't mind it being there.


Same here. I've found it useful in one situation. I have a password
with letters and numbers but the letters are all caps. Having to
depress and release shift and then accidently hold it while typing a
number is a nuisance and causes "why is it not accepted?" puzzlement.


  #6  
Old July 15th 19, 07:08 PM posted to microsoft.public.windowsxp.general
J. P. Gilliver (John)[_7_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 603
Default registry remap capslock to another key - why does it need to be *two* entries ?

In message , R.Wieser
writes:
John,

There seems to be a lot of hatred of the Caps Lock key/function!


No hate involved here. Annoyance at most - at myself, for /again/ having
pressed it.

The _main_ reason for the dislike (not the only one, granted), seems to be
from people who hit it by mistake and don't realise until they've tyPED
SEVERAL WORDS WITH IT ON.


Yep, exactly that one. :-\ And as I can't remember having ever needed the
capslock (and the change is easily reversable) I took the opportunity to see
what it is to live without it.

Currently I've remapped it to left-shift, but was wondering if I could make
it a dead key (redirect to 0x0000)


Did you even look at (listen to?) "Toggle Keys"?
[]
But yes, that one doesn't have had a general use for as long as I have used
x86 machines. Though its (again) useful to me, as my KVM uses it as a
command trigger (press twice and than 1 ... 4).

[]
Yes, scroll lock is a spare key for utility authors - and, as you
describe, hardware manufacturers - to use (-:. I wonder how many people
even remember what its original purpose _was_! (I wonder: yes, Wikipedia
_does_ have an entry https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scroll_Lock .)
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

"This situation absolutely requires a really futile and stoopid gesture be done
on somebody's part." "We're just the guys to do it." Eric "Otter" Stratton (Tim
Matheson) and John "Bluto" Blutarsky (John Belushi) - N. L's Animal House
(1978)
  #7  
Old July 16th 19, 08:34 AM posted to microsoft.public.windowsxp.general
R.Wieser
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 1,302
Default registry remap capslock to another key - why does it need to be *two* entries ?

John,

Did you even look at (listen to?) "Toggle Keys"?


Forgot all about them - did remember how to activate it tho.

I take it you where referring to have the capslock key make a sound. Might
be something to try too. Not all that eager to let my puter make all kinds
of sounds though (have disabled the soundscheme).

I wonder how many people even remember what its [the scroll-lock key]
original purpose _was_!


You're cheating ! That page you posted a link to shows a /myrad/ of
different usages. :-)

The only usage I was (somewhat) aware of was to stop the automatic scrolling
on a console (when dumping a long listing), allowing a page-by-page viewing.

Regards,
Rudy Wieser

P.s.
The below page shows a bit more about reassigning keys. It also seems to
confirm that you can "kill" a key by setting 0x0000 as the target.
https://www.experts-exchange.com/art...nd-Beyond.html


  #8  
Old July 16th 19, 02:51 PM posted to microsoft.public.windowsxp.general
J. P. Gilliver (John)[_7_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 603
Default registry remap capslock to another key - why does it need to be *two* entries ?

In message , R.Wieser
writes:
John,

Did you even look at (listen to?) "Toggle Keys"?


Forgot all about them - did remember how to activate it tho.

I take it you where referring to have the capslock key make a sound. Might
be something to try too. Not all that eager to let my puter make all kinds
of sounds though (have disabled the soundscheme).


Yes, that's it: actually a different sound for on and off. I _think_ it
might come through the beeper channel rather than the sound system,
though this will inevitably vary with hardware (some laptops don't have
a beeper but route it as a separate channel in the mixer, in software).

I wonder how many people even remember what its [the scroll-lock key]
original purpose _was_!


You're cheating ! That page you posted a link to shows a /myrad/ of
different usages. :-)

The only usage I was (somewhat) aware of was to stop the automatic scrolling
on a console (when dumping a long listing), allowing a page-by-page viewing.


Yes, I wasn't aware of those either! I too remember (just!) it being
used as you say - when listing on a screen where it filled from the top
of a blank screen, scroll lock stopped the text moving up when it had
filled the screen.

