microsoft
Keyboard Manager does not remap Copilot key
Microsoft PowerToys version
0.86.0
Installation method
Microsoft Store
Running as admin
None
Area(s) with issue?
Keyboard Manager
Steps to reproduce
In Keyboard Manager, go to Remap keys then Select:. The dropdown list does not include the Copilot key, although that key is on my keyboard (Dell XPS 16). The Ctrl (Right) key is listed, which the XPS does not have. I understand that the Copilot key was placed where Ctrl (Right) used to be. My objective was to remap the Copilot key as Ctrl (Right). (I also attempted this by selecting Ctrl (Right) and then 'To send:' Ctrl (Right). Keyboard Manager said I could not remap a key to itself, which is not particularly surprising.)
✔️ Expected Behavior
Where a keyboard includes a Copilot key, I would expect Keyboard Manager to list it under 'Select:' and to permit it to be remapped - in particular, to Ctrl (Right).
❌ Actual Behavior
Keyboard Manager did not list the Copilot key under Select:.
Other Software
No response
copilot key is actually a shortcut inside. If you try remapping it through the Remap shortcuts screen, are you able to? Hope this helps. /needinfo
Thank you. I have found a useful Microsoft discussion thread 'Remap or disable 'Copilot' chatbot key on new Windows keyboards' that uses this method and includes more detail. In short, it works. You have to click on the pencil then the copilot button, which Keyboard Manager renders on-screen as the otherwise hidden combination of keystrokes for the shortcut. I was then able to specify Ctrl (right) as the replacement.
while this technically works to remap the Copilot key to CTRL (Right) or whatever you'd like to remap it to, if you actually remap it to CTRL (Right), you will not be able to use the CTRL+ALT+DEL command with this button for some reason (at least, not on Lenovo Legion 5i), which is one of the primary benefits of having a right-handed control--being able to do a one-handed CTRL+ALT+DEL. i suspect this has something to do with the Copilot button not being fully remapped, and perhaps some other key combination is preventing CTRL+ALT+DEL from being recognized, or perhaps simply the Copilot button cannot be part of a key combination ever. if anyone has any insight that could help resolve this, it would be super helpful.
I'm still not able to get this to work. I use the right ctrl key often for Outlook quick action shortcuts....ie ctrl + shift + 1...9 for various quick actions like moving emails to folders and marking them read. I've deleted all remap keys and only have the one remap shortcut and it doesn't work.
It seems like something broke in PowerToys because now when you try to re-create the shortcut, it just says "app/list". This is infuriating and I almost don't want to use this laptop anymore if i can't remap this key.
All similar issues are getting mapped to this one. This is nothing short of a FIASCO. I have two weeks to return my new laptop that is fantastic except for the part where the Copilot key makes it unusable. Can we please get some attention to this?
I cannot make it work either. Without remapping, the copilot key is useless.
I also have this issue. Extremely frustrating. I have an HP ZBook Firefly 16 inch G11 Mobile Workstation PC. I also cannot map the Copilot key to Ctrl (Right). On my laptop the shortcut for the Copilot key is: Win (Left) - Shift (Left) - F23 What I can say is that the "Select" portion of the configuration appears to work because I can map to other buttons. It works for mapping to letters, volume up and the enter key. It just doesn't work mapping to Ctrl (Right)
I'm also having this problem, on a new Lenovo Aura X1. Remapping partially works, but the reason (I suspect) that everyone is having an issue is that it evidently actually remaps it to ctrl-shift, not just ctrl. (This appears to be true whether one chooses ctrl, ctrl (right), or ctrl (left) as the new mapping.) I worked this out by testing the remapped key in Word's Customize Keyboard Shortcuts, and when I hit the remapped key plus a letter (e.g., f), it showed up as ctrl-shift-f, not just ctrl-f. (Note: I'm using PowerToys v0.91.1.)
Exactly the same issue: tried all the tips left by the users here to avail. But yeah this Copilot button is completely useless. At least the Powertoys can render it non-functional in order not to start the Copilot by mistake as I often do when hitting that key.
