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> Note that the Thinkpad X1 does not have Ctrl in the bottom left, instead its the Fn key. On the plus side, the X1 kept Home and End keys up top, with dedicate

> Note that the Thinkpad X1 does not have Ctrl in the bottom left, instead its the Fn key. On the plus side, the X1 kept Home and End keys up top, with dedicated PageUp/PageDown near the arrow keys. For the most part, Lenovo's Thinkpads have a BIOS setting that allows you to switch the Fn and Ctrl keys. This has been around for a while now and is still an option on newer Thinkpads (although, I can't confirm that this option exists in the X1).

windsurfer 14y ago
I can confirm this. It's also a setting in the Lenovo toolkit (in Windows) if you want on top of the BIOS setting.
chimeracoder 14y ago
Not just that, but on any computer running Linux, you can just use loadkeys. You can also use xmodmap, but that's not going to work outside X11 (if you tend to do much work without X)
- throwaway2048 14y ago
  The Fn key is not sent to the OS at all, this would not be remappable via OS mechanisms.
  - rhblake 14y ago
    That depends on the laptop. On my Thinkpad X220, pressing the Fn key triggers a normal KeyPress event with keycode 151, so no problem remapping.
    - LeonidasXIV 14y ago
      On my T41 too, with the same keycode, but not on my old Samsung. Considering I almost exclusively use ThinkPads, I just left Fn where it is.
mercurial 14y ago
> For the most part, Lenovo's Thinkpads have a BIOS setting that allows you to switch the Fn and Ctrl keys. This has been around for a while now and is still an option on newer Thinkpads (although, I can't confirm that this option exists in the X1). I have both a Dell and a Thinkpad, and it's definitely much more convenient to have Ctl readily accessible with the left pinky than Fn, which you get on the Thinkpad.
- rplnt 14y ago
  The Ctrl is still readily accessible with the left pinky. I've never had problem with this om my Thinkpad. It just took some time to getting used to. They keyboard was phenomenal compared to cheap asus books I've tried (both feel and horrible layout were a cause). Then I got Dell (E6400) and liked the keyboard even more. The feel was better. Only thing I missed was the light from Thinkpad. While the keyboard was backlit, I found the top light to be more convenient.
  - mercurial 14y ago
    > The Ctrl is still readily accessible with the left pinky. What I meant is that it's easier to access on a Lenovo keyboard than on a non-Lenovo keyboard, since it's closer. I have a hard time hitting Left Ctrl on the Dell keyboard than on my Lenovo keyboards.
- bad_user 14y ago
  I also own a Thinkpad and while the Fn/Ctrl position is annoying I haven't been using the default left Ctrl key in a while anyway, simply because I map Caps-Lock as a Ctrl key. The Ctrl key is so often used by developers, especially when one uses Emacs shortcuts (not only in Emacs itself, but also in Readline-enabled shells or other software), that you can easily get RSI. Remaping Caps-Lock as a Ctrl is a necessity and once you use it you'll never want to go back to the default left Ctrl.
  - mercurial 14y ago
    I've adapted my environment to my preferences: most of the stuff I use has vim shortcuts (+ Windows key modifier for XMonad). Besides, you don't have many things you need to access in a hurry with Fn anyway (since you have proper home/end/etc. keys).

windsurfer 14y ago

I can confirm this. It's also a setting in the Lenovo toolkit (in Windows) if you want on top of the BIOS setting.

chimeracoder 14y ago

Not just that, but on any computer running Linux, you can just use loadkeys. You can also use xmodmap, but that's not going to work outside X11 (if you tend to do much work without X)

throwaway2048 14y ago
The Fn key is not sent to the OS at all, this would not be remappable via OS mechanisms.
- rhblake 14y ago
  That depends on the laptop. On my Thinkpad X220, pressing the Fn key triggers a normal KeyPress event with keycode 151, so no problem remapping.
  - LeonidasXIV 14y ago
    On my T41 too, with the same keycode, but not on my old Samsung. Considering I almost exclusively use ThinkPads, I just left Fn where it is.

mercurial 14y ago

> For the most part, Lenovo's Thinkpads have a BIOS setting that allows you to switch the Fn and Ctrl keys. This has been around for a while now and is still an option on newer Thinkpads (although, I can't confirm that this option exists in the X1). I have both a Dell and a Thinkpad, and it's definitely much more convenient to have Ctl readily accessible with the left pinky than Fn, which you get on the Thinkpad.

rplnt 14y ago
The Ctrl is still readily accessible with the left pinky. I've never had problem with this om my Thinkpad. It just took some time to getting used to. They keyboard was phenomenal compared to cheap asus books I've tried (both feel and horrible layout were a cause). Then I got Dell (E6400) and liked the keyboard even more. The feel was better. Only thing I missed was the light from Thinkpad. While the keyboard was backlit, I found the top light to be more convenient.
- mercurial 14y ago
  > The Ctrl is still readily accessible with the left pinky. What I meant is that it's easier to access on a Lenovo keyboard than on a non-Lenovo keyboard, since it's closer. I have a hard time hitting Left Ctrl on the Dell keyboard than on my Lenovo keyboards.
bad_user 14y ago
I also own a Thinkpad and while the Fn/Ctrl position is annoying I haven't been using the default left Ctrl key in a while anyway, simply because I map Caps-Lock as a Ctrl key. The Ctrl key is so often used by developers, especially when one uses Emacs shortcuts (not only in Emacs itself, but also in Readline-enabled shells or other software), that you can easily get RSI. Remaping Caps-Lock as a Ctrl is a necessity and once you use it you'll never want to go back to the default left Ctrl.
- mercurial 14y ago
  I've adapted my environment to my preferences: most of the stuff I use has vim shortcuts (+ Windows key modifier for XMonad). Besides, you don't have many things you need to access in a hurry with Fn anyway (since you have proper home/end/etc. keys).