1. Background introduction
I believe that many of my friends have encountered such troubles. A few buttons of the Windows notebook are broken, and the notebook has just passed the warranty period. When I got the after-sales service, I asked, my dear, it costs more than 100 yuan to repair the membrane keyboard of the notebook. And more than 100 people can already buy a mechanical keyboard. I vaguely feel that the maintenance fee is not worth it, but the malfunctioning keys are very annoying.
This article attempts to provide solutions to such troubles. In addition to using PowerToys to solve them, it will also list some alternatives.
Second, the solution
(1) Use PowerToys to solve
1. Introduction to PowerToys
Who knows Windows better than Microsoft?
——“ Minority 2021 Apps of the Year are Released, These Apps Are Our “Choice of the Year” ”
PowerToys can be regarded as the “plug-in” or “Swiss Army Knife” officially produced by Windows. There are many functions that can help users improve the efficiency of Windows. This article is to use the keyboard manager function.
Keyboard Manager Features for PowerToys
2. User guide
Readers can look at the F keys on the keyboard and recall when was the last time those F keys were used? Yes, try remapping the malfunctioning keys to the less frequently used F keys to solve the problem.
Remap keys
For example, the number key “9” on the letter area of the notebook keyboard is broken, and the “F9” key is just above the “9” key, so I map the physical key “9” to “F9”.
Remap keys “F9” to “9”
Now, theoretically the problem has been solved, when I press “F9” I can complete the following input:
F9 = 9
Shift + F9 = Shift + 9 = （
That’s right, the corresponding key combination takes effect after the key is remapped!
3. Reminder
Some readers may be confused, my “9” key is broken, how to enter “9” in the remap key interface?
Good question, in fact, you still need to connect a normal keyboard when you set it up for the first time, but this should be achievable. After setting it up for the first time, just keep PowerToys running at startup, then the theoretically set remapping will always take effect.
Secondly, although there are 12 F keys, theoretically there are 12 broken keys on the laptop keyboard, but I think the tolerance range for the number of bad keys is about nine, because there are still a few F keys that are quite commonly used. for example:
F2: file rename
F5: shortcut key for refresh or programming tool
F12: Inspection of web pages
It is not recommended to set remapping for these more commonly used F keys. Of course, it can actually be solved by the remapping shortcut keys of the keyboard manager, and even using the remapping shortcut keys can map far more than 12 malfunctioning keys, but at this stage, it is recommended to replace the keyboard directly.
Remap shortcut keys
(2) Use the on-screen keyboard to solve (alternative solution)
On-screen keyboard
(3) Use AutoHotkey or AutoIt (alternative)
In fact, this kind of hotkey scripting language program is not so recommended, because some programming is required. Since it’s all solved by hotkeys, why not use PowerToys’ remapping keys?
(4) Replace the laptop keyboard by yourself (alternative)
In fact, the material cost of keyboard repair is often less than 100 yuan, and the rest is labor cost. If you want to save labor costs and replace the keyboard yourself, it is actually not as difficult as you think. You can search and consult the tutorial carefully first, and follow the tutorial step by step. Usually you can succeed.
For example, after I found out that 12 keys were broken, I replaced the keyboard of the notebook myself, and even recorded a tutorial ” Xiaomi Air 13.3 Disassembly and replacement of keyboard steps “.
3. Conclusion
PowerToys’ keyboard manager can do more than just remap malfunctioning keys. The minority article ” 6 practical tips and software to make your Windows 11 more satisfying ” describes how to use PowerToys’ shortcut key remapping to deal with annoying Teams and widgets, and there are quite a few articles in Minority that cover the other great features of PowerToys.
Readers can download PowerToys for free on GitHub .
(1) Associated reading
- The window management tool produced by Microsoft can also make you no longer memorize shortcut keys: PowerToys
- Windows 10 official “plug-in” update, these 3 practical functions you may be able to use
- Windows 10 also has an “official” color picker: PowerToys 0.20 update details
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