Change Default Keyboard Shortcuts in Windows 10

Windows 10 comes with some default keyboard shortcuts similar to the previous versions of the OS. If you find any of them uncomfortable and want to change it to something better of your choice, this article will help you to achieve that. This might be greatly helpful if you previously used any other operating systems such as Mac, Linux, etc. and your mind just sticking to those shortcuts you used to use for achieving certain things.

For example, by default, the Windows Key + S will open the search box in Windows 10. If you want to change this shortcut to something else or want to reassign these keys to something that you feel comfortable, you can follow this guide to do it.

How to Change Default Keyboard Shortcuts in Windows 10

We are going to use a program called AutoHotkey to achieve this. It’s basically a script creating tool that can be used to create various scripts to perform different operations. Using this tool, you will be able to create scripts for reassigning the shortcuts. So, here is the process.

1. Download AutoHotkey and install it.
2. As soon as you install it a new function “AutoHotkey script” will be added to your context menu’s “New” section.
3. Right click on the desktop and choose New > AutoHotkey script.
4. Name the file something like find.ahk. Make sure that the file extension is correct to make the script working properly.
5. Next step is to put something inside the script file that will perform the action. For that, have a look at the below-given table and what syntax should you use instead of certain keys.
6. Now add the appropriate script to the file for example if you want to reassign the keys for Windows Key + S, use, (be sure to replace the “#s” with the appropriate keys.
   #s::run, "C:\Program Files\Everything\Everything.exe"
7. Once you add the script to the file, save it. Then double click the script to run it.
8. Now, it should run the executable file that you put inside the ” “.
9. After making sure that it is working properly, move the .ahk script to C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\StartUp
10. Repeat the same for all the keyboard shortcuts you like to change by creating separate script files and putting them on the StartUp folder.

You can also learn about all the AutoHotkey syntax here.

For your reference, the text before ::are the shortcuts and between the " " are the executable files in the AutoHotkey script. Also, you can add in#NoTrayIcon a new line of the script to disable the AutoHotkey icon from popping up in the tray.