While having the same problem, I wrote a little python script to remap the inputs of the f23/copilot key to the ctrl key: F23-Key-To-Ctrl
Everyone, please read the whole thread before posting. This is a hardware or firmware issue. 3 keys are sent in combination when the copilot key is hit. The fix must be at the source, not in Windows. It's even a problem in Linux.
I’ve encountered the same issue with my HP laptop — Remap a key and Remap a shortcut are both not functioning.
I was having a similar problem on a new MSI Laptop. In my case, I wanted to map the copilot key to function as a windows key (I need the left windows key for other purposes). It wasn't working for me, even using the shortcut remap. On my machine, hitting the copilot key produces "Win (Left) + Shift (Left) + F23". My issue was that I also had a key remap from "Win (Left)" to "Ctrl (Right)" (the reason for this is off topic). So, even after using the pencil to capture the copilot key, I had to manually edit the shortcut it produced, and change "Win (Left)" to "Ctrl (Right)", because it appears PowerToys Keyboard Manager will first apply the key remaps, then evaluate the shortcut remaps. Now my copilot key correctly functions as a windows key. Hope this helps someone.
Below mapping worked on my wife's HP work laptop (at least for Control+z/x/c/v I tried).
Remap a shortcut: Win (Left) + Shift (Left) + F23 To: Control (Left)
I hope this helps someone.
Source: https://www.elevenforum.com/t/remap-co-pilot-key-back-to-a-ctrl-key-using-power-toys.24830/#post-449039
--I might have gotten this working by manually changing the "Win (Left)" to just "Win" and "Shift (Left)" to just "Shift" in the shortcut mapping. I am now able to use the copilot key as "Ctrl (Right)" instead of it being "Shift + Ctrl (Right)".--
UPDATE: This worked up until I tried to remap the windows key on the left side of the keyboard to be Ctrl. Once I added this mapping then the copilot key became "Shift + Ctrl" again. This isn't a solution for me after all. 😒
UPDATE 2: I've discovered that this solution prevents the Shift key from working at all with the remapped copilot key shortcut. I.e. pressing "Shift + Copilot" now results in Ctrl (without the Shift).
UPDATE 3: Maybe this combo might do it (ymmv):
UPDATE 4: The above completely falls apart when using Powershell -- it seems to ignore half of the mappings and leaves the CTRL key permanently stuck on, leaving thing in an impossible to use inconsistent state.
@chriswm Did you the method I suggested? It's still working AFAIK (wife has not complained). :D
@ristomatti its not working for me. I feel handicapped without the right Ctrl key, as I use it quite often and can’t find a workaround (I rely on an external keyboard). This new keyboard layout is extremely frustrating; I wish manufacturers would either restore the original layout or offer alternative key combinations to launch Copilot or similar AI tools.
It is futile to continue trying to fix this via software. For those who try, a quick test of proper functionality is to open a text editor, go to the middle of some text, and press CopilotKey+Shift+LeftArrow one or more times. If it does not select/highlight text words then it is a failed or partial fix.
Microsoft strong armed hardware manufacturers to make this inane change in hardware/firmware. It can only be fixed via a hardware/firmware change. Now that this means it is also a problem no matter what OS you run.
@ristomatti Yes, I started with that and it didn't work, and then I continued experimenting and found success with the Win + Shift + F23 (not using the Left versions of these keys) shortcut remap. It fell apart when I then tried to swap the windows key (I only have one, and it's on the left side) and the ctrl key (also only one, and also on the left side). This worked well with everthing (that I had tried) until I tried Powershell, and which point the copilot key again popped-up the copilot window and the windows key would cause the windows key to get "stuck" so that every key after that became Win + key, which caused much grief!
I've given up trying to remap both the copilot key and the windows key and am just going with my solution to remap the copilot key for now, which seems to work reliably (at least I haven't found any problems yet). The downside is that this leaves me using the unmapped left control key so my ctrl keys are not symmetrical around the keyboard; the (remapped) right ctrl key is symmetric with the Win (Left) key, and the left ctrl key is symmetric with the arrow keys on this laptop.
Very frustrating experience with these new windows laptop keyboards. 🙁