Which CAPSLOCK notifier do you use?

[Xircal]

I'm sure anybody with a laptop running Windows 7 or higher knows what I'm talking about.

For some unknown reason, laptop manufacturers have decided we no longer need a warning light to inform us when CAPSLOCK has been engaged.

I suspect it was an aesthetic reason rather than an economical one so they can now design the machine without any blemishes such has having to interrupt the smooth panel above the keyboard by placing a warning light in there somewhere.

Windows 8.1 has the option to emit a beep if you accidentally hit CAPSLOCK when typing, but how to tell if it's engaged otherwise? Also, there's around a two second delay before you actually hear something by which time you'll have typed at least half a dozen capital characters.

When I used to use a PC with a separate keyboard instead of a laptop which incorporates one, it had a large Capslock key next to the 'A' character, but my laptop only has a small one. So what happens very often now is I want to hit the letter 'A', but inadvertently hit Capslock instead resulting in a series of unwanted capital letters which I don't spot immediately.

So can anyone suggest a good, preferably free Capslock notifier?

[bkkjames]

I USUALLY just LOOK at he SCREEN to SEE if I have CAPSLOCK on....

[wooloomooloo]

WhAt aPPeaRs to bE tHe pRoBleM?

[BB1950]

Keyboard LEDs

[IMHO]

Mac's still have backlit keyboards and caps lock LED

I think the true solution is, look at the screen rather than the keyboard when typing though - force yourself to do it - it might take you a few days to become accustomed to it, but you won't regret it.

[Crossy]

Just disable it (like I have) or re-map it to something useful.

http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows-vista/disable-caps-lock-key-in-windows-vista/ (works with Win 7, 8 etc too)

[WhizBang]

Just look at the F'n screen.

Geeze.

[Anthony5]

Mac's still have backlit keyboards and caps lock LED

I think the true solution is, look at the screen rather than the keyboard when typing though - force yourself to do it - it might take you a few days to become accustomed to it, but you won't regret it.

I've tried that many times, but then the words that appear on the screen don't seem to make sense.

[HooHaa]

i am fine without a caps lock notifier, however an app that reminds me i have forgotten to wear pants would save me a lot of embarrassment

[MrTee]

Oh my days..
Do you use a notifier to let you know when to breath?

[vento]

Just look at the F'n screen.

Geeze.

And if text field is a password field, all letters are asterisk

valid question imo

[vento]

Oh my days..

Do you use a notifier to let you know when to breath?

That this could actually be a issue for some? Maybe not a big issue for you, but do you enter passwords 50+ times a day?

I do

[IMHO]

Just look at the F'n screen.

Geeze.

And if text field is a password field, all letters are asterisk

valid question imo

Once you've learnt to touch type, yes, you can even do passwords

[Xircal]

Mac's still have backlit keyboards and caps lock LED

I think the true solution is, look at the screen rather than the keyboard when typing though - force yourself to do it - it might take you a few days to become accustomed to it, but you won't regret it.

I used to actually donkey's years ago.

But laptops have an Fn key which is used in combination with the top row of F-keys. Also, not all laptops have a numerical keypad. So there are those kind of headaches to contend with as well.

[KhunBENQ]

No joke: my CAPSLOCK keys are in the drawer.

Its so easy to remove this useless reminder of the typewriter era.

[Xircal]

Just disable it (like I have) or re-map it to something useful.

http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows-vista/disable-caps-lock-key-in-windows-vista/ (works with Win 7, 8 etc too)

Thanks, I'll take a look at that later.

[Xircal]

Keyboard LEDs

Thanks for the tip. Do you use it yourself?

[Xircal]

That this could actually be a issue for some? Maybe not a big issue for you, but do you enter passwords 50+ times a day?

I do

I must admit using a Keepass which is a password manager resolves that problem for me because I can just copy/paste them now.

An alternative would be to use the Firefox Password Manager whereby you just use a master password for everything which securely records individual passwords for each site.

[WitawatWatawit]

Even better would be an app, operated by a function key, that reverses writing in all caps.

I sympathise with the OP, as it happens to me often when I have a deadline to meet and the words are flowing at the rate of 500 a minute, but my fingers can only go about 100 or so, and the pressure is mounting. With a reverse caps app, you wouldn't need to be quite so concerned.

[Suradit69]

Oh my days..

Do you use a notifier to let you know when to breath?

That this could actually be a issue for some? Maybe not a big issue for you, but do you enter passwords 50+ times a day?

I do

I have a CAPSLOCK light on my keyboard and still manage to not notice it sometimes.

As said, if you (sort of) touch type, you don't stare at the keyboard anyway. A lot of password logins tell you on screen that you've got CAPSLOCK on before you hit enter. Since I'm the only one using this computer, a lot of the less touchy sites do the sign in automatically. It can be annoying, but if you enter passwords 50+ times a day do you really have the CAPSLOCK on that often?

[HooHaa]

Oh my days..

Do you use a notifier to let you know when to breath?

That this could actually be a issue for some? Maybe not a big issue for you, but do you enter passwords 50+ times a day?

I do

ah to be burdened with such responsibility

[MrTee]

Oh my days..

Do you use a notifier to let you know when to breath?

That this could actually be a issue for some? Maybe not a big issue for you, but do you enter passwords 50+ times a day?

I do

I do enter passwords all the time.. but not the same one 555 - I have 100s : like this **********

I also breath all day

KThnxBye

Edited February 19, 2015 by MrTee

[Suradit69]

Even better would be an app, operated by a function key, that reverses writing in all caps.

