Remap keyboard with scancode map for current user only

 Hello jbum112,

To restore the keyboard, run regedit.exe and delete the "Scancode Map" entry from HKEY_CURRENT_USER (and log off/on), or from HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE (and reboot), depending on which section of the registry you changed.

edit Use the Caps Lock key as Ctrl. Particularly while touch typing, it can be useful to remap the keyboard so that pressing CapsLock is the same as pressing Ctrl.

This change makes it easy to press Ctrl-[ as an alternative to pressing Esc.

The following applies to the current user (log off and log on to apply). Alternatively, an administrator can apply the change to all users (reboot to apply) by replacing

 [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Keyboard Layout] with

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Keyboard Layout]

Map CapsLock to LeftCtrl (press CapsLock to generate LeftCtrl):

REGEDIT4

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Keyboard Layout]

"Scancode Map"=hex:00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,02,00,00,00,1d,00,3a,00,00,00,00,00

An alternative would be to replace the "Scancode Map" line with the following to swap CapsLock and LeftCtrl:

"Scancode Map"=hex:00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,03,00,00,00,3a,00,1d,00,1d,00,3a,00,00,00,00,00

Important: This section, method, or task contains steps that tell you how to modify the registry. However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up annd restore the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

322756 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/322756  ) How to back up and restore the registry in Windows.

Hope this helps.

Regards,
Manasa P – Microsoft Support.

Thank you for the reply.  However, that is what I was doing.

My question was about Windows 7.  The HKEY_CURRENT_USER setting does not work in Windows 7.

It seems to only work in Windows XP.

Same question...

Can we do anything for change the KeyboardLayout in CURRENT USER. It works in local machine but doesn't work in HKUC

Hello m112 and Thauglor,

Thank you for visiting the Microsoft Answers Site.

Remapping the keyboard layout depends on the software for the keyboard. For example, the IntelliType Pro Keyboard Software for Windows allows a user to reprogram various keys on their Microsoft keyboard.  Also, the mapping stored in the registry works at the system level and applies to all users and cannot be set differently for current user.

You may also view the link below which includes additional information on the Scan Code Mappings:

Scan Code Mapper for Windows

Thank you,

Mary,

Thanks for your response. I understand that there may be software specific to a keyboard that may do this but I have a generic keyboard.

The interesting fact is this "current user" specific configuration of Scan Code Mappings was supported in previous versions of Windows (pre-Vista and 7).

I, in fact, am using it for my Windows XP and Windows 2003 (I believe, need to verify) systems with these mappings.  It only affects my account and leaves the rest in the default keyboard settings.

Can you please verify if this support was removed or if this is a bug?

Thanks,

jbum112

Did anyone ever find an answer to this question?

I hit the same problem; the solution that used to work for the current user under XP no longer work under Windows 7.

Is this generally true for Windows 7, or is it an artifact of my particular set-up?

Hi ThiloL,

Thank you for visiting the Microsoft Windows Community site. In an effort to focus more attention on your particular situation create a new thread here.  This will mitigate confusion caused by more than one posting about similar   topics, allowing us to focus on each customer individually.