This comes with Intellitype, a software package from Microsoft which binds the actions for you.
The Intellitype mechanism has some limitations though. One of them is that it is difficult to have the special keys be represented as a key you do not have on your keyboard already.
i.e. a key guaranteed not to have an existing binding in an application
Also you cannot make the key a modifier key like
SHIFT, CTRL, ALT
etc.Here I present a method to work around this limitation. It involves creating a Key binding then editing the registry to get the desired key.
Overview
Reference Table
- Registry Location
- Key Description Format
- Modifier Keys
Autohotkey Extension
- Creating an unused Key
- Binding a Virtual Key
Method Walkthrough
- Bind a Key using Intellitype
- Find the Key definition in the registry using
Regedit
- Alter the Value in
Regedit
Reference Table
Registry Location
Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Intellitype Pro\EventMapping\8xx
where
xx
is the number of your Special Key, zero Padded- S1 ->
Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Intellitype Pro\EventMapping\801
- S2 ->
Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Intellitype Pro\EventMapping\802
- S29 ->
Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Intellitype Pro\EventMapping\829
Key Description Format
Format
0x0MVV
where
M
is one of the modifier keys (see below) andVV
is the Virtual Keycode of the Key (does not need to exist yet)
- Examples
- CTRL SHIFT ALT NUMPLUS ---> 0x076b
- SHIFT A ---> 0x0141
- CTRL A ---> 0x0241
- A --> 0x0041
- Virtual Key
FF
(not present by default) --> 0x00FF
Modifier Keys
To have a key equivalent to SHIFT, CTRL or ALT, leave the
0x--VV
bit as 00
- SHIFT --> 0x0100
- CTRL --> 0x0200
- ALT --> 0x0400
I tried higher values, but they did not work.
To get Virtual Modifier keys, I use Autohotkey to further process the key.
Autohotkey Example
If you want to use Autohotkey to create a hotkey in conjunction with Intellitype you need to use the reassign key method.
If you do not want to overwrite an existing key on your keyboard, you can use this method to create an empty Virtual Key.
- Use a value like
0x00FF
as theKeystroke
value. - Create an autohotkey script with
VKFF
as the input key
E.g.
S3
(left hand) in conjunction with i,j,k,l (right hand) will move the cursor around the document in all applications;S3 bound to VKFF using method described in Method Walkthrough VKFF & i::Send {Up} VKFF & j::Send {Left} VKFF & k::Send {Down} VKFF & l::Send {Right}
Method Walkthrough
The Intellitype Interface
Step 01: Open the Intellitype config dialog as normal. Select the special key you want to configure [[here
S2
]]. Select Choose from a list of commands

Step 02: Type in any key combination. Here I've chosen
ALT + F2

Step 03: Open
Regedit
and navigate toComputer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Intellitype Pro\EventMapping\802
Here you will see a value called Keystroke
. This value holds the key combination you used in the Intellitype frontend. This is the value we will be editing.

See above Reference Table for valid values.
Notes
- You do not have to change any other values.
- Registry changes take immediate effect. You do not have to do anything further
- If you edit the key in Intellitype interface it will overwrite your
regedit
hack and you will lose your custom configuration
- you may wish to alter the
KeystrokeText
value too, but that is optional and for your reference only