Theresa has one wish for her PC:
“My biggest complaint/wish about my computer relates to my keyboard. I really wish keyboard makers would include a Tab key on the right side of the keyboard, with the 10 key keypad. When filling out forms (this time of year it’s entering W2s on the SSA) it is annoying to be able to conveniently enter numbers with my right hand while keeping my place in my paperwork with my left, but then have to either move my left hand from my desk or my right hand from the keypad to hit the tab key to go to the next input field. On most fillable forms the enter key usually closes the current form and proceeds to the next blank form, the only options to move between fields are to hit Tab or use the mouse to move the cursor. If you have a work-around tip, I’d appreciate it!”
As a person who holds an impressive “highly proficient” rating on her senior year ten-key report card for general office practice, I can sympathize. 🙂
And if you’re feeling a bit adventurous, I can actually help you. What you want is a program that allows you to remap your keyboard and reassign certain Windows keys.
A well-regarded keyboard remapping software is called SharpKeys. It’s actually a registry hack that allows you to reassign functions for certain keys. You can click here to find out more about it.Â
If you decide to download, make sure you click the actual Sharpkeys software and not the ads for downloading other programs. You don’t want the Driver Update software or anything but SharpKeys.
Once the ZIP file containing the program downloads, open your Downloads folder and right-click on it. Then choose Extract from the menu that pops up.
Once the file is unzipped, click to launch. You’ll need to give the program permission to make changes to your keyboard.
Here’s what the program looks like:
Click the Add key to pick a key to reassign. Then select the key you what to change in the left column and what you wish to reassign it to in the right column. Then choose OK.
Remember, you hack your registry at your own risk. In your case, you’d select the Enter key for the number pad in the left column and Tab in the right.
And before you ask, this is a Windows registry hack. It’s not going to work for other operating systems.