Remap arrow keys onto JKLI whenever holding down a certain modifier key

Question

I'm just wondering if there's a way that I can hold down the control key or something and use my jkli keys as arrow keys. I think it will be easier to program. Is that possible? Thanks.

Answer 1

Here's the .ahk script I use.

It remaps arrow keys to ALT + I / J / K / L.

NoEnv  ; Recommended for performance and compatibility with future AutoHotkey releases.
; #Warn  ; Enable warnings to assist with detecting common errors.
SendMode Input  ; Recommended for new scripts due to its superior speed and reliability.
SetWorkingDir %A_ScriptDir%  ; Ensures a consistent starting directory.

; AHK Command       ; key   = Effect        (Description)   

; ALT Keypress Implied for all below

!i::Send {UP}       ; i UP          (Cursor up line)
!k::Send {DOWN}     ; k DOWN            (Cursor down line)

!j::Send {LEFT}     ; j LEFT        (Cursor left one character)
!l::Send {RIGHT}    ; l RIGHT       (Cursor right one character)

!h::Send {HOME}     ; h     ALT + RIGHT (Cursor to beginning of line)
!;::Send {END}      ; ; ALT + LEFT  (Cursor to end of line)

!u::Send ^{HOME}    ; h     SHIFT + HOME    (Cursor to beginning of document)
!o::Send ^{END}     ; o SHIFT + END (Cursor to end of document)

; CTRL + ALT Keypress Implied for all below

!^j::Send ^{LEFT}   ; j     CTRL + LEFT (Cursor left per word)
!^l::Send ^{RIGHT}  ; l CTRL + RIGHT    (Cursor right per word)

; SHIFT + ALT Keypress Implied for all below

!+i::Send +{UP}     ; i SHIFT + UP  (Highlight per line)
!+k::Send +{DOWN}   ; k SHIFT + DOWN    (Highlight per line)

!+j::Send +{LEFT}   ; j SHIFT + LEFT    (Highlight per character)
!+l::Send +{RIGHT}  ; l SHIFT + RIGHT   (Highlight per character)

!+h::Send +{HOME}   ; h SHIFT + ALT + LEFT  (Highlight to beginning of line)
!+;::Send +{END}    ; ; SHIFT + ALT + RIGHT (Hightlight to end of line) 

!+u::Send ^+{HOME}  ; u SHIFT + CTRL + HOME (Highlight to beggininng of document)
!+o::Send ^+{END}   ; o SHIFT + CTRL + END  (Hightlight to end of document) 

; SHIFT + CTRL + ALT Keypress Implied for all below

!+^j::Send +^{LEFT}     ; j SHIFT + CTRL + LEFT (Highlight per word)
!+^l::Send +^{RIGHT}    ; l SHIFT + CTRL + RIGHT    (Hightlight per word)

!+^i::Send +!{UP}   ; i SHIFT + ALT + UP    (Multiply cursor up)
!+^k::Send +!{DOWN} ; k SHIFT + ALT + DOWN  (Multiply cursor down) 

; CTRL + SHIFT Keypress Implied for all below

+^i::Send +^{UP}
+^k::Send +^{DOWN}

Everything after a ; is a comment.

To decipher, use: https://autohotkey.com/docs/Hotkeys.htm

Answer 2

Also using AutoHotKey, I really wanted to have key navigation for CAPSLOCK, which is trickier than the special modifier keys (Ctrl, Alt, etc). The trick ended up being using the built-in function GetKeyState(...).

I am sharing my results below. The autohotkey script below is based off of nafzal's answer here, but I made it a bit cleaner :)

; Main Navigation
CAPSLOCK & j::MoveCursor("{LEFT}")
CAPSLOCK & l::MoveCursor("{RIGHT}")
CAPSLOCK & i::MoveCursor("{UP}")
CAPSLOCK & k::MoveCursor("{DOWN}")
CAPSLOCK & h::MoveCursor("{HOME}")
CAPSLOCK & `;::MoveCursor("{END}")
CAPSLOCK & BACKSPACE::Send {DELETE}

; Navigation Combos
MoveCursor(key) {
    shift := GetKeyState("SHIFT","P")
    control := GetKeyState("CONTROL","P")
    controlShift := control && shift

    if controlShift {
        Send, ^+%key%
    }
    else if shift {
        Send, +%key%
    }
    else if control {
        Send, ^%key%
    }
    else {
        Send, %key%
    }
}

; Alternatively, using Alt...
ALT & j::MoveCursor("{LEFT}")
ALT & l::MoveCursor("{RIGHT}")
ALT & i::MoveCursor("{UP}")
ALT & k::MoveCursor("{DOWN}")
ALT & h::MoveCursor("{HOME}")
ALT & `;::MoveCursor("{END}")
ALT & BACKSPACE::Send {DELETE}