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Is it possible to control the "F Lock" (Function Lock) key on a Microsoft Multimedia keyboard so that you can force F-Lock to be on?

jonny · Joined: 13 Nov 2004 Posts: 3004 Location: Minnesota

Follow these steps:

Run an AHK script. Make sure this script uses the keyboard hook (#InstallKeybdHook).
Right-click on the tray icon and select Open.
A window will appear. In the menubar, select View >> Key history and script info
You will see a list of the last twenty key events (and mouse events, if the mouse hook is installed), including their virtual key numbers and scancodes. Pressing F5 will refresh this list.
Anything that you can see in this list can be captured and/or reproduced in AutoHotkey. However, not everything can be seen here. So, to test, press the key, F Lock in this case, and then press F5 to refresh the list. If AutoHotkey couldn't see the key, the list will be unchanged except for the F5 key you just pressed. If it could, though, it will be the last key on the list (excluding F5).

If you're successful, report the virtual key number (the VK column) and the scancode (the SC column) back to us and we can help you control it.

Chris · Site Admin Joined: 02 Mar 2004 Posts: 10467

And in case those steps can't detect the key, here is a registry change you can apply to make F-lock seem "always on". It remaps the alternate functions of the function keys back onto the function keys themselves so that the state of F-lock doesn't matter. I believe it requires Windows 2000/XP or later.

1) To use this, copy & paste the following into a file such as FLock.reg.
2) You might want to save the original contents of the subkey mentioned below prior to the next step (though I think you can just delete the "Scancode Map" entry to revert to the original behavior).
3) Run the .reg file.

Guest · Posted: Tue Mar 08, 2005 3:44 pm Post subject:

Thanks for the replies.

Unfortunatley it looks like the F-Lock key is not recognised.

The registry hack does not make a difference either. From what I have read the registry hack only works if you have they keyboard connected to a PS/2 port, but my keyboard is on a USB port.

It looks like several of the keys on my keyboard, a Microsoft Wireless Multimedia Keyboard 1.0A, are not recognised. At least not on my system. E.g. the "My Music" key.

Does anyone know if the Microsoft keyboad control software IntelliType Pro can interfere with AutoHotkey. I am still running MS IntelliType. I expect not for much longer as from what I have seen AutoHotkey can do it should be a great replacement.

Thanks for your help.

smythg · Joined: 08 Mar 2005 Posts: 4 Location: UK

Update on the above.

I have removed all of the Microsoft IntelliType software so just AutoHotkey is running now.

This does not seemed to have helped AutoHotkey recognise some of the extra keys on a Microsoft Multimedia Keyboard.

I guess it still could be possible for AutoHotkey to support Microsoft keyboards as the IntelliType software recognises the extra keys. I will raise this as a requirement.