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I've recently purchased a new laptop which has a slightly different keyboard layout than my old laptop. Essentially my new laptop has an 'alt gr' button which I never use in place of a 'menu' button on my previous laptop which I used regularly. I find it extremely annoying that I have to manually press the right click button everything I want to spell check something so I was wondering whether it is possible to map the 'alt gr' button to a 'menu' button?

nb: The tool from Microsoft doesn't work as it doesn't let me change the alt/shift/ctrl/alt gr buttons (only the other keys are changeable)

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  • I thought AltGr was used for accessing these “funny letters”.
    – kinokijuf
    Commented Jan 26, 2015 at 15:35

1 Answer 1

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  1. Download and install AutoHotkey.

  2. Create a text file called AltGrToMenuKey.ahk (or any other file name ending in .ahk) in any folder of your liking, and put only this line in it:

     LControl & RAlt::Send {AppsKey}
    
  3. Double click the AltGrToMenuKey.ahk file.

  4. Put a shortcut to the AltGrToMenuKey.ahk file in your Startup folder in Windows so it is started whenever you restart your computer. (This folder is normally placed at C:\Users\<your user name>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup in Windows 7.)

I just tested it and it works excellently on my Windows 7 computer.

Instead of downloading AutoHotkey and setting up the script, I have also made a compiled .exe version that can be downloaded and run as it is. Just place it anywhere you want, run it and make a shortcut to it in your Startup folder as in step 4 above. Of course you would need to trust me in that it does not contain any maleficent code. If not, just use the 4 steps above instead. AutoHotkey itself is known and trusted.

It should be noted that while this script is running you can still achieve the Alt Gr effect by pressing Ctrl+Alt. That could be handy should you ever need the special characters or keyboard shortcuts that Alt Gr normally gives access to. Ctrl+Alt works essentially the same as Alt Gr, but this script sees the difference and only invokes the menu key if the Alt Gr key is pressed.

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  • You're welcome – glad I could help!
    – Jesper
    Commented Jan 26, 2015 at 16:35

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