[Actually reminds me of my first computer - 1K of memory, of which half
_was_ the screen buffer; you _could_ run software in that area, but had
to make sure you didn't scroll!]

Regards,
Rudy Wieser

P.s.
The below page shows a bit more about reassigning keys. It also seems to
confirm that you can "kill" a key by setting 0x0000 as the target.
https://www.experts-exchange.com/art...mapping-CAPSLO
CK-to-Ctrl-and-Beyond.html

Looks a very useful page - and I like the way it's written; gives the
information, but without appearing to either show off or hector.
Bookmarked and saved. (I see they put the hyphen in the domain,
presumably after being lumped with pen island, powergen Italia, and Mole
Station nursery!)

--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

Radio 4 is one of the reasons being British is good. It's not a subset of
Britain - it's almost as if Britain is a subset of Radio 4. - Stephen Fry, in
Radio Times, 7-13 June, 2003.
  #9  
Old July 20th 19, 10:58 PM posted to microsoft.public.windowsxp.general
pyotr filipivich
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 752
Default registry remap capslock to another key - why does it need to be *two* entries ?

"J. P. Gilliver (John)" on Mon, 15 Jul 2019
03:39:09 +0100 typed in microsoft.public.windowsxp.general the
following:
In message , R.Wieser
writes:
Hello all,

Poked along by an article on slashdot (
https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/...-time-to-get-r
id-of-the-caps-lock-key) I
decided that I would just that and "get rid of" the capslock key - by
remapping it (got bitten a few times by what the article described :-) )

[]
There seems to be a lot of hatred of the Caps Lock key/function!

The _main_ reason for the dislike (not the only one, granted), seems to
be from people who hit it by mistake and don't realise until they've
tyPED SEVERAL WORDS WITH IT ON.


Some of use learned to type back when computer keyboards had the
tab key above the shift key, Which, probably was a carry over from
typewriter keyboards.

There's an alert that you've done that, called Toggle Keys: it's been
part of Windows since at least XP. It's for some reason hidden under
accessibility (disabled access) - I guess partly because other features
for helping the disabled also are related to the keyboard, and partly
because they weren't sure where else to put it. How to get to it varies
slightly between Windows versions; on this Win7-with-classic-shell, one
way is Start | Settings | Control Panel | Ease of Access Centre | Make
the keyboard easier to use. On XP, IIRR it was under Accessibility.

I use Caps Lock once in a blue moon, but I don't mind it being there.


I do mind the CapsLock placement, since I'm still hitting it when
I mean to use a tab, or because my finger slipped on the keyboard.

There doesn't seem to be the same hatred of Scroll Lock, which I'm
unaware of having _any_ function since DOS days;


It is also way over there, out of the way, and not in any place
where my fingers are normally going to be seeking out something else.
(I'm still a bit hacked off that holding down the shift key and typing
"EG" doesn't get "E.G." as I expected.)

I've very occasionally come across a novelty or utility that
uses it. Granted, it's harder to hit accidentally, but at least
Caps Lock _has_a function


It isn't the functionality which hacks people off, but the "wrong
placement". Sort of like when function keys were shifted to the top
of the keyboard.
--
pyotr filipivich
Next month's Panel: Graft - Boon or blessing?
  #10  
Old July 21st 19, 01:18 AM posted to microsoft.public.windowsxp.general
J. P. Gilliver (John)[_7_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 603
Default registry remap capslock to another key - why does it need to be *two* entries ?

In message , pyotr
filipivich writes:
"J. P. Gilliver (John)" on Mon, 15 Jul 2019
03:39:09 +0100 typed in microsoft.public.windowsxp.general the
following:

[]
There seems to be a lot of hatred of the Caps Lock key/function!

The _main_ reason for the dislike (not the only one, granted), seems to
be from people who hit it by mistake and don't realise until they've
tyPED SEVERAL WORDS WITH IT ON.


Some of use learned to type back when computer keyboards had the
tab key above the shift key, Which, probably was a carry over from
typewriter keyboards.


