An argument for getting rid of the physical "caps lock" key

[shorthope]

I do this on every keyboard I get. Saves the functionality (available with a specific press in the center of where the key used to be) but completely eliminates the accidental allcaps problem. 2 seconds with a sharp screwdriver, problem solved.

[Lycopersicon]

I am obliged to enter a whole bunch of crap in ALL CAPS here at my job,
why?
Because that’s the way it’s always been done??? I’ve resorted to having a case converter open on my desktop rather than finding myself having to shift in and out of all caps all day long.

[d4nj450n]

Yes, the plus and minus too. It is nice when typing text not to have to go to the numbers if I need stars and not have to go to to the shift top row, when doing solid numerics

[anothernewbbaccount]

@timd

Wow

Apparently there’s an emoji for that

😮 Face with Open Mouth Emoji

So when they ask for more wow factor just dump a gazillion of those on whatever their desired work product is.

[d4nj450n]

Weeell not all programmers use ALL CAPS so much. I do sometimes but try to avoid it. I am pro shift lock but it would be good if it was some where safer, like where scroll lock is.

[kuba]

@SheiffFatman

Wait, you can remap cap lock from within vim?

Ah, I spoke to casually, sorry. I’m pretty sure you can’t, I think you have to go through X or Wayland. What I meant was to remap my usual typo suspects (J, K, U) to nothing or something less intrusive. Just checked, I’ve actually done this for Q:

:nnoremap Q <Nop>

[willmore]

On X11, you can use “xmodmap” to remap any normal key to a normal key and any modifier key to any other modifier key. But it’s been a while since I’ve done it, so the exact syntax is left as an exercise for the reader.

[David_Hills]

Why? I’m a DBA and I never … Oh, right, automatically used it when typing DBA. You got me. I could not think of any reason to use caps lock in my job so was writing in.

[willmore]

If you use it regularly, you don’t really think about using it. Like driving a manual transmission vehicle, it’s just something that your hands do at the right time.

[SheiffFatman]

@willmore

On X11, you can use “xmodmap” to remap any normal key to a normal key and any modifier key to any other modifier key.

xmodmap seems to have been superseded by setxkbmap, which constrains you to a number of pre-defined configuration recipes (unless you have the wizardry to write your own, which I don’t). I preferred xmodmap, tbh.

[willmore]

Hmm, I still have xmodmap here on my machine. Maybe that’s a distro specific choice to make it more ‘user friendly’? Possibly you can install a package that provides it?

[d4nj450n]

Every DBA I know writes sql in all caps. Not sure why.

[the_borderer]

My Caps Lock key is now a Compose key.

Compose key

∀ℓℓ tɥə čɥɐɹäçtéɹß ï ć°ŭℓð ëʌẽɹ nęed.

Wincompose will even do emoji, if you are into that kind of thing.

samhocevar/wincompose

[Melizmatic]

@shorthope

I do this on every keyboard I get.

Same here; for an artist, I have quite clumsy fingers when typing.

[mclemens]

Early syntax highlighting before color displays, to easily differentiate KEYWORDS from table.columns. That’s why I do it, at least. SQL has been around for a while. And that probably dates back to punch cards and limited character sets. ALLCAPS have no descenders, so easy to render on a single line.

Our keyboards are an evolved artifact (see also: QWERTY layouts.)

[simonize]

@d4nj450n

Ok fair point, but you could make that argument about pretty much anything. Open and close quotes, all the accented letters. Mathematicians and scientists use the Greek alphabet all the time.

I have a “symbol” ball for a Selectric and the little card showing the key mappings in my desk drawer. It has Greek letters, mathematical symbols (things like the top and bottom of an integral symbol etc.

[jerwin]

I’d imagine you’d piss off those who use spreadsheets constantly.

Ah… who am I kidding. My keyboard doesn’t have a numeric keypad. It’s … fine… but I don’t use spreadsheets,

[TobinL]

Heck I am not a programmer but having lived in an acronym full work world for too long anything over 3 characters in length is way easier to use caps lock than left shift/right shift/left shift/etc.

[jerwin]

On the mac, the option key is the gateway to symbolic nirvana.

[tymyrick]

@megardi

Since I usually hit CAPS LOCK by mistake when tabbing I just reprogram the key to Tab.

@freshacconci

Bad typists, such as myself, routinely hit Caps Lock when trying for the A.

@simonize

ISTR seeing a keyboard in the early 80s or late 70s that had a caps lock AND a shift lock key. I

@RickMycroft

I occasionally fat-pinky the caps lock key while reaching for the shift. I miss my Heathkit keyboard that had the caps lock LED on the key itself.

@d4nj450n

ACCIDENTALLY HITTING IT AND TYPING FOR A WHILE before you realize it. It can be annoying.

@shorthope

completely eliminates the accidental allcaps problem.

@d4nj450n

I am pro shift lock but it would be good if it was some where safer, like where scroll lock is.

@Melizmatic

Same here

When I learned typing (on a typewrite), Caps Lock was Shift Lock and you had to press Shift and Shift Lock at the same time to get it to lock. Now I use AutoHotKey to do the same thing. Shift + Caps Lock turns on Caps Lock. Caps Lock on its own just turns it off. If it is not already on, pressing it has no effect.

;	## True Caps Lock

Capslock::										; press caps lock turns caps lock off 
		SetCapsLockState, Off 
Return
+Capslock::
		SetCapsLockState, On 					; press shift-caps lock to turn caps lock on 
Return