Remap Caps Lock to Ctrl via Registry Editor on Windows

Table of Contents

Remap Caps Lock to Ctrl via Registry Editor on Windows

  1. Press Win + R, type regedit, and press Enter to open the Registry Editor.
  2. Export the current registry settings as a backup (File > Export > Select all export range > Save as .reg file).
  3. Navigate to the following path:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Keyboard Layout
  1. Right-click on the right pane, select New > Binary Value, and name it Scancode Map.
  2. Double-click on Scancode Map and enter the following binary data to remap Caps Lock to Ctrl:
00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
02 00 00 00 1D 00 3A 00
00 00 00 00
Byte Value Description
8 bytes 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 Header (always these values)
4 bytes 02 00 00 00 Number of mappings (1 mapping + 1 terminator)
4 bytes 1D 00 3A 00 Map Caps Lock (0x3A) to Left Ctrl (0x1D)
4 bytes 00 00 00 00 Terminator (always these values)
  1. Click OK to save the changes.
  2. Close the Registry Editor.
  3. Restart your computer for the changes to take effect.

If you want to revert the changes, you can delete the Scancode Map entry in the Registry Editor. Another way is to import the backup .reg file you created in step 2 in the Registry Editor (File > Import) (you can also apply it to double-click .reg file).