Is there any keyboard shortcut to change case anywhere? By 'anywhere' I mean not in a particular program or software. We know Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V will work anywhere. Just like this, is there any keyboard shortcut to change case?
8 Answers
I'm assuming you aren't speaking of the CAPSLOCK key. That would be too obvious. You wish to change current text to upper case that is already on the screen to uppercase correct? If so then in short... No. Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V, and Ctrl+X are universal partly because it is part of Windows. It sounds like you don't want a software solution so that really cuts your answer to a quick "No there isn't a standard shortcut key to upper case all words"
Having slogged through several pages of Google results for "Windows 10 toggle text case" I eventually found this free utility that does the job change text caps in any-program.
Having installed the program and run it, you can use the shortcuts Win+Alt+[key] to convert selected text to the desired case:
+Alt+u = UPPERCASE
+Alt+l = lowercase
+Alt+t = Title Case
+Alt+s = Sentence case
It seems to work in most programs and in Windows dialogs, in fact so far I haven't found anywhere it doesn't work, but it's not guaranteed to work absolutely everywhere.
Bug: If no text is selected, the keyboard shortcuts will (sometimes) insert the contents of the clipboard in the appropriate case.
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1This program costs $17 (otherwise, free version allows 20 uses per week). Jan 12 at 7:53
There is a way, but it is program dependent.
For example, in Microsoft Word and some other program you can use Shift+F3 to cycle between UPPERCASE, lowercase and Sentence case.
But, as aforementioned, this is program specific and not universal.
I too have wanted this for ages as I do something similar on my Mac with WordService. I managed to get AutoHotkey to work - it's free and you can download the program as a zip file rather than having to run an installer, which is handy for those of us who don't have admin rights.
I created the following .ahk text file:
^+u:: ; Convert selected text to uppercase. ; This actually runs regardless of whether some text is selected or not, ; with varying results. A better version would check for text being selected ; before doing anything, if that is possible. oCB := ClipboardAll ; save clipboard contents Send, ^c ; Send Ctrl+C to copy whatever is currently selected ClipWait,1 ; Improves reliability s:=Format("{:U}",ClipBoard) ; Convert to uppercase, save in 's' var ClipBoard := oCB ; return original Clipboard contents Send, %s% ; Send the contents of the 's' var return
...which I then activate by running the file with AutoHotkeyU64.exe. I can then select some text and press Ctrl+Shift+U to convert to uppercase.
It's a bit clunky - you see the characters being pasted back one by one, and thus an Undo undoes every character individually, and it runs regardless of whether you actually have text selected or not. But it's still better than having to delete the word(s) and retype them in uppercase.
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This seems to work if I have just letters. But certain punctuation marks disappear or seem to result in errors: e.g. I tried "soingsdh1234567890-=~!@#$%^&*()_+;'[]:",.<>SHDSHdfhgfh" and got only "SOINGSDH1234567890-=~" (and got the Windows error message sound effect). Jan 12 at 7:44
Yes, sometimes -- In Windows 10 [ugh] WordPad, I can toggle upper/lower by highlighting the text, then clicking CTL+SHFT+A - hey, it's worth a try. -- If I type "Name" and want it all caps, I select the entire thing - and it's "NAME". -- If I accidentally typed "name", likewise it becomes "NAME". -- Of interest was, if I did "Name" to "NAME" and then decided to go back, it would go back to "Name" not "name", so what you select to toggle could be important down the line.
I'd say SHIFT + F3, but it's not universal.
•1st hit capitalize
•2nd hit all caps
•3rd hit all lowercase
(Zoom, wordpad Ok, notepad ko)
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As an aside, in Word, this combination is even cleverer. If the selected text ends in a punctuation mark, then the cycle goes lower, Sentence case, UPPER. If it does not end in a punctuation mark it goes lower, Title Case, UPPER. (in the second example it capitalises every word, whereas Sentence case only ever capitalises the first letter).– AdamVSep 14, 2022 at 10:54
I would like to comment on user535673 answer but have insufficient reputation.
That answer converts to upper case but the question specifies 'change case'. Common case change operations include to UPPER, to lower, to Title.
The code in the answer can be duplicated twice to give the other two operations and shortcuts.
to lower (Ctrl+Shift+L)
^+l::
; Convert selected text to lowercase.
; This actually runs regardless of whether some text is selected or not,
; with varying results. A better version would check for text being selected
; before doing anything, if that is possible.
oCB := ClipboardAll ; save clipboard contents
Send, ^c ; Send Ctrl+C to copy whatever is currently selected
ClipWait,1 ; Improves reliability
s:=Format("{:L}",ClipBoard) ; Convert to lowercase, save in 's' var
ClipBoard := oCB ; return original Clipboard contents
Send, %s% ; Send the contents of the 's' var
return
to Title (Ctrl+Shift+T)
^+t::
; Convert selected text to title case.
; This actually runs regardless of whether some text is selected or not,
; with varying results. A better version would check for text being selected
; before doing anything, if that is possible.
oCB := ClipboardAll ; save clipboard contents
Send, ^c ; Send Ctrl+C to copy whatever is currently selected
ClipWait,1 ; Improves reliability
s:=Format("{:T}",ClipBoard) ; Convert to title case, save in 's' var
ClipBoard := oCB ; return original Clipboard contents
Send, %s% ; Send the contents of the 's' var
return
Using AutoHotKey:
;Windows Key+Alt+Numpad1 converts selected text to UPPER CASE ("The quick brown fox" becomes "THE QUICK BROWN FOX")
#!Numpad1::
Clipboard := ""
Sleep 150
Send ^c
Clipwait
Stringupper, clipboard, clipboard
Send ^v
return
;Windows Key+Alt+Numpad2 converts selected text to all lower case ("The quick brown fox" becomes "the quick brown fox")
#!Numpad2::
Clipboard := ""
Sleep 150
Send ^c
Clipwait
Stringlower, clipboard, clipboard
Send ^v
return
;Windows Key+Alt+Numpad3 capitalizes each word in selected text (i.e. for each word, first letter UPPER CASE, remaining letters lower case) ("The quick brown fox" becomes "The Quick Brown Fox")
#!Numpad3::
Clipboard := ""
Sleep 150
Send ^c
Clipwait
Stringlower, clipboard, clipboard, T
Send ^v
return