Re-assign/override hotkey (Win + L) to lock windows

Question

Is it possible to re-assign the Win+L hotkey to another executable/shortcut?

Use-case - I would like to switch off the monitor of my laptop as soon as it is locked. I know of a executable which can lock and turn off the monitor but I do not want to change the way the system is locked (by running the program explicitly or by some other shortcut). It would be best if Win+L can be assigned to this executable.

Forwarder

Answer 1

You need to set the following registry key to completely disable the Windows locking feature:

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System]
"DisableLockWorkstation"=dword:00000001

And restart the computer.

This works on Win7, Win8 and Win10

Armentrout

This is the correct answer. I had tried this without the "System" key previously which doesn't work. But yes, this one works on Win8, as well as Win7. I've pasted the .reg file contents into a new answer for convenience of all concerned. – Comedian

You can read more about this, and download a "reg" file ready to import, from here: howtogeek.com/howto/windows-vista/… – Yoder

I got a very newbee question. Should I save your [HKEY-...] info in a file with .reg suffix, and then execute it? – Runnymede

This answer save my life. – Runnymede

Doesn't this completely disable locking the workstation? – Severus

Keep in mind that this doesn't just disable win+l, but locking in its entirety. It will disable lock in Start > Shutdown, lock on resume/wake, etc. – Kodiak

Saving registry immediately works without restart. I tested on Windows 11. – Basenji

Answer 2

The registry-based solution on its own completely disables locking the system (even via the Start menu).

Here is a method that actually provides a way to lock the computer without the Win-L chord. Locking can either be done via a shortcut on the taskbar or by pressing them in sequence followed by Enter.

First, create a batch file that can toggle system locking and trigger the lock itself; instructions for doing this are taken from a forum post:

• Create reg-edit files for turning system locking on or off. This is the same as in Brent Foust's answer.

  • In DisableLockWorkstation.reg:

     Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
     [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System]
     "DisableLockWorkstation"=dword:00000001
    

  • In EnableLockWorkstation.reg:

      Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
    
      [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System]
      "DisableLockWorkstation"=-
    

• Run the reg-edit script for disabling the system lock.

• Create a batch file to toggle the feature using the .reg files:

  regedit /S EnableLockWorkstation.reg
  rundll32.exe user32.dll,LockWorkStation
  regedit /S DisableLockWorkstation.reg
  

Now, you can create a shortcut and pin it to the taskbar:

• Right-click on the batch file and create a shortcut.
• Right-click on the new shortcut, edit the shortcut properties, and change target to cmd.exe /C "<path>\lock.bat", where <path> is the full path to the lock.bat file.
• The shortcut should now be pinnable to the taskbar (this is not true prior to manually changing the target); it can be dragged there as normal.
  • (Note that you may also want to change the icon to something like a padlock before pinning the shortcut to the taskbar.)

As mentioned above, once you've completed the above procedure, you should be able to lock the computer using Win, L, Enter in sequence (not as a chord--though see below for a solution using Ctrl-Alt-L as a chord). This is because that sequence is interpreted as follows:

• Win -- brings up the Start menu, although you don't actually need to wait for it to load
• L -- searches for the custom lock-script; on my machine, the lock.bat shortcut was always the first L result if it was the only shortcut on my taskbar starting with L. (Verify this before attempting to lock your computer this way!)
• Enter -- once the search finds an item, it will be launched--i.e. the shortcut will be called, and your computer will lock. You do not need to wait for the search to load; you can quickly press Win, L, Enter in sequence and walk away. The screen will not lock immediately, but it should lock within a few seconds.

Below is a picture of the taskbar shortcut I made (using this icon):

---

EDIT: Using a chord, such as Ctrl-Alt-L

In the comments below, user lub094 suggests a way to assign the shortcut to the chord Ctrl-Alt-L (or whatever shortcut you'd like). I have not taken the time to test this because I've re-enabled the system shortcut, but I assume that it works.

• Use the built-in shortcut-creation feature to assign the chord:

• Place the shortcut itself in the Start Menu folder:

  "C:\Users\ [user_name]\