Swapping Control and Caps Lock

Touch typists (like me) don't like to take their hands off the home row of the keyboard if they can at all help it. If I'm in the middle of doing something requiring intense concentration (such as writing or coding), I want distractions kept to a minimum. One of the most annoying things about the PC keyboard layout is that they put the Control key way down underneath the shift key on the left side.

This is an incredibly awkward position for your pinky finger to reach. One of the prime characteristics of a touch typist is that the touch typist never looks down at the keyboard, because he or she has trained him or herself to know where the keys are, relative to one's hand position on the home row. Because of this, touch typists are used to being able to bang out text at a very high speed (my highest was clocked at 82 words per minute). So you can understand how annoying it would be for somebody who is used to cruising along at this speed to have to stop, look down, and press the Control key (to do Ctrl+I for italics for example) to perform a particular function.

Strangely enough, on the PC keyboard the Caps Lock key is in a prime position for one's left pinky finger to reach. Since the Caps Lock key is hardly ever used anyway (BECAUSE WE ALL KNOW THAT TYPING IN ALL CAPS IS AKIN TO SHOUTING, RIGHT?), wouldn't it be great if you could swap the Control and Caps Lock keys?

Well now you can. On Windows, it involves changing some registry settings (which can be dangerous if you don't know what you're doing), and changing these settings swaps the keys for everybody who has an account on the machine. On Linux, it involves modifying a hidden file in your home directory, which swaps the keys for just you (a far better option).

Thankfully, John Haller has provided some .reg files for Windows users so you don't have to muck around with the registry yourself. See his site for details on swapping your Control and Caps Lock keys.

For Linux users, it's easy. In your home directory, create a file called .Xmodmap (some distros use .xmodmap), and put the following in there:

!
! Swap Caps_Lock and Control_L
!
remove Lock = Caps_Lock
remove Control = Control_L
keysym Control_L = Caps_Lock
keysym Caps_Lock = Control_L
add Lock = Caps_Lock
add Control = Control_L


Log out and then log back in, and voila! Your keys are swapped. Consider this my contribution to preventing both unnecessary slowdowns and pinky finger strain for people everywhere. :-)

Blogs
Glad to see someone is on the same train of thought as the management. =)

We used to force everyone at Liferay to swap their caps and control keys... but alas, people have since revolted and it is no longer a requirement.

Side note: You can use a tool like keytweak to swap any keys for you (free too).
I use KeyTweak to make the Caps Lock the Contral key. I also made the right Ctrl key a CAP Locks.

I rarely use the right control key, but do still have to use CAPs Lock sometimes.

With this set up, people that jump on my laptop don't freak out when they hit the left Ctrl key and nothing happens.