Backup and Restore Sticky Keys Settings in Windows 10

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Windows 10 inherits a useful feature from previous versions of the OS. It is called Sticky Keys. When enabled, it will allow you to press and release a modifier key (Shift, Ctrl, or Alt) and then press the next key in the shortcut sequence instead of holding it.

Sticky keys is an accessibility feature of some graphical user interfaces to assist users who have physical disabilities. The Sticky Keys feature makes a modifier key remain active until another key is pressed. This lets you press a single key at a time to access a keyboard shortcut. For example, you need to press Ctrl + Shift + A. With Sticky Keys enabled, you can press and release the Ctrl key, then the Shift key, and finally the A key. You don’t have to press all three keys down at once.

Pressing a modifier key once locks a modifier key down until the user presses a non-modifier key. Pressing a modifier key twice locks the key until the user presses the same modifier key a third time.

In Windows 10, you can customize the options of the Sticky Keys feature in Settings or using the classic Control Panel app.

Once you change them, you might want to create a backup copy of the options. Here is how it can be done.

To Backup Sticky Keys Settings in Windows 10,

  1. Open a new command prompt.
  2. Type or copy-paste and run the following command: reg export "HKCU\Control Panel\Accessibility\StickyKeys" "%UserProfile%\Desktop\StickyKeys.reg".
  3. This will create the StickyKeys.reg file in your Desktop folder that contains your preferences. Copy it to some safe location to restore it later.

Restore Sticky Keys Settings in Windows 10

  1. Open File Explorer.
  2. Navigate to the folder where you store your backup copy of the Sticky Keys settings.
  3. Double-click on the StickyKeys.reg file.
  4. Confirm the operation.
  5. To make the changes done by the Registry tweak take effect, you need to sign out and sign in to your user account.

You are done.

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Author: Sergey Tkachenko

Sergey Tkachenko is a software developer who started Winaero back in 2011. On this blog, Sergey is writing about everything connected to Microsoft, Windows and popular software. Follow him on Telegram, Twitter, and YouTube.

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