Are you a frequent user of Microsoft’s Copilot AI chatbot? Better yet, do you find the Copilot key, located on the bottom-right of the keyboard where the right Ctrl key used to be, actually useful? If your answer to these are both a ‘no’, chances are you’re probably not a fan of the key sticking out and hindering the use of shortcut keys (like Ctrl+P) to some degree.
Copilot Key Can Be Remapped, With A Big Catch
Microsoft seemed to have at least changed its mind on its stance towards having the mandatory Copilot key on all Windows PCs starting this year, as it has started to trial a change on Windows 11 insider build (version 22635.4225) that allow users to repurpose this key via Settings to do something else.
Specifically, it can be used to open an app – but only the ones that Microsoft deemed is “MSIX packaged and signed”. MSIX is a relatively new app package format introduced in 2018 to improve on existing .msi and .appx packages, and it’s claimed to feature better security and privacy over its predecessor. The caveats don’t end there, as you can’t restore the key back to the good old right Ctrl key, and launching any app that isn’t in MSIX format is not possible either.
While there are unofficial ways of repurposing the Copilot key, they are also limited in functionality due to the unique nature of this key (under the hood, it sends a Left Shift+Win+F23 shortcut), and remapping it back to the bare Right Ctrl key is not possible through this method either.
Pokdepinion: If only I can reclaim my Right Ctrl key back.
