Most non-gaming keyboards used with Windows include a row of function buttons, buttons that are meant to perform certain functions that not many people know about and use. Traditionally, the F1 key is associated with Windows help, however, in recent versions, Microsoft has extended its functionality to the application in which we find ourselves. The F2 key allows us to change the name of any file while the F5 key is used to update a website. And what about the rest?
There are many manufacturers that have given these keys a utility through an additional key, called Fn, and with which we can open certain applications such as mail or the browser, control music playback, among others. However, not all manufacturers do. The solution is to use an application that allows us to remap the operation of certain keys in order to give it real utility on a day-to-day basis.
Configure Windows function keys
One of the best applications to change the way the keys work on any keyboard, be it a laptop or a desktop computer, is SharpKeys. With this program, we can assign each one the function we want. All changes are saved in the Windows registry, so if we change the keyboard, the function keys will continue to have the same function (forgive the redundancy), since they are not stored on the keyboard itself or associated with the keyboard , are associated with any keyboard that we connect to the computer.
The operation of this program is very simple and, although the user interface seems somewhat complicated, if we follow all the steps that we show you below, we will not have any problem in assigning the function that we want to the function keys of our keyboard .
Once we have opened and executed the application, click on Add. Then it will show two columns. The column on the left, we must select which key we want to reassign. In the column on the right, we must assign what function we want it to do. Once we have selected the function that we want it to have, click on Ok to return to the main screen.
From the main screen of the application, for Windows to assign the function key that we have selected with the corresponding function, click on Write to registry. For these changes to take effect, we must restart our computer. With this app, we can not only change how function keys work, but we can also change how any key on the keyboard works if it doesn’t work.
SharpKeys is a completely free application that we can download both from the web from the developer and from the Microsoft Store. Once we have made the changes in the Windows registry, it is not necessary to have the application open in the background for it to do its job. We can keep the application or delete it from our computer, although the latter is not recommended if we want to revert the changes and make Windows work again the first day.