Interesting hypothesis! I'm not saying you're wrong, though I think all
the actual typewriters I've used had the caps lock - an actual little
mechanical lock! - more or less where it is, which I'd have thought was
for practical mechanical reasons - easier to lock that which you're next
to. Maybe this is a difference UK (where I am) to US. I can't remember
where the tab key was, though I think it might have been top left, or
even not in the main tastenfeld at all.
[]
I do mind the CapsLock placement, since I'm still hitting it when
I mean to use a tab, or because my finger slipped on the keyboard.


Understood.

There doesn't seem to be the same hatred of Scroll Lock, which I'm
unaware of having _any_ function since DOS days;


It is also way over there, out of the way, and not in any place
where my fingers are normally going to be seeking out something else.


Again, understood.

(I'm still a bit hacked off that holding down the shift key and typing
"EG" doesn't get "E.G." as I expected.)


(Wouldn't that be "EG"?)

Sounds like a cue for [an entry in] autocorrect (-:! (Though assuming
you mean the abbreviation for "exampla gratia" = "for example", I rarely
capitalise it anyway - if at the beginning of a sentence I'd probably
capitalise the E, but would usually weasel out of the decision by
rewriting the text so that it wasn't at the beginning!)

I've very occasionally come across a novelty or utility that
uses it. Granted, it's harder to hit accidentally, but at least
Caps Lock _has_a function


It isn't the functionality which hacks people off, but the "wrong
placement". Sort of like when function keys were shifted to the top
of the keyboard.


I see both sides now. For people who hit it accidentally just through
enthusiastic typing, I still think the "Toggle Keys" bleeps are a good
idea. For those like yourself who hit it because you have muscle memory
of something else being there, remapping seems a good idea (though to
tab [or whatever you remember being there] rather than nothing might be
preferable?).

Not sure about F keys left versus above. I do remember the left
positioning (hell, I remember from well before PCs altogether), but in
those days I didn't actually use them much: I can't honestly remember,
but if anything I probably found they got in the way (shoving them up
top made me less likely to hit them in error).
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

At the age of 7, Julia Elizabeth Wells could sing notes only dogs could hear.
  #11  
Old July 21st 19, 06:18 AM posted to microsoft.public.windowsxp.general
pyotr filipivich
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 752
Default registry remap capslock to another key - why does it need to be *two* entries ?

"J. P. Gilliver (John)" on Sun, 21 Jul 2019
01:18:20 +0100 typed in microsoft.public.windowsxp.general the
following:


Not sure about F keys left versus above. I do remember the left
positioning (hell, I remember from well before PCs altogether), but in
those days I didn't actually use them much: I can't honestly remember,
but if anything I probably found they got in the way (shoving them up
top made me less likely to hit them in error).


The critical element was, the game GATO used them to control speed
and direction. But after I got the PC-AT (with the Intel 286 CPU), it
didn't work. Clock speed was too high, and there is nothing like
trying to control a sub, when even "dead slow" was speedboating round
the map.


--
pyotr filipivich
Next month's Panel: Graft - Boon or blessing?
  #12  
Old July 21st 19, 06:18 AM posted to microsoft.public.windowsxp.general
pyotr filipivich
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 752
Default registry remap capslock to another key - why does it need to be *two* entries ?

"J. P. Gilliver (John)" on Sun, 21 Jul 2019
01:18:20 +0100 typed in microsoft.public.windowsxp.general the
following:

(I'm still a bit hacked off that holding down the shift key and typing
"EG" doesn't get "E.G." as I expected.)


(Wouldn't that be "EG"?)


I would not have minded that. But I had been used to having
typewriters which had a comma and a Capital Comma, so the first couple
times my computer didn't give the results I expected, - the problems
of touch typing.

Sounds like a cue for [an entry in] autocorrect (-:! (Though assuming
you mean the abbreviation for "exampla gratia" = "for example", I rarely
capitalise it anyway - if at the beginning of a sentence I'd probably
capitalise the E, but would usually weasel out of the decision by
rewriting the text so that it wasn't at the beginning!)

