How to Change Default Keyboard Shortcuts in Windows 10

It’s not too complicated to create your own keyboard shortcuts in Windows 10. Just right-click the executable for whatever it is you want to create a shortcut to, click Properties, then enter your command into a box. (More on creating custom shortcuts here.)

But what if you want to change the default keyboard shortcuts that Windows 10 has foisted on you, such as getting Win + S to open your own Search tool instead of the Windows one or to reassign shortcuts to reflect how they work on Mac or Linux? Well, things get a little more complicated at that point but are still perfectly doable.

Here’s how to change the keyboard shortcuts in Windows 10.

Meet Auto Hotkey

So let’s start with the bad news, which is that there is no native way to change the default keyboard shortcuts in Windows. Nope, after all these years, Microsoft still isn’t willing to offer that simple bit of flexibility, presumably for fear that you’ll want to use its shortcuts to access non-Microsoft apps … which is probably the case.

Instead, you’re going to have to create scripts for every shortcut key that you want to replace. Don’t worry, this process is actually made pretty easy thanks to a great tool called AutoHotkey. This is a script creator tool that can be used for all kinds of creative purposes, but today we’ll be looking specifically at how you can use it to change the default Windows shortcuts.

Once you’ve done that, on the Window desktop right-click an empty space, then select “New -> Auto Hotkey script,” and call it something recognisable, followed by the suffix “ahk.” (We’re calling ours “Search.ahk,” as we’ll be replacing the Windows Search shortcut with a shortcut to the far superior search tool, Search Everything.)

Next, we’ll familiarize you with the basics of the Auto Hotkey syntax you need to know to change Windows shortcuts. Most Windows shortcuts use some combination of the below buttons, so this should be enough to get you started.

AutoHotkey syntax	Representation
^	Ctrl key
!	Alt key
+	Shift key
#	Win key
Up, Down, Left, Right	Arrow Keys/Directions
run,	Makes your hotkey open a file, folder or program on your PC
send,	Redirects the hotkey to your chosen keystrokes

If you want to type a letter, you just literally type that letter, while buttons like Esc and Del and others can also be directly typed into your script. You can find a convenient list of the main Auto Hotkey syntax at this site.

So let’s say we want to redirect the default Windows Search shortcut Win + S to Search Everywhere. We’d type in the following command:

The :: is what separates the hotkey from the action you want it to perform. The bit before this is the hotkey we’ll be entering (Win+S in this case), and the bit after run is the command to open the Search Everything app.

With all your keyboard shortcut replacements, we recommend adding a second line to the script with the text #NoTrayIcon . This will block the Auto Hotkey tray icon from popping up, ensuring that the whole process stays in the background.

Once your script is ready, close it and save it, then double-click the script to run it, and test your keyboard shortcut to see if it does what it should.

If it does, move the .ahk script to your system startup folder in File Explorer (C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\StartUp). Do the same for all your keyboard shortcut replacements. That way they’ll all be working as soon as you boot your PC.

Conclusion

It’s a little bit of effort, but it certainly works, and as a bonus you’ve now learned the absolute basics of Auto Hotkey – an extremely handy tool capable of running scripts much more complex than the ones we mention here.

Content Manager at Make Tech Easier. Enjoys Android, Windows, and tinkering with retro console emulation to breaking point.

How do I change the Windows 7 Keyboard Shortcuts

I would like to know how I can change/disable some of the Windows 7 Keyboard Shortcuts.

I find half of them useful, however I would like to change either the key combinations or disable some of the key combinations.

Before upgrading to Windows 7, I used to use a virtual desktop application (virtuawin) on Windows XP that allows windows to be grouped into different virtual desktops. I assign Win + 1, Win + 2, etc to switch between the desktops.

Since Windows 7 already have these keys already assigned to Taskbar item 1, Taskbar item 2, I am unable to use them for any other applications or settings.

I’ve tried searching the internet and this forum high and low and have found nothing (except for disabling the windows key, so please do not point me towards that as my problem is slightly different).

I’m open to suggestions that delve into Registry Editors, Editing Group Policies, or even replacing certain system files.

I’d just like to use back my previous set of key combinations for my self.

you can not use windows default shortcuts to other applications , unless the application has been designed accordingly. you may have to use other shortcuts.

but you can disable full Win+hot keys , it will be disabled totally, and can not use for other application

Windows Key Shortcuts — Enable or Disable
How to Enable or Disable Windows Key Shortcuts in Windows 7

Method 2
Highly recommended not to modify the Registry before a back up .
==========================

To disable the Windows keyboard shortcut keys you need to modify the Registry. But before that create a System restore point. Follow the steps mentioned below to create a system restore point.

Step 1:

To create a restore point follow the steps mentioned below.

