I see so many people trying to use the
CapsLock key as a modifier - something it wasn't really intended for. I can only guess that it is because of its close proximity to the home row of a QWERTY keyboard.
The original IBM type F and early type M keyboards had the
Ctrl key next to the
A key and
CapsLock was down where
Ctrl is now. Many people, myself included, typed for years with this arrangement, especially in old applications like Wordstar in which EVERY command utilized the
Ctrl key.
When "they" in their infinite wisdom, changed the standard layout, most people - especially touch typists - were completely frustrated because as they were typing copy, they would look up at their screen and realize they had typed an entire paragraph in all caps because they had touched the
CapsLock key by mistake.
This gave rise to numerous aftermarket keyboards from companies like NorthGate that had an actual switch and extra keycaps to swap the positions of
Ctrl and
CapsLock if you so desired. when my NorthGate finally died, the company was out of business by then and I had to find another method.
I found a registry hack (easy to find on the internet) that remaps those two keys at a low level and puts the
Ctrl back up next to the
A key where, in my opinion, it belongs. Now, even if I accidentally touch that key while typing, it does not affect anything.
While you could do the same thing with AHK, I think the registry hack is much more effective. When you press the (old)
Ctrl which is now the
CapsLock key, any indicator lights on your keyboard follow the state of that key. Also, on a few occasions, I've had AHK scripts freeze up for no apparent reason or just stop working - forcing a reload. I've never had an issue with the registry hack affecting ANYTHING.
Of course, younger users would have to re-train their typing skills a little, but us old-timers will feel right at home with the
Ctrl key back where it belongs.
Just my $0.02 worth.
Russ