Chromebooks differ from typical laptops in a variety of ways, and not simply in terms of software.
The most evident physical distinction is that Chromebooks have keyboards with Chrome OS-specific functionalities, which means they lack conventional keys like F1 and even Caps Lock. Depending on your working style, this could be a pleasant shift or a huge nuisance.
Don’t give up if that arrangement doesn’t work for you. You may remap a significant number of the keys on your Chromebook to drastically alter how you use it.
Step 1. To begin, navigate to the Keyboard section of your Chromebook’s settings.
Step 2. In the lower-right corner of the screen, click the clock.
Step 3. In the resulting screen, tap the gear-shaped symbol.
Step 4. Scroll down to the Device subheading and select Keyboard.
You’ll notice a list of keys you can change there:
- The Launcher key (also called the Search key)
- The Ctrl key
- The Alt key
- The Escape key
- The Backspace key
- The Assistant key (on Pixelbooks only)
Each key can be remapped to perform any of the following tasks:
- Launcher / Search (the Chrome OS app drawer and search prompt)
- Ctrl
- Alt
- Caps Lock
- Escape
- Backspace
- Assistant (on devices where Google Assistant is available)
To remap a key, simply click the box next to it and pick the function you want it to do. You might, for example, swap the Launcher (or Search) key back to Caps Lock. Alternatively, if you prefer to keep the Launcher key in its default duty but still miss Caps Lock, you might assign the Caps Lock function to your Escape or Assistant keys.
If you have a Chromebook other than the Pixelbook (which, as previously mentioned, has a dedicated Google Assistant key) and wish to have simpler access to Assistant, you might assign the Escape key or even the Launcher key to do that role.
There’s one more keyboard remapping option to mention: Treat top-row keys as function keys, which are located beneath the list of customizable keys. When you enable the toggle, the specialty keys on the top row of your Chromebook’s keyboard — the commands for moving back, reloading a page, maximizing a window, and so on — will be converted into regular F1-style function keys. In that case, you can still access their specialist functions, but only if you first hold down the Launcher key and then press them.
