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Ask HN: Have you remapped the Caps Lock key? [Poll]

28 points by robinh ↗ HN
A submission to Hacker News on remapping the Caps Lock key (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6969401) got me curious. From the thread, it looked as if most people remap their Caps Lock key to something else. Since these answers may be heavily biased (it was a thread about remapping that key, after all), here's a poll.

If you want to, please provide any alternate mapping you're using in the comments.

64 comments

[ 5.0 ms ] story [ 136 ms ] thread
olalonde
Remapped it to Control because Control is hard to reach on a MacBook keyboard.
cypherpunks01
I've found Ctrl to be far and away the best remapping, especially for Mac keyboards where the Ctrl key is extremely small and awkward to type.

Protip: In all recent versions of OSX you can natively remap Caps Lock and other keys via System Preferences -> Keyboard -> Modifier Keys.

josteink
control key.

Not so because reaching it is hard on a normal keyboard (as opposed to Mac wtfness), but because I never intentionally use caps lock and accidentally enabling it is annoying.

crtstartup
I use happy hacking pro 2. There is no caps lock :)
javert
I use it as the main part of all the chords I use to control window manager functionality under dwm. e.g. Caps+<J/K/H/L> to move between windows or workspaces, Caps+Enter to open a terminal, etc. Technically, I think I have it remapped to Ctrl, but that's just an implementation detail.
richardw
No. I use a remapped layout but caps lock is just caps lock.
hibbelig
I remapped CapsLock to Control, but I kept the Control key unchanged because hitting Control+Alt+Command is so convenient this way on a Mac.
eru
I would, but caps lock is not an issue on the Kinesis Advantage.
clarry
I use the Advantage Pro. I map it to ESC (vi!), the default thumb keys are ok for Control. The rubbery little ESC on the Kinesis is crap.
eru
Emacs works out of the box. I'd probably do the same for vim.

I have the dvorak version.

clarry
I've got both qwerty and dvorak printed on the caps. I use dvorak though.
eru
Yes, they don't have Dvorak only.
mintplant
I map Caps Lock to Escape. Makes using Vim much nicer for me.
calvins
Me too.

I also map Escape to Caps Lock, for the very rare occasion that Caps Lock is actually needed (one a year, maybe). Escape is actually really useful for things other than switching modes in Vim, as it's often the default 'cancel that' binding that closes windows and cancels something you've started.

mpweiher
Remapped to have the control key positioned where God and Digital Equipment Corporation intended it to be (and the Apple II, Amiga, Atari ST, ...). The position below the shift key is the product of a malevolent conspiracy by the suits (IBM!) to keep programmer productivity in check and cause RSI.
jcampbell1
Remapped to Ctrl. I use ctrl+a/e/n/p/b/f constantly instead of arrow keys.
gethinzhang
i think almost all 'emacs' guys has remapped CP to ctrl
jrmg
I think the responses to this poll will be quite self selecting, with 'yes' vastly overrepresented.
DDR0
At the moment, I am surprised by how even the votes are. (~10% more remappers.)
mikegirouard
Like a lot of folks here, I've remapped to CTRL.

I'm a vim and tmux guy, so that's my motivation.

peedy
If you are a vim guy, you are missing a lot by not remapping Capslock to Esc (system wide). I've even nnoremapped ; to : (from vimrc)
jwpeddle
I used to think that, but I've found there's way more to gain with Ctrl and using ctrl+[ instead of escape (or imap jj <Esc>)
peedy
imap jj <Esc> is a brilliant idea, thanks!
ah-
; is pretty useful in vim though, it repeats your last motion.
ryanthejuggler
I use Ctrl+C to get out of insert mode. Also a diehard Programmer Dvorak user.
mikegirouard
I've been tempted to experiment with this workflow after reading another[0] post here.

I'm actually quite happy with my current setup but handling meta keys on my MPB is frustrating. Having ESC be closer is a nice thing to have.

Thanks for the reminder.

lake99
Using the Win key often on my Linux laptop gave me an achy left thumb.

This fixed my thumb:

    localectl set-x11-keymap us pc104 altgr-intl lv3:ralt_alt,caps:super,lv3:lwin_switch
So, US-International, LAlt=Ralt, Caps->Win, Win->AltGr
DDR0
I find caps lock useful for both typing CAPITAL_CONSTANTS and YELLING AT PEOPLE. I have remapped other keys, such as the the menu key to compose, and I usually use the super key to trigger custom key shortcuts.

(Filed under ⌨.)

alefteris
Remapped Caps Lock to backspace. Using "jj" in vim for escape.
dionyziz
ESC
cge
It seems everyone else here has it mapped to Ctrl, and here we are with it mapped to Esc... is there something I don't know? Esc works wonderfully with Vim, even better than Ctrl-[, but perhaps there's some other reason?
keikun17
mapped it to ESC because im using a mech keyboard who's ctrl is reachable by my pinky. I tried remapping it to ctrl, and mapped 'jk' for esc in vim but it didn't work that well for me
Nic0
I'm using a TypeMatrix[1] keyboard, the Caps Lock key is not at the same place that usual keyboards. therefore I didn't remapped that key.

[1]: http://www.typematrix.com/

almost
Cntrl when pressed with another key, Esc when pressed and released on its own. Perfect.
ricree
I have mine mapped to the compose key. Don't need it a ton, but it's nice to have it close by and convenient when I do.

Would probably have been better as esc or ctrl, but I didn't feel like having to relearn the muscle memory for those keys.

vijucat
I disabled Caps Lock so that by itself, it does nothing. I mapped CapsLock + hjkl to the arrow keys a la vim, and several other similar CapsLock + <something else> combos that make sense to me.
sliverstorm
I loved remapping Capslock to Ctrl, but eventually gave up the ghost because the statefulness of Capslock was getting confused and I was having a hell of a time keeping my virtual sessions and master client session "in sync"
comzeradd
Yes, I use it to switch keyboard language layout
Goosey
Remapped to backspace
bitsofpancake
On my laptop, I remapped it to be the left click button, and it changed my life. I used to find dragging windows and files around and selecting text such a pain with a touchpad, but with this remapping, I can do it really, really easily. I just use my left hand to click and my right hand to move the cursor. Try it!

Anyone know how I can remap the Caps Lock key this way on a Mac?

kbendyk
As a Total Commander addict, I cannot believe some is still copying files using drag and drop, manually selecting files etc. There are some alternatives for a Mac as well.

As far as remapping goes, I've remapped my right ctrl to delete. I delete a lot, and reaching to the far right corner of the keyboard was a pain.

beernutz
Preach it brother! 8)

I have been using Total Commander for YEARS and it is the first thing I load on a computer that does not already have it.