The Copilot key on the latest keyboards uses a combo from the 80s

Good news! You can remap the Copilot key

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by Claudiu Andone 

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The Copilot key triggers an 80s key combincation

(Image credit: James R. Maynard III , CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons)

Microsoft marked this year as the start of the AI PC with a physical Copilot key. Let’s move away from the elephant in the room and not question why we actually need a physical key to start the AI bot when it’s all over in Windows.

Tom’s Hardware tested the  Dell XPS 14 and XPS 16 and they used the AutoKey macro scripting app to see what is the actual key combination that is performed when you press the physical Copilot key.

Well, according to their post it’s Ctrl + Win + F23. Yeah, where is F23, right? Well, don’t look for it on your keyboard because you won’t find it. A modern full-sized keyboard has 12 function keys.

The two-row function key keyboard was introduced by IBM in 1985. It was called Model M and it had 122 keys and included 24 function keys in its configuration. The last keyboards with this configuration were discontinued sometime in the 90s.

Can I remap the Copilot key to perform other functions?

Microsoft chose this odd key combination because they wanted to make sure that no one on the planet has this scan code assigned. Another would be that they want to make it harder for us to remap, but you will see that it’s not that hard.

It’s less important why this happen. The good news is that you can easily remap your keys, including the Copilot one to perform other functions. We have a list of the best key mapper software, but Microsoft also launched Keyboard Manager that will probably help you with that as well.

Now, most of the key remapping software ask you to enter the key combination you want to change and that is impossible for the F23 key. However, it’s important to know that you can still action the F23 key by pressing Shift + F11. So, if you want to access the F13 – F24, you can press Shift and the corresponding F key from the row.

Once you know that, you can remap the Copilot key to another combination, open a website, an app, just like any other smart key on modern keyboards.

The folks from Tom’s Hardware have an interesting guide on how to do that as well.

More about the topics: keyboard, Microsoft copilot

Claudiu Andone

Claudiu Andone Shield

Windows Toubleshooting Expert

Oldtimer in the tech and science press, Claudiu is focused on whatever comes new from Microsoft. His abrupt interest in computers started when he saw the first Home Computer as a kid. However, his passion for Windows and everything related became obvious when he became a sys admin in a computer science high school. With 14 years of experience in writing about everything there is to know about science and technology, Claudiu also likes rock music, chilling in the garden, and Star Wars. May the force be with you, always!