Comment followup: Use sounds instead of missing keyboad LEDs with Toggle Keys

Comment followup: Use sounds instead of missing keyboad LEDs with Toggle Keys

Filed under: Utilities, Windows, Education

I recently wrote about a utility called Keyboard Leds which puts a small icon in your system tray showing keyboard LED status, for systems which do not have actual keyboards LEDs (or have tiny ones).

Commenter Lonnie McClure pointed out a very handy built-in Windows accessibility feature, which does the same job, but uses sound instead of images. It's called Toggle Keys, and it makes a short "chirp" when you hit Num Lock, Scroll Lock or Caps Lock, and a different chirp when you hit any of them again to turn it off. While this doesn't let you track their current status, it does let you prevent accidental activation and easily see if your press just turned the function on or off (because the sound is different).

What I like about this solution is that it doesn't add yet another system tray icon (I have 22 of those, at present), and that it's built right into Windows so it doesn't require an additional install. There are two ways to turn it on:

Keyboard shortcut: By default, just press and hold Num Lock for five seconds. You should then hear a chirp, which means the feauture is on. When you want to turn it back off, press and hold Num Lock for five seconds again.

Via the Control Panel: (In Windows 7) Go to Control Panel > Ease of Access Center > Make the keyboard easier to use > check Turn on Toggle Keys.

Thanks, Lonnie!

Comment followup: Use sounds instead of missing keyboad LEDs with Toggle Keys originally appeared on Download Squad on Sat, 24 Jul 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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