8.4. Disabling Ease of Access Shortcut Keys

Kioskit does not disable the Ease of Access or Accessibility shortcut keys. For example, pressing the Shift key five times consecutively will trigger a message box and bring up the taskbar, which user can use to access the Control Panel and other files or folders. Fortunately, administrators can disable the keys in the Control Panel easily to prevent the message boxes from showing up when the Ease of Access shortcut keys are pressed by users or operators.

Windows Vista and Windows 7

On the main page of Control Panel, select "Ease of Access".

Control Panel

On the "Ease of Access" page, the administrator needs to configure the two highlighted sections.

Ease of Access page in Control Panel

Select "Change how your keyboard works" on the Ease of Access page in control panel, the configuration page "Make the keyboard easier to use" shows up. First, uncheck the checkbox for "Turn on Toggle Keys by holding down the NUM LOCK for 5 seconds".

Configuration Page

Next, select "Set up Mouse Keys". The following page will show up. Uncheck the checkbox for "Turn on Mouse Keys with left ALT + left SHIFT + NUM LOCK". Click on the "Apply" button at the bottom right corner.

Disable the shortcut keys for Mouse Keys

Go back to the previous page, which is "Make the keyboard easier to use". Select "Set up Sticky Keys". The following page will show up. Uncheck the checkbox for "Turn on Sticky Keys when SHIFT is pressed five times". Click on the "Apply" button at the bottom right corner.

Disable the shortcut keys for Sticky Keys

Go back to the previous page, which is "Make the keyboard easier to use". Select "Set up Filter Keys". The following page will show up. Uncheck the checkbox for "Turn on Filter Keys when right SHIFT is pressed for 8 seconds". Click on the "Apply" button at the bottom right corner.

Disable the shortcut keys for Filter Keys

Go back to the "Ease of Access" page in the Control Panel. Choose "Optimize visual display". The following page will show up. Uncheck the checkbox for "Turn on or off High Contrast when left ALT + left SHIFT + PRINT SCREEN is pressed". Click on the "Apply" button at the bottom right corner.

Disable the shortcut keys for High Contrast

Windows XP

The following are the steps to disable the Accessibility shortcut keys in Windows XP.

Control Panel in Windows XP

Select "Accessibility Options" on the Control Panel main page and the following window will appear.

Accessibility Options - Keyboard settings

On the "Keyboard" tab, click on the "Settings" button in the "StickyKeys" section. The following window will appear. Uncheck the checkbox for "Use shortcut" in the "Keyboard shortcut" section. Click on the "OK" button at the bottom of the window.

Disable the shortcut keys for StickyKeys

On the "Keyboard" tab under "Accessibility Options" window, click on the "Settings" button in the "FilterKeys" section. The following window will appear. Uncheck the checkbox for "Use shortcut" in the "Keyboard shortcut" section. Click on the "OK" button at the bottom of the window.

Disable the shortcut keys for FilterKeys

On the "Keyboard" tab under "Accessibility Options" window, click on the "Settings" button in the "ToggleKeys" section. The following window will appear. Uncheck the checkbox for "Use shortcut" in the "Keyboard shortcut" section. Click on the "OK" button at the bottom of the window.

Disable the shortcut keys for ToggleKeys

The following window shows the contents of the "Display" tab under "Accessibility Options" window.

Accessibility Options - Display settings

Click on the "Settings" button in the "High Contrast" section. The following window will appear. Uncheck the checkbox for "Use shortcut" in the "Keyboard shortcut" section. Click on the "OK" button at the bottom of the window.

Disable the shortcut keys for High Contrast

The following window shows the contents of the "Mouse" tab under "Accessibility Options" window.

Accessibility Options - Mouse settings

Click on the "Settings" button in the "MouseKeys" section. The following window will appear. Uncheck the checkbox for "Use shortcut" in the "Keyboard shortcut" section. Click on the "OK" button at the bottom of the window.

Disable the shortcut keys for MouseKeys