My Favorite KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS For Increased Productivity

Here are my favorite KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS for increased productivity. I will attach to this blog post both the .ahk and corresponding .exe file.

First of all my approach is to disable the CAPSLOCK key and use it as a function key that triggers various replacement commands. In this basic version I use the CASPLOCK + WASD to trigger the UP/LEFT/DOWN/RIGHT arrow keys. This comes in handy, for example, when you are typing and wand to go back or forth a few characterword but you have your right hand on your mouse. You can do move your typing cursor without lifting your right hand from your mouse.

• CAPSLOCK + W = UP ARROW
• CAPSLOCK + A = LEFT ARROW
• CAPSLOCK + S = DOWN ARROW
• CAPSLOCK + D = RIGHT ARROW

Now let’s step the game up and map more keys. As you can see we can now use CAPSLOCK + some key in reach of our left hand to trigger something useful. So for this I mapped additionally these keys to go to the beginning and end of a text line:

• CAPSLOCK + Q = HOME (beginning of line)
• CAPSLOCK + E = END (end of line)

As you can see, the options from here on are limited only by your imagination, or needs. I carried on and mapped the CAPSLOCK + 1 2 3 4 keys to control my web browser windows and ALT + F4 to close windows. I did this because it is more comfortable for my left hand to press CAPSLOCK + 1 instead of CTRL + SHIFT + TAB to go the the previous browser tab.

• CAPSLOCK + 1 = CTRL + SHIFT + TAB (next tab in web browser)
• CAPSLOCK + 2 = CTRL + W (close tab in web browser)
• CAPSLOCK + 3 = CTRL + TAB (next tab in web browser)
• CAPSLOCK + 4 = ALT + F4 (close window)

Now I took this a step further and added BACKSPACE, DELETE and ENTER to CAPSLOCK + R T X as follows. I found it extremely useful for when you need to delete something or press enter and your right hand is on the mouse.

• CAPSLOCK + R = BACKSPACE (delete backwards)
• CAPSLOCK + T = DELETE (delete forwards)
• CAPSLOCK + X = ENTER (return)

One last thing I did was to be able to turn CAPSLOCK ON/OFF for various reasons. For example, if you use the script in non-administrator mode and open up Windows applications such as Task Manager, if you press CAPSLOCK, the key shortcuts will not trigger and you might exit out of the Task Manager and have CAPSLOCK still turned on. So for that I did a weird binding for this and it is quite experimental, but it somehow works.

• CAPSLOCK + TAB = CAPSLOCK ON/OFF

And that’s about it for this setup. Here below is the .ahk file you can edit for yourself in your favorite text editor and add/remove keyboard shortcuts. If you find the setup useful and want to give it a try as it is. I will attach also the .exe of the compiled .ahk file. I find it even more useful if you set it up with a QMK-compatible keyboard (I have the Keychron K7 Pro) that supports via, by going to https://usevia.app/. This will make the keystrokes more responsive and give and overall better experience.

Download .ahk file here.

Download .exe file here. (it’s the .ahk compiled)

And just in case, here’s the raw code directly from caps.ahk:

; caps-v18-short
#NoEnv ; Recommended for performance and compatibility with future AutoHotkey releases.
; #Warn ; Enable warnings to assist with detecting common errors.
SendMode Input ; Recommended for new scripts due to its superior speed and reliability.
SetWorkingDir %A_ScriptDir% ; Ensures a consistent starting directory.
#InstallKeybdHook

MsgBox CAPSLOCK script loaded.

SetCapsLockState, alwaysoff
#if GetKeyState("CapsLock","P")
w::up
tab::
If (On){
SetCapsLockState, alwaysoff
On := False
If (GetKeyState("CapsLock","P")){
SetCapsLockState, alwaysoff
}
} Else {
SetCapsLockState, alwayson
On := true
;sleep, 1000

}
Return
a::left
s::down
d::right
e::End
q::Home
x::Enter
r::Backspace
t::Del
1::^+Tab ; prev tab
2::^w ; close tab
3::^Tab ; next tab
4::Send !{f4} ; caps+4 e alt f4
;SetCapsLockState, alwaysoff
#if
SetCapsLockState, alwaysoff

;^!SPACE:: Winset, Alwaysontop, , A ;ctrl+space makes windows stay always on top
;^!r::Reload ;Ctrl+Alt+R to reload the script