1. Open System by clicking the Start button, right-clicking Computer and then clicking Properties.

2. In the left pane, click System protection. If you’re prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.

3. Click the System Protection tab and then click Create.

4. In the System Protection dialog box, type a description and then click Create.

Step 2:

To edit and alter the registry follow the steps mentioned below.

Important Note : This section, method, or task contains steps that tell you how to modify the registry. However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: 322756

1. Open the Start Menu.
2. In the Start Search box, type regedit and press Enter.
3. Click on Continue in the UAC prompt.
4. In regedit, go to

NOTE: If you already have the Explorer key (folder) under Policies, then go to step 7.

5. In the left pane, right click on Policies and click on New and Key.
6. Type Explorer and press Enter.
7. In the right pane, right click on a empty area and click on New and DWORD (32-bit) Value.
8. Type “NoWinKeys” and press Enter.
9. In the right pane, right click on “NoWinKeys” and click on “Modify.”
10.To Disable Windows Hotkeys — Type 1 and click on OK.
11.To Enable Windows Hotkeys again — Type 0 (number zero) and click on OK.
12.Close Regedit.
13.Log off and log on, or restart the computer to apply changes.

For further reference check the article mentioned below.

How to Change Keyboard Language Shortcut in Windows 10

In Windows 10, you can install multiple languages and if available, you can install multiple keyboard languages and layouts. This lets you chose your favorite language and layout while typing. Generally, you can either use the language bar option in the taskbar or a keyboard shortcut to switch between keyboard languages. Though the language bar option is pretty unintrusive, the keyboard shortcut can be triggered accidentally. After all, the default shortcut is Left Alt + Shift, which is not that hard to press accidentally. If you are like me who have installed multiple languages and keyboard layouts, it can be frustrating when the keyboard language or layout is changed accidentally due to an unwanted key press. To avoid that, you can change the keyboard language shortcut with ease. Let me show you how.

Change Keyboard Language Shortcut in Windows 10

In the previous versions if Windows 10, you can use the Control Panel options to change the keyboard language switching shortcut. However, Microsoft removed that ability in the recent versions. Now, you need to dig through the settings app to find and change the keyboard language shortcut. The problem is, the option to change the keyboard language shortcut is buried so deep that unless you know where to look for, it is very hard to find. But, follow the steps below and you should be golden.

1. First, open the settings app by pressing the keyboard shortcut Win + I . You can also search for the settings app in the start menu. In the Settings app, click on the “Devices” option.

2. In the devices page, go to the “Typing” tab appearing on the left panel. On the right panel, scroll down, find the “Advanced Keyboard Settings” link under the More Keyboard Settings section and click on it.

3. The above action will open the advanced keyboard settings page. Here, find the “Language Bar Options” link under the Switching Input Methods section and click on it.

4. As soon as you click on the link, the Text Services and Input Languages window will open. In this window, go to the “Advanced Key Settings” tab, select “Between Input Languages” option under Hot Keys for Input Languages and click on the “Change Key Sequence” button.

5. Windows will now show the keyboard shortcuts you can use to switch between keyboard languages under the “Switch Keyboard Layout” section. Select the keyboard shortcut of your choice and click on the “Ok” button to save changes.

6. Click on the “Apply” and “Ok” buttons in the main window and you are good to go.

That is all. It is that simple to change the keyboard shortcut to changing keyboard layout.

Conclusion

As you can see, though hard to find, it is nothing hard to change the keyboard language shortcut in Windows 10.

If you want to, you can even set custom keyboard shortcuts for specific keyboard language by selecting the specific language and then clicking on the “Change Key Sequence” button in step 5 . Next, select the “Enable Key Sequence” checkbox. Unlike the keyboard language switching shortcut, you can set almost any shortcut you want using the two dropdown menus. Just like before, click on the “Ok” button to save changes once you are done and you are good to go.

Change Hotkeys to Switch Keyboard Layout in Windows 10

Recent Windows 10 builds come with a new «Region & Language» page in the Settings app. It completely replaces the classic «Language» applet of Control Panel, which is removed starting with Windows 10 Build 17063. The new page allows users to change the display language, text-to-speech, speech recognition, and handwriting options. Here is how to change hotkeys to switch keyboard layout in Windows 10 because the UI for it has changed.

If you upgraded to Windows 10 Build 17074, its new language options can look strange to you. Unlike previous releases, it does not include the Language settings UI in the Control Panel. Now you have to use Settings to configure language settings in Windows 10.

By default, Windows 10 comes with two predefined keyboard shortcuts to switch layouts: one of them is the old, familiar Alt + Shift key combination and the other is Win + Space key combination. However, some users also changed the key sequence to Ctrl + Shift or the Grave accent (`), located below Esc . Because of redesigned settings, it may not be so obvious how to change this hotkey.

