Remap the Keyboard in Windows 10, 8, 7, and Vista

Lost one or more keys on your keyboard? Your keyboard would still be usable if that key were a key you hardly ever use, or a key that could register keypresses without a plastic cover. But what if you don’t like working that way, or worse case, if it’s a key you use a lot like the spacebar? Either way, you only have two options. You can buy a new keyboard or remap your existing one. To me, it doesn’t make sense to buy a new keyboard just for one broken key. Also if you want to save some money and go with the second option, here’s how to remap the keyboard in Windows 10, 8, 7 and Vista.

note: I tried these tools on my PC running Windows 10 Pro and they worked just fine. But these tools are available for Windows 8.1, Windows 8, Windows 7 etc. It will work on older Windows versions such as

Remap Keyboard in Windows 10 Using Third-Party Tools

Remapping keys on your Windows device is pretty easy if you know what tools to use. There are quite a few options, and in this article we will talk about the best of them. But before we jump into our list, let’s see why you might want to remap the keyboard in Windows 10.

Why Need to Remap the Windows Keyboard?

Here are some of the reasons to consider for remapping Windows 10 keyboards:

• Remapping your Windows 10 keys is a good option if you break any of the keys on the keyboard or the keyboard stops working on it.
• If you are interchangeable on Windows and Mac and want to use a Windows keyboard on Mac. I found that remapping the Left Alt button with Ctrl helped a lot.
• If you primarily use your computer for gaming, remapping some keys can help improve your gameplay.
• If you work at a job where you need to use a key a lot, remapping it to an easily accessible key can improve your workflow.

So if any of these reasons make sense to you, here is how you can remap the keyboard on your Windows 10, 8.7 and Windows machine.

Note: The methods mentioned in this article will also work to remap the keyboard in Windows 11.

Remap Keys in Windows 10 with SharpKeys

While Windows lets you remap keys on your keyboard with a few registry fixes, SharpKeys (Free) is an open source tool that does the task that seems complicated for you. once you download toolTo learn how to remap a key to another key, follow these steps:

• On the main screen of SharpKeys, Click “Add”.

• This will open a key mapping window. Here, from the left pane, select the key you want to perform another action. And from the right pane, select the key you want to perform its function. You can also click on “Type Key” located at the bottom of both panes and then tap the desired key to make that selection. After making your selection, Click “OK” to continue. I wanted to turn off Scroll Lock on my computer, so I selected “Special: Scroll Lock” from the left pane and “Turn Key Off” from the right.

• Back on the tool’s main screen, you should now see the entry for the remap you want to do. To conclude this, Click “Write to Registry”.

Now when you restart your computer, your keyboard should remap. If you want to undo it, delete the entry from the tool and click “Write to Registry” again.

Reassign Keyboard Keys in Windows 10 Using Other Tools

While the above method is one of the easiest and most popular, it’s not the only method that gets the job done. If you are looking for other tools to reassign keyboard keys in Windows 10, here are a few more:

1. KeyTweak

KeyTweak is a tool offers multiple ways – three, to be precise – to remap a key. The first is to use the virtual keyboard. This method allows you to select the key you want to map, and then select the key you want to map from the drop-down menu. The second way, Half Teach Mode, works very similarly. The third (and final) way is the Full Teach Mode. This allows you to press both the start and pairing keys. Using this tool can be a bit confusing as it uses scancodes instead of regular characters.

I found that using the virtual keyboard is the easiest option. As you can see in the picture above I remap, left Ctrl key to Alt key. I do this while working on both Mac and Windows machines and it helps me easily switch between the two without breaking my workflow.

To organise: (Free)

2. Microsoft Keyboard Layout Generator

This tool may not be exactly like the other remapping tools on this list, but define your own keyboard layouts from scratch. And if you want, you can even define one based on an existing placement. It can come in handy if you want to define a keyboard layout for a language that Microsoft doesn’t support yet. The tool has a virtual keyboard that lets you click to assign any key. The only downside to using it is that you can’t define keys like Return, Ctrl, Alt and Tab.

To organise: (Free)

3. AutoHotkey

AutoHotkey takes a different approach to remapping keys. Instead of the standard registry editing, create scripts that you can run. The biggest advantage you get with this tool is the ability to export scripts as executables. Although this has no such interface, the steps for creating and executing scripts can be easily found in the tool’s tutorial. This tool brings more features and it is really powerful. It not only remaps keyboard keys, but also you can also create keybindings, automate keyboard executables, and more.. Keep in mind that all these pro features also mean you’ll need to take the time to learn this app. If you just want to remap your Windows keyboard, the above tools will be more than enough.

To organise: (Free)

4. Key Changer

If you are looking for a powerful key remapping tool that only allows you to remap the keys of your keyboard and mouse, you should check it out. Application allows you to remap keys, mouse button presses, and mouse wheel rotation to different values. It also allows you to change keys which is very handy. For example, if you are a developer, you can easily swap the Escape and Caps Lock keys. The application allows users to restrict remapping to certain programs and applications. So you can set a different key for your typing app and another key for your photo editing app to make tasks easier. This is just the tip of the iceberg, as Key Remapper is a powerful tool that lets you completely change the way you interact with your keyboard and mouse.

To organise: Free$24.95

Remap Keys in Windows 10 with PowerToys

Another way to remap keys in Windows 10 is to use PowerToys. With PowerToys’ Keyboard Manager utility, you can easily replace an important key with another that you don’t use often. All you have to do is install PowerToys, switch to Keyboard Manager and click ‘Remap a key’ to reconfigure the keys. You can learn more about PowerToys in our linked article and learn how to use PowerToys in Windows 10.

To organise: (Free)

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you fix typing wrong characters on the keyboard?

You may have changed the keyboard layout unknowingly and caused this problem. To fix it go to Settings -> Time & Language -> Language -> Spelling, typing and keyboard settings -> Advanced keyboard settings -> Override for default input method.

Why is my laptop not typing?

You can try cleaning your keyboard if it’s a hardware issue or reinstalling the keyboard drivers if it’s a software issue.

How do I get my laptop keyboard back to normal?

Open the application you used to remap the keys on your Windows machine, undo the changes and save the configuration.

What are keyboard shortcut keys?

Keyboard hotkeys perform a predefined action when certain keys are pressed simultaneously. For example, pressing the Alt and F4 keys together closes the current application.

How do you fix keys on a laptop keyboard?

You need to replace the laptop keyboard or remap non-functional keys to functional keys using one of the applications such as SharpKeys, KeyTweak or PowerToys.

What is key mapping?

Keymapping is the process of assigning function to keys on the keyboard.

How do I unlock my keyboard in Windows 10?

To unlock your keyboard in Windows 10, you can try to disable the filter keys from settings

Why are my keyboard buttons broken?

You may have changed your keyboard input pattern. You can change it by holding down the Ctrl and Shift keys.

How do you check if all keyboard keys are working?

You can use online keyboard control websites such as keyboard controller.com to test if all your keyboard keys are working as intended.

Easily Remap Keyboard in Windows 10 with These Tools

A few missing keys on your keyboard shouldn’t be allowed to stop you on the way. With the help of the tools mentioned above, you can easily remap your keyboard in Windows 10 as you wish. Actually, you can do more than keyboard mapping. You can also create Windows 10 automation commands that you can run with some simple keystrokes. Check out these keyboard remapping tools and let us know which one is your favourite, by typing in the comments section below.