If your keyboard has a cleaved or missing key, working on information technology can exist challenging. In full general, regardless of whether you use a laptop or an external keyboard, it's plausible that it could encounter such keyboard issues over time.

While there are several ways to fix a broken keyboard, the simplest (and beginner-friendly) method is to blow away the dust or debris entrenched in the keyboard activity.

However, in that location are instances when this doesn't work. An alternative solution at such times is to remap the broken primal to another central on your keyboard.

What Is Key Remapping?

Remapping a key is a fail-safe solution to fixing a broken keyboard. It involves assigning the value of ane key to another, thereby enabling the corresponding character to appear when pressing the other.

Now, depending on your computer's operating system, in that location are various fundamental mapping programs, each promising to provide a slightly unlike set of features while retaining the core functionality. We'll go over these programs for all three major computer operating systems one-by-1.

Remapping a Key on Linux

Key-remapping on Linux is possible through both native utilities and 3rd-party software. To keep things simple, though, we will use a tertiary-party program called Key Mapper.

Cardinal Mapper is an piece of cake-to-utilize GUI tool for Linux that lets you modify the mapping of input devices including keyboards, mice, gamepads, etc.

Download: Key Mapper (Free)

Follow these steps to apply Primal Mapper.

  1. Afterward installing, open up the last and type the post-obit command to run Fundamental Mapper: sudo key-mapper-gtk. If prompted, enter your root password and hitting enter.
  2. In the Key Mapper window, click the dropdown button side by side to Device and select your device (keyboard).
  3. Click on the click hither infinite below Key from the right pane and press the broken key you desire to remap. Likewise, enter the key you program on using as a replacement for the cleaved key in the mapping column.
    remapping a key using Key Mapper
  4. Hitting Salve from the left pane and click Apply to save your mapping.

With the cleaved key remapped, you lot can now enter the assigned key to get the corresponding output. A good affair about Key Mapper is that it creates a preset for every key mapping, and then your mappings employ even after yous reboot the organisation.

Moving frontwards, should you lot wish to remove your primal mapping, you can delete the associated preset from Key Mapper to return keyboard input to its original land.

Remapping a Key on macOS

There are several key mapping tools for remapping keyboard keys on macOS. The ane nosotros will be demonstrating, however, is a GUI-based key mapping tool called Karabiner-Elements.

Karabiner-Elements works on both Intel-based and Apple Silicon Macs, and lets y'all change the existing mapping rules or write your ain.

Download: Karabiner-Elements (Free)

To remap a key with Karabiner-Elements on your Mac:

  1. After installing, open up Karabiner-Elements and select the Simple modifications tab.
  2. Click the dropdown button beneath From primal and select the broken cardinal that yous want to remap. Then click on the dropdown push button beneath To key and choose the alternative to your cleaved key.
remapping a key using Karabiner-Elements

In one case you add the cardinal entries, the changes should take effect instantaneously, and you should be able to type the culling fundamental to get input for the broken central.

With the key remapping done, there are however a few things that you demand to do.

  1. In the Karabiner-Elements app, go to the Function keys tab and ensure that every function central has the correct action assigned to information technology. This is because Karabiner-Elements changes the default deportment for some of the role keys, and this tin crusade confusion and hamper the keyboard's functionality.
  2. Since the key remapping works only while Karabiner-Elements is running, we need to add Karabiner-Elements to the list of startup items so that information technology runs on every bootup.

That way, you do not accept to open the app manually on each bootup to apply your key remapping changes.

Remapping a Key on Windows

Windows is the easiest to key remap of the lot, and there are many unlike programs that permit y'all do so with ease. Some of these programs modify the system registry to permanently alter the central bindings, while others take a different (read temporary) approach wherein they do not modify the registry.

Of the diverse key mapper software in this category, the ane we recommend is AutoHotkey, which does not modify the system registry.

Download: AutoHotkey (Free)

To use AutoHotkey to remap a central on Windows:

  1. Run AutoHotkey subsequently installation. Information technology runs in the background, so y'all need to check its status in the system tray before proceeding.
  2. Open up your favorite text editor and create a new file. Enter the key mapping command in the following syntax – origin fundamental::destination key, and save the file with the .ahk file extension in a secure location on your system. For instance, if y'all need to remap the caps lock fundamental as the shift key, your control should look similar – CapsLock::Shift.
    remapping a key using AutoHotkey

Now, since nosotros are using AutoHotkey to remap our keys and not actually remapping them permanently from the system registry, the remapping works just when AutoHotkey runs. So when you reboot your Windows computer, you need to run AutoHotkey manually every fourth dimension. Yet, nosotros tin can avert this by putting our AutoHotkey script into Windows' Startup folder.

  1. In Windows Explorer, copy the .ahk script file.
  2. Printing Win + R to open the Run box and enter shell:startup
  3. In the Startup folder, correct-click inside the window and select Paste Shortcut.

With your key remapping AutoHotkey script in the Startup folder, information technology should automatically execute every time your machine boots.

(An alternative solution is Microsoft PowerToys. Notwithstanding, since PowerToys is known to have problems with Windows updates, it is less reliable than AutoHotkey.)

Working Around a Broken Keyboard

By remapping a broken or missing key you can piece of work around a broken keyboard until you become it repaired or replaced.

While in that location are numerous cardinal mapping programs to do this, the ones we've discussed are easier to use and provide the essential functionality. When you get your keyboard repaired, each tool has an option to delete the mapping and return the keyboard to its default input land.

How to Create a Custom Keyboard Layout on Windows

Why use third-political party keyboard remapping software when yous can utilize the official Microsoft Keyboard Layout Creator app?

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About The Author

Yash Wate (47 Articles Published)

Yash is a Staff Writer at MUO for DIY, Linux, Programming, and Security. Before finding his passion in writing, he used to develop for the web and iOS. Yous tin can also find his writing on TechPP, where he covers other verticals. Other than tech, he enjoys talking about astronomy, Formula 1, and watches.

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