Abstract

• Devoted media keys present a extra handy and intuitive method to management media.
• Customized key bindings are a suboptimal workaround for keyboards missing media controls.
• Think about exterior choices just like the Elgato Stream Deck, however bear in mind that they are often pricey.

Having devoted media keys in your keyboard isn’t only a luxurious—should you take heed to as a lot music as I do, they’re important. After switching from a keyboard with media controls to 1 with out, I rapidly realized simply how a lot I relied on them.

It’s simple to see why media controls are so handy. You’ll be able to play, pause, monitor ahead and backward, mute, and modify quantity with a knob or slider immediately out of your keyboard.

With out them, you are caught utilizing the Fn layer (e.g., press Fn+F7 to play or pause) to manage media, which, whereas practical, is a trouble. Reaching for them and having to memorize the precise key mixtures or wanting down on the legends on the keycaps can interrupt your workflow. In case you change to custom keycaps, the legends won’t even be there.

Merely put, devoted media controls make it simpler to handle your media. They’re in a extra intuitive location (often the top-right nook), so that you spend much less time trying to find shortcuts. You’ll be able to skip by your complete playlist with out ever having to modify to Spotify. Your fingers keep on the keyboard, letting you focus in your process with out sacrificing management over your music.

In conferences, you should utilize media controls to handle movies or slideshows, as most browsers support these keys for seamless management. You gained’t must fumble together with your mouse to seek out the precise on-screen buttons, so that you’ll seem extra skilled together with your easy, easy media management. Equally, media keys might be configured in productiveness apps should you’re doing video enhancing or music manufacturing.

With the quantity knob/slider or mute button, you possibly can rapidly mute all sounds coming out of your PC with the intention to hear somebody or one thing. Happily, my new Ajazz AK820 Pro retains this characteristic, as the quantity knob can push to mute—although I nonetheless sorely miss the devoted monitor controls that my Corsair K70 had. They had been good for rapidly muting music once I wanted to give attention to a video with out distractions.

Customized Key Bindings Are a Suboptimal Band-Help Repair

In case your keyboard would not have media keys, there is a good likelihood that it not less than has an equal below the Fn (function) layer. As I briefly defined above, you possibly can management media by combining the Fn key with the F-keys. The precise structure will depend on your keyboard; for example, on my mannequin, Fn+F6 is Earlier Monitor, Fn+F7 is Play/Pause, and Fn+F8 is Subsequent Monitor. These mixtures are spaced far aside and require muscle reminiscence to press precisely with out wanting.

Due to this inconvenience, I got here up with an alternate: creating customized key bindings for media controls. I take advantage of the Web page Up and Web page Down buttons for Play/Pause and Subsequent Monitor. This fashion, I’ve two of my most used media controls immediately accessible in a handy spot on my keyboard. I haven’t got to take a look at my keyboard and attempt to keep in mind which Fn layer mixture I must hit.

Nevertheless, this additionally meant having to sacrifice my PgUp and PgDn buttons, which is a disgrace as a result of they’re surprisingly useful. If my keyboard had devoted media keys, I would nonetheless have entry to those two keys. This resolution additionally requires you to have a keyboard with first rate software program that may deal with rebinds and will not randomly cease working. Alternatively, you should utilize third-party key mapping tools.

One other downside of utilizing key bindings or Fn-hotkeys as an alternative of devoted media buttons is suggestions. Home windows 10 displayed a media management pop-up every time I pressed a media key, offering visible affirmation. Nevertheless, since I switched to Windows 11, this characteristic has been eliminated; digital media controls at the moment are situated out of sight within the Motion Middle.

After I skip a monitor, I do not see visible affirmation that my key press was registered, making it unclear whether or not the system has acknowledged the enter. That is particularly dangerous when my system freezes, as I find yourself urgent the keys a number of occasions unnecessarily.

A Stream Deck Would Be an Costly Various

Devoted media keys do not must be on the keyboard to work; they simply must exist in your desk. If you have already got a keyboard that you simply like, you could possibly get an Elgato Stream Deck (MK.2) and map your media controls (together with quite a few different helpful customizable buttons). Sadly, as cool and helpful because the Elgato Stream Deck is, it prices as a lot as keyboard with media keys. A extra budget-friendly choice is the cheaper and smaller Elgato Stream Deck Neo or Elgato Stream Deck Mini to get your media keys together with just a few customizable buttons.

For one thing even cheaper, you could possibly go for an alternate product like this generic macro pad and even use a spare telephone or pill with the Deckboard app. Nevertheless, these options would possibly lag, glitch, and simply not work in addition to a Stream Deck.

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Whereas there are just a few workarounds in case your keyboard would not have devoted media keys, it is finally extra handy to purchase a mannequin that features them. You’ll be able to at all times mod your keyboard with media keys or swap out the switches (simpler if it is a hot-swappable model) to get a nicer keyboard, however you possibly can’t add performance that wasn’t in-built from the beginning. Happily, there are plenty of keyboards with media keys to go well with all preferences.