One of my grammar checkers insists that it must be E.G., (E period
G period comma). Although I'm now not sure if it is "E.g.," or
"E.G.,". Meh.
--
pyotr filipivich
Next month's Panel: Graft - Boon or blessing?
  #13  
Old July 21st 19, 11:39 AM posted to microsoft.public.windowsxp.general
Apd
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 132
Default registry remap capslock to another key - why does it need to be *two* entries ?

"pyotr filipivich" wrote:
"J. P. Gilliver (John)" on Sun, 21 Jul 2019
01:18:20 +0100 typed in microsoft.public.windowsxp.general the
following:


Sounds like a cue for [an entry in] autocorrect (-:! (Though assuming
you mean the abbreviation for "exampla gratia" = "for example", I rarely
capitalise it anyway - if at the beginning of a sentence I'd probably
capitalise the E, but would usually weasel out of the decision by
rewriting the text so that it wasn't at the beginning!)


We had a discussion in win7gen about latin abbreviations not being
capitalised and came to this agreement.

One of my grammar checkers insists that it must be E.G., (E period
G period comma). Although I'm now not sure if it is "E.g.," or
"E.G.,". Meh.


If latin, it's "e.g." unless starting a sentence (which some consider
poor grammar) when it can be "E.g.". Methinks you need a better
checker or don't use one at all.


  #14  
Old July 21st 19, 02:46 PM posted to microsoft.public.windowsxp.general
J. P. Gilliver (John)[_7_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 603
Default registry remap capslock to another key - why does it need to be *two* entries ?

In message , pyotr
filipivich writes:
"J. P. Gilliver (John)" on Sun, 21 Jul 2019
01:18:20 +0100 typed in microsoft.public.windowsxp.general the
following:


Not sure about F keys left versus above. I do remember the left
positioning (hell, I remember from well before PCs altogether), but in
those days I didn't actually use them much: I can't honestly remember,
but if anything I probably found they got in the way (shoving them up
top made me less likely to hit them in error).


The critical element was, the game GATO used them to control speed
and direction. But after I got the PC-AT (with the Intel 286 CPU), it
didn't work. Clock speed was too high, and there is nothing like
trying to control a sub, when even "dead slow" was speedboating round
the map.


I remember a lot of PCs of that era had a "turbo button", which switched
to a faster processor clock speed (or, of course, since most people left
it at that [after all why buy a "fast" PC and not use it] switched to a
slower one). Originally, this button switched back to the original IBM
PC clock speed (based on an NTSC TV crystal I think!) so that any
software that _relied_ on that would work properly; later, it just
switched between maximum and some slower speed, and was soon after that
dropped, as hardly anyone used it.
[]
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

In science, the more you know what you're looking at, the more magical it
becomes. - Professor Brian Cox, in RT 2017/7/15-21
  #15  
Old July 26th 19, 04:55 PM posted to microsoft.public.windowsxp.general
pyotr filipivich
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 752
Default registry remap capslock to another key - why does it need to be *two* entries ?

"Apd" on Sun, 21 Jul 2019 11:39:58 +0100 typed in
microsoft.public.windowsxp.general the following:
"pyotr filipivich" wrote:
"J. P. Gilliver (John)" on Sun, 21 Jul 2019
01:18:20 +0100 typed in microsoft.public.windowsxp.general the
following:


Sounds like a cue for [an entry in] autocorrect (-:! (Though assuming
you mean the abbreviation for "exampla gratia" = "for example", I rarely
capitalise it anyway - if at the beginning of a sentence I'd probably
capitalise the E, but would usually weasel out of the decision by
rewriting the text so that it wasn't at the beginning!)


We had a discussion in win7gen about latin abbreviations not being
capitalised and came to this agreement.

One of my grammar checkers insists that it must be E.G., (E period
G period comma). Although I'm now not sure if it is "E.g.," or
"E.G.,". Meh.


If latin, it's "e.g." unless starting a sentence (which some consider
poor grammar) when it can be "E.g.". Methinks you need a better
checker or don't use one at all.


I consider spell checkers (and especially Grammar Chek) to be a
sort of game. Grammar checkers are very useful for term papers &
reports, flagging what you need to dumb down for the teacher/boss.

--
pyotr filipivich
Next month's Panel: Graft - Boon or blessing?
 




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