As of this writing, Windows 10 Build 17074 is most recent release of the OS. It doesn’t offer any Settings page which could allow you to change the hotkeys for the input language. Instead, it offers a link which opens the classic Control Panel applet. Ironically, this applet is not accessible from the classic Control Panel any more! The situation should be changed with the final release version of Windows 10 version 1803. Here are a couple of workarounds we found that you can use in the mean time to change the hotkeys to switch keyboard layout in Windows 10 Builds 17063 and above.

To change hotkeys to switch keyboard layout in Windows 10, do the following.

1. Open Settings.
2. Go to Time & language — Keyboard.
3. Click on the Advanced keyboard settings link.
   Update: Starting with build 17083, the Advanced Options link was moved to Devices — Typing. The Keyboard page was eliminated.
4. There, click on the link Language bar options.
5. This will open the familiar dialog «Text Services and Input Languages».Tip: This dialog can be opened directly with the following command:
   Rundll32 Shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL input.dll,,
6. Switch to the Advanced Key Settings tab.
7. Select Between input languages in the list.
8. Click on the button Change key sequence, select the new key, and click OK.

An alternative way you can use is a simple Registry tweak.

Change hotkeys with a Registry tweak

1. Open the Registry Editor app.
2. Go to the following Registry key.

See how to go to a Registry key with one click.

On the right, modify or create a new string (REG_SZ) value named Hotkey.

Set it to one of the following values:
1 — Key Sequence enabled; use LEFT ALT+SHIFT to switch between locales.
2 — Key Sequence enabled; use CTRL+SHIFT to switch between locales.
3 — Key Sequences disabled.
4 — The grave accent key (`), located below Esc toggles input locales.

To make the changes done by the Registry tweak take effect, you need to sign out and sign in to your user account.

If you are running the stable version of Windows 10, refer to the following article:

The method described in the mentioned article works in all previously released Windows 10 versions and builds prior to Windows 10 Build 17063.

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About Sergey Tkachenko

Sergey Tkachenko is a software developer from Russia who started Winaero back in 2011. On this blog, Sergey is writing about everything connected to Microsoft, Windows and popular software. Follow him on Telegram, Twitter, and YouTube.

13 thoughts on “ Change Hotkeys to Switch Keyboard Layout in Windows 10 ”

Hi.
There is no info here (HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Keyboard Layout\Toggle) about a particular language hotkey.
On your screenshot it states “To English — (None)”
Where do I find it? I want a .reg file to set those hotkeys.

WORKED AS F^^^ . WORKING LIKE A GLOVE NOT WITH THE DIRECT COMMAND BUT WITH THE STEPS. I GOT WIN 10 OCTOBER UPDATE AND THIS IS 100%. СПАСИБА ЖИВ БИО И ЖИВЕО

Is there any option/tweak to play sound on layout switching. It’s for disabled peoples. Even to play different sound for different layout.

You can make the process a bit simpler by typing “advanced keyboard settings” in the windows search field. It works the same way, but I find it easier. Thanks for the info.

Many thanks for the helpful information! Especially by the command line to change the function! 🙂

Thank you for this!

I have a problem. I make hotkeys for changing keyboard, then, when I restart computer, It goes back to “None”. Windows simply forgets I ever did it… Help?

It’s OK from the step no.4, but the way to this step depends on your build. Microsoft developers think that it’s fun to change menu items names, their order, modify a bit functionality… :o)

Is there any way to set input language on NEW CUSTOM hotkeys , not the ones from list like Ctrl + 0 or so ??
Where are these located in registry ?

It’s empty in this direction
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Keyboard Layout\Toggle

Thank you so much for this! This was driving me crazy because I ctrl+tab and ctrl+shift+tab so frequently, and I have two keyboard layouts. I don’t think it’s hyperbolic for me to say that this has changed my life!

Not what I was after.

I can change input languages using the hotkey(s) as described in this article. However, for a language I also have multiple keyboard layouts (japanese laptop with UK external keyboard). Languages get switched with Alt-Shift and/or Windows-Space.

Keyboard layout gets switched with Ctrl-Shift (which I use a lot while programming). Needless to say this is causing a lot of grief. On another laptop, Keyboard layout is swtiched using Windows-Shift. I can’t figure out how to edit this hotkey! Either the setting used to exist and doesn’t anymore, or I found some registry tweak a long time ago.

However, can’t find it anymore. Every article I’ve found only describes how to switch the language, not the layout.

Hi, I use the option to use a hotkey to switch to a specific keyboard layout. However it seems to reset and forget the setting on every restart. How to fix that? I haven’t found a single person with that issue on the internet.