Disable F1 in Windows Exporer Many power Windows XP users who frequent the F2 key for renaming files seem to have the same problem hitting the F1 key every now and then, bringing up the rather slow Windows Help and Support Center. Since there doesn't seem to be an official registry-based fix without disabling F1 completely or running a background process to trap the key, I had to figure out a hack. Here's my solution, and I think it's pretty clean.
When you press F1 in Windows Explorer, an EXE called "helpctr.exe" is run. This makes it relatively easy to get rid of this behavior, by replacing it with a dummy executable that does nothing.
Of course, if your copy of Windows is somewhere other than C:\Windows, replace any references with the correct directory.
Comments
thanks for the tip. my one problem.. dummy.exe? as in, if you download & run this you're a dummy? I know, it's probably completely trustworthy, but still, would be a great place to hide a virus. The trick works just as well if you use some built-in system process that terminates instantly when given no arguments; for instance I use "svchost.exe" in place of "C:\Windows\Dummy.exe" (another pro-laziness note - you don't have to give it a full path because the system defaults to looking for programs in the system32 folder, which is where svchost.exe and other such stuff hides. something handy to keep in mind for adding command-line tools if you're a fan of those.)
I know exactly what you mean. I figured that the 4kb file size should be a pretty good indicator that it's safe, but it's not foolproof (how much code does it take to wipe out the MBR?).
Another good replacement executable is "rundll32", which also does nothing if you give it no parameters. I just worry that something will eventually try to pass arguments to helpctr.exe and you'll get unpredictable results with built-in EXEs. My dummy.exe was written in VB5 and compressed with UPX so that it's as small as possible. I'll try to post a C++ version of my dummy file soon, along with its source code so that people can be more confident.
thanks..needed this :)
Worked splendly. Thank you for figuring this out, it's bugged me for a long time now. Thanks!
Thanks mate! Great trick!
what if you want to disable the f1 key for all programs, what should you do? Mine is stuck and won't quit popping up the help window for every other program now even with the download of dummy.exe
Buy a new keyboard? :-)
Roger, you can do what I 've done with power off key (too near del and end): I pulled it off with a screwdriver. No problem since that.
I personally prefer to disable the Help Center service so you free some resources at the same time you disable the annoying key.
any way to do this in vista?
Another option is to use AutoHotKey.
Edit your script to have F1::return There are a variety of other things AHK can do. Check it out here: http://www.autohotkey.com/
Great!
why not just rename the files, making the original something like helpctr_old.exe? i don't see the need to go messing with the registry.
m: Renaming the files would work fine, but that's not easily done because helpctr.exe is a protected binary, so Windows won't let you modify it. My instructions used to guide users through that exact process, but this method is decidedly easier.
now i understand why you can't just rename. windows won't let you delete or replace the file.
I usually just set mine to
"c:\windows\system32\fas it pops up and auto closes, but returns you to where you were in explorer... It is built in to windows, so no downloading, does not use much memory. or "c:\windows\hh.exe it is html help, if not args it opens and closes.
hi!
just want to share somethin.. disabling F1 key in Excel 2007 coz me either often using F2 to edit formulas/value and so i got this website. doiing the same technique. go to Start run.. type in regedit find for this string in the registry "C:\\Program Files\\Microsoft Office\\Office12\\CLVIEW.EXE" (without qoutes) then change with C:\Windows\dummy.exe or wherever location you like. it's good to backup your registry first: mine is here Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 [HKEY_LOCAL_MA "00002109030000000000000 That's it! Goodl uck
That's a good tip, ffphguy. Other readers should note that the Office trick seems to disable all forms of Office help, so that might be something to consider.
This is awesome! Works a charm, thanks...
but... I just thought of something... Wouldn't it be possible to change the F1 key to function the same way as F2? That way, if you accidentally hit F1 when renaming, it's no big deal because you still get the rename function?? That's what I would do if I knew how, LOL! Leave a Comment | ||
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Copyright © 2009 By Ethan Trewhitt. All rights reserved.
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