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Some Excel users pop F1 off their keyboards (2012)

businessinsider.com

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Re: Some Excel users pop F1 off their keyboards (2012)

#11

Post by Lorkki »

jabot wrote: post #2

This should really be solved in software... However, I remember trying to map capslock to control on windows a few years back. It involved becoming an administrator and entering an opaque hexadecimal key into the registry. Simply popping off the key is probably easier. Oh, on linux it boils down to "setxkbmap -option ctrl:nocaps", which doesn't require root...

An official keymap editor exists for Windows, but it's not terribly well supported, and I can see how using it would be a hassle especially if you're not technically inclined: https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_10...

Re: Some Excel users pop F1 off their keyboards (2012)

#12

Post by mywacaday »

Nzen wrote: post #6

tl;dr F1 is generally help . Excel's help is apparently slow to load and close. Hence, the interviewees removed the key to avoid pressing it, when they meant to press F2. It's disappointing but unsurprising they didn't just have windows (autohotkey?) map it to F2.

Article says its a banking environment, nobody outside of desktop support will have admin access to their PC/Laptop. That includes developers/application support/server admins/DBAs etc. If you want an application installed that's not on an approved list request will likely go to IT security for review(Don't hold your breath). portableapps.com made life somewhat bearable.

PS No Dropbox/Google Drive/Onedrive, No personal webmail and a heavily restricted proxy for all browsing.

Re: Some Excel users pop F1 off their keyboards (2012)

#14

Post by slezyr »

jabot wrote: post #2

This should really be solved in software... However, I remember trying to map capslock to control on windows a few years back. It involved becoming an administrator and entering an opaque hexadecimal key into the registry. Simply popping off the key is probably easier. Oh, on linux it boils down to "setxkbmap -option ctrl:nocaps", which doesn't require root...

Or even better solution: programmable keyboards. It's sad that just few keyboards have opensource firmware and allow to remap keys.

One of them Ergodox EZ ~$350 https://ergodox-ez.com/

Re: Some Excel users pop F1 off their keyboards (2012)

#15

Post by jabot »

slezyr wrote: post #14
jabot wrote: post #2

This should really be solved in software... However, I remember trying to map capslock to control on windows a few years back. It involved becoming an administrator and entering an opaque hexadecimal key into the registry. Simply popping off the key is probably easier. Oh, on linux it boils down to "setxkbmap -option ctrl:nocaps", which doesn't require root...

Or even better solution: programmable keyboards. It's sad that just few keyboards have opensource firmware and allow to remap keys. One of them Ergodox EZ ~$350 https://ergodox-ez.com/

I have an atreus keyboard, and I have changed the layout :-)

However, 350$ seems like a lot of money for a problem that should really be solvable at no cost in software...

Re: Some Excel users pop F1 off their keyboards (2012)

#16

Post by GCU-Empiricist »

ptero wrote: post #7

Why would not they remap F1 to something else, say another F2 if they so like it? The functionality has been at both Linux and Windows for a very long time.

They are users, users too often think in terms of optimizing what they do, not the tools they use, or learning to optimize things they think are underlying and fixed.

Re: Some Excel users pop F1 off their keyboards (2012)

#18

Post by superasn »

Windows help and Windows troubeshooter are among the two most useless things in the OS (and lately it's Cortana). It far easier and more relevant to just do a Google search than waste time with these things. Same goes for answers.microsoft.com, whenever i see that link on top og Google results I'm pretty sure I'll just waste 10 minutes of my life and then search for the same thing on Stackexchange and pray to god someone has answered there in the succinct SO way. God knows how much resources and man hours Microsoft puts into making these things.

Re: Some Excel users pop F1 off their keyboards (2012)

#19

Post by cm2187 »

stephengillie wrote: post #5

There are dozens of us. It's massively disrupting to the state of flow to miss a key by one, and suddenly another window pops up, but there's no text inside. It takes several seconds for the window to compose itself, and several more to close. I do keep the F1 key somewhere safe, to put back onto the keyboard, for the next keyboard user.

I do too. And the scroll lock and num lock too. And I added a sticker to let IT know that the keyboard isn't broken and shouldn't be replaced.

Re: Some Excel users pop F1 off their keyboards (2012)

#20

Post by grecy »

stephengillie wrote: post #5

There are dozens of us. It's massively disrupting to the state of flow to miss a key by one, and suddenly another window pops up, but there's no text inside. It takes several seconds for the window to compose itself, and several more to close. I do keep the F1 key somewhere safe, to put back onto the keyboard, for the next keyboard user.

ahhh, can't you just map it to something else? (nothing?)
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