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Robert BerkeFlag for United States of America

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I don't want to use Fn or Fn lock for F1 to F11 key on a Lenovo t460p laptop

I just upgraded from a T500 to a t460p which is Lenovo's fastest laptop (I7 quad core 2.7 ghz and SSD). The new machne works great with an external keyboard, but sucks with the t460p laptop's keyboard.

The T460p swapped the meaning of the Fn key which drives me crazy when I am developing vba programs.

I wonder if there are any VBA developers who can pass on some tips on how to make things work better.

If you don't already know what I mean about swapping the Fn key, then you are probably not going to be able to help. Nonetheless, let me describe the difference.

Both keyboards have f1 through f12 keys that invoke "program functions"
Both keyboards allow those same keys to invoke "hardware functions" like multiple monitors or sleep/hibernate functions.
On the t500, the "hardware functions" require the Fn key.
On the T460p the "program functions" require the Fn key. In other words, the t460p swapped the meaning of the Fn key  


Is there anyway to swap things back to the old way? (I am willing to change registry settings if needed).

I tried using the Fn lock function, but that interferes with many IDE shortcuts. For instance on both computers alt r r means Run Reset. But alt r r does not work if Fn lock is on.

My son is also a programmer, and he tells me he had to send his Lenovo back and get a different model because of this problem.

I hope there is another solution.
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Shums Faruk
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In VBA, instead of using FN Key, you can use  Key Code Constants

Here is example for using vbKeys GetAsyncKeyState
Does Lenovo supply a tool (already installed and running) for the hardware keys? If so, stop it.
The BIOS might also have the option to switch off or swap the meaning of the Fn key.
Press FN then ESC to turn on function key lock
PS: CTRL + BREAK is Fn + Ctrl + P
I have a ThinkPad X1 that does the same thing. No big deal. Change the computer if it drives you nuts.

FnLk fixes this.   FN - ESC per a prior post.

I am happy with my machine as it is.
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John
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The folks who use Fn key without problems are far more adaptable than I am.  I tried for a full day but just couldn't get the hang of it.

John's solution is perfect !

On my machine the BIOS  setting is called "F1-F12 aa primary function."

The only surprise was that multiple F1 clicks  during power up NOT getting to the BIOS.
To get to the BIOS I had to click "restart" followed by multiple F1 clicks.
(Turns out that is normal. windows 10 shutdown usually puts the machine into a fast power on mode in which F1 is ignored.  Restart gets around it.)

Thanks John
You are very welcome and I was happy to help. I basically have the same machine.
Also on a different note and for others looking in:

Fast start on a fast machine can cause a Windows Hardware error (LiveKernelEvent). This shows up in Reliability Monitor. It is possible for this error to corrupt an SSD drive (fortunately this did not happen to me). If you have this error, go to Power Options, Choose what the power buttons do, click on Change settings not normally available, and Turn Fast Start OFF. I have done this on my machine and the errors have vanished.
Thanks for the tip.  I turned off fastbackup.  It does not seem to slow things down in any noticeable manner.  Maybe a little more sluggish, but still less than two minutes from shutdown to logon complete (meaning all desktop icons visible.)

By the way John, since you have virtually the same machine, let me ask you something.  Does your printers and faxes window sometime take 2 minutes to load?  I only have 4 printers, but sometimes it pops up instantly and sometimes it takes forever.
It depends on location and printer as I have client and my own printers that are all networked. Printer load is fast (<30 seconds) but opening Devices and Printers can take a minute and a half.
My 6 year old dual core  t500 has 18 printers (4 are attached to sbs2003).  My 6 week old t460p quad core has 4 printers (3 are attached to sbs2003). Both laptops run windows 10 pro.

my t500 loads devices and printers in 1 second ALWAYS. And yes, I have already tried disabling blue tooth etc.
my t460p usually takes 2 minutes although sometimes it only takes 1 second.

I am beginning to think that Lenovo has screwed something up.  Your comment that your t460p also takes a long time seems to confirm that theory.

I will be opening another Expert Exchange question on that topic soon.  But first, I am going to reinstall the OS on the t460p.  Lenovo is mailing me the necessary media. (they no longer provide a recovery partition.)
If I say "Print this", printer is up and running in a couple of seconds.
If I say open the printer to scan (say), maybe 25 - 30 seconds.
If I open Devices and Printers (depends where) a minute or so.