I sympathise with the OP, as it happens to me often when I have a deadline to meet and the words are flowing at the rate of 500 a minute, but my fingers can only go about 100 or so, and the pressure is mounting. With a reverse caps app, you wouldn't need to be quite so concerned.

If you have MS Word, copy the text into Word, highlight it, click on the things shown in the picture and hit "sentence case," then copy it back to whatever you've been typing. It will change ALL CAPS so that only the first word in each sentence is capitalized. (check on any words in the sentences that need to start with capitals).

[MrTee]

That this could actually be a issue for some? Maybe not a big issue for you, but do you enter passwords 50+ times a day?

I do

I must admit using a Keepass which is a password manager resolves that problem for me because I can just copy/paste them now.

An alternative would be to use the Firefox Password Manager whereby you just use a master password for everything which securely records individual passwords for each site.

if you are using keepass & use chrome\firefox , you may want to checkout ChromeIpass.. automatically populate username and password for websites that you configure.

it saves much time

Firefox's builtin password manager is crackable..

[Xircal]

That this could actually be a issue for some? Maybe not a big issue for you, but do you enter passwords 50+ times a day?

I do

I must admit using a Keepass which is a password manager resolves that problem for me because I can just copy/paste them now.

An alternative would be to use the Firefox Password Manager whereby you just use a master password for everything which securely records individual passwords for each site.

if you are using keepass & use chrome\firefox , you may want to checkout ChromeIpass.. automatically populate username and password for websites that you configure.

it saves much time

Firefox's builtin password manager is crackable..

I use Keepass only, but was suggesting Firefox Password Manager for the benefit of Vento.

But please provide the link to the site which demonstrates how to crack it because I'm not aware that that is indeed the case.

[MrTee]

That this could actually be a issue for some? Maybe not a big issue for you, but do you enter passwords 50+ times a day?

I do

I must admit using a Keepass which is a password manager resolves that problem for me because I can just copy/paste them now.

An alternative would be to use the Firefox Password Manager whereby you just use a master password for everything which securely records individual passwords for each site.

if you are using keepass & use chrome\firefox , you may want to checkout ChromeIpass.. automatically populate username and password for websites that you configure.

it saves much time

Firefox's builtin password manager is crackable..

I use Keepass only, but was suggesting Firefox Password Manager for the benefit of Vento.

But please provide the link to the site which demonstrates how to crack it because I'm not aware that that is indeed the case.

Not sure its a good idea to share that sort of information on here.. probably against rules..

a few minutes on google will help.

[BB1950]

Keyboard LEDs

Thanks for the tip. Do you use it yourself?

Absolutely not! I don't need it for several reasons: I'm a touch typist and ex-system developer. I never type in all caps and I hate those that do! My full-size wireless keyboard has an caps lock LED. My Logitech keyboard driver lets me know when the caps lock state changes which I hate! They only reason I use Logitech driver is to be notified when the wireless keyboard or mouse battery is low. I keep background processes to a minimum, because I don't like wasting precious computer resources.

Personally I find all laptop keyboards and touch pads extremely annoying! For my needs, a laptop computer doesn't fit the bill. They were only useful as a portable diagnostic device. The original 'Compaq Portable' was awkward to carry around, and the Toshiba T1200 was a wonderful improvement in size and weight.

I need a full size keyboard with a numeric key pad and what is referred to as a 'gaming' mouse. I find Windows 8 and 8.1 a joke, only for novices! I never was a fan of the start menu either, another useless innovation!

However I could see where there would be some would want some kind of caps lock notification, but most professionals would find it annoying. Keyboard LEDs is well recommended for those are missing the notifications. Since you were asking for a notifier, it fits what you asked for. It's just a suggestion. Like any personalization, try it and see if it meets your needs. It's small and doesn't use a lot of resources, and it contains no malware. Whereas some of the other keyboard notifiers do.

Caps lock notification was removed for a reason. It's really unnecessary. Caps lock was a carry over from typewriters. There was a time when everything typed was in upper case. Today typing in all caps is referred to as shouting, or shows your lack of typing skills. I agree with the others. The caps lock key is a useless key and the notification is just as useless.

[RichCor]

[...] The original 'Compaq Portable' was awkward to carry around [...]

You better leave my grandmother's portable sewing machine out of this!

[Mobi]

Keyboard LEDs

Thanks for this link, I 've downloaded it and it works like a charm.

Notification of cap locks is something that has bugged me ever since the keyboard manufacturers decided in their wisdom to remove the notification light.

Yes, it isn't much of a problem for those of you who touch type with ten fingers, but for us old geezers who have been two-finger typing all our lives (I am now 68) it is a bit hard to change. I can type as fast as most touch typers but unfortunately I have to look at the keyboard. This means that it can be several minutes before I notice that I accidentally hit the caps lock key.

Not a big problem if I am typing in M/S word as I can highlight the offending text and change it to lowercase. But there is no such facility when I am typing directly in a website (like Thai Visa)) and I have to either re-type it, or copy and paste it into Word, fix it and then copy and paste back again. A bit of a palaver.

I also get frustrated when I have to type an encrypted password. If the username is not encrypted then it is not a problem as I can see if the cap lock is on or off, but some progs only require an encrypted password (e.g Thunderbird email which I use several times a day)

When my password is rejected I never know if I typed it incorrectly or if the caps lock was on. The only way to find out was to open M/S word and type something and see.

This link to Keyboard LED's has now solved this problem which have been driving me mad for quite a long time.

Thank you very much.

Mobi