Who uses capslock? Swap it with Backspace!

Unless you're in data entry, you probably use capslock about as much as ~ or | ....unless you're really angry. So I used a registry patch that was linked to by www.dvzine.org to modify the layout of my netbook's keyboard so that the functions of capslock and backspace would be swapped. This was much more practical to me. Instead of reaching across two rows of keys to hit the actual backspace key, I'd just hop over with my left pinky and tap capslock, which was now backspace.

Now that I also have a desktop, I wanted to make the same change on it as well. The problem is, that site doesn't have the link to the patch anymore. After some quick googling, I found a way to recreate the patch manually, and I have decided to post it here for anyone who wants to use it. This involves editing your registry, obviously, so you're using this information at your own risk. I will make sure, though, that I am very clear in my instructions so there is very little chance of something going wrong.

Step 1: Run regedit. On most Windows machines, this can easily be accessed by pressing Win+R (especially in Windows 7 where "Run" is not an immediately available option in the start menu) and typing "regedit" in the box.

Step 2: Double-click on the following folders in order...
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
SYSTEM
CurrentControlSet
Control

......and then click once on Keyboard Layout. (Layout, not Layouts. Very important.)

Step 3: This is the value you will be adding. If there is an item already here called "Scancode Map", right-click it and modify it. If not, right-click and add a new binary value and call it "Scancode Map".

Enter this value exactly as it appears here. Regedit will automatically space the values as needed.

0000000000000000030000000e003a003a000e0000000000

Step 4: Close Regedit and restart your computer.

That's it, you're done! Remember, it'll take a while to get used to this change. Just keep reminding yourself of the new backspace location somehow. I chose to use the glowing keyboard stickers from www.thinkgeek.com, especially because I also use the Dvorak layout.

And I'm out.