All You Need To Know About Filter Keys

Filter keys are a great way to save time. You can filter out the things you do not need and end up with what is truly important in your life. It is easy to get lost in all of the noise you see, hear and read every day. The keys help you cut through it and find what you’re looking for more quickly than ever before.

A filter key is an accessibility feature that teaches the keyboard to avoid unwanted or repeated keystrokes. Microsoft built this feature to make typing easier for people with hand wobble.

Filter keys are the feature of Microsoft Windows Accessibility and are beneficial for the person with slow or mistaken finger movement. People with hand tremors might press the same key repeatedly, which is where the filter key work.

The Function And Use Of Filter Keys

If you hold a keyboard key, it will continuously type the same letter until you release that key. After enabling filter keys on the keyboard, you can get rid of this continuous registration of the letters while pressing the same key. This feature is helpful in typing if you are walking or you have hand tremors. It also slows down the rate of repetition of the letters.

This feature is comparably different from sticky keys and toggles keys, as they are also part of the Windows Accessibility option. This feature is comparably additional from sticky keys and toggles keys, which are also the features of Windows Accessibility options.

How To Turn On Filter Keys?

When we talk about accessibility, Microsoft has a great hand in helping people who are disabled. Also, they help to slow brief or repeated keystrokes.

To turn on the filter keys in Windows 11 and 10, you must go through the following steps.

• Open up the start menu of your windows and select settings.
• In settings, click the accessibility option from the left side.

• Now, scroll your cursor towards the bottom side and choose the keyboard option.
• On the keyboard option page, you will find out a sticky key and filter critical tabs.

When you click on the sticky key and filter key tab, there will appear different options. Turn on the filter keys from there. Additionally, more options, i.e., tones productions, a keyboard shortcut key, and much more. If you want these, you can turn them on, and if you don’t want them, turn them off.

You can also switch the filter keys on by pressing the right shift key of your keyboard continuously for 8 seconds. But first, you have to activate from the computer settings of the access center.

Default Settings of Filter Keys

Filter keys are licensed via the Accessibility option in the control panel. Alternatively, you can activate the filter key by pressing the shift button on the keyboard for eight seconds.

Filters key is related to following default setting.

• Slow keys: Slow keys specify the duration for which a person must press and hold a key until the system accepts that keypress. This feature is very beneficial for a physically disabled person.
• Bounce keys: This feature instructs the windows to ignore the unintended keystrokes. It is a benefit for you when you accidentally hit the same button twice.
• Repeat keys: This feature adjusts or disables the repeat rate of the words.

Configuration Screen Setup

On the configuration screen, you can enable,

• Time a computer should wait for accepting the first keystroke.
• Period a computer should stay for subsequently repeated keystrokes.
• How much time do you much wait before the computer agrees with the keystroke?

You can try your choices in the text test box to setup filter keys when options are applied.

Tones Produced By Filter Keys

This feature is also excellent because you can determine whether a filter key is on or off by tone.

• If you press the SHIFT key on the right side of the keyboard for 4 seconds, it will send you a beep sound warning that you will enable filter keys.
• The following settings will appear if you keep it on hold for another 4 seconds (8 seconds in total).

Repeat keys: ON

Slow keys: ON

Bounce keys: OFF

• If you still hold for another 8 seconds (16 seconds in total), you will hear two rising tones triggering the Emergency level 1 filter key setting.

Repeat keys: OFF

Slow keys: OFF

Bounce keys: On

• If you still hold the shift key for another 4 seconds (16+4=20 seconds), you will hear three rising tones, and Emergency level 2 with the following parameters will appear.

Repeat keys: OFF

Slow keys: ON

Bounce keys: OFF

You can also select the filter key option to notify when a key is pressed for long. This sound seems annoying from the user’s point of view, so if you want to disable it, go to filter settings and disable this function. You can also check the best internet browsers for help.

How To Turn Off Filter Keys?

In the control panel of the Windows, you can switch off the filter keys by following ways

• Head towards the start menu and open up the control panel.
• There will be an option of “Ease of Access” in the control panel.
• From that tab, you will see further checks.
• Select “Change how your keyboard works” from that keyboard tab.
• Deselect the “Turn on filter keys” and apply the settings.

Windows 7, 8, and the remaining windows have slightly different methods as compared to windows 10 and 11. And the working of filter keys is the best in windows 10 and 11.

Summing Up

This blog post covered everything you need to know about filter keys, from what they are to how to use them. We hope that by reading this article, you will better understand the value of filter keys and their impact on your success. If there’s a question or topic you would like us to cover in more detail, let us know. We’ll be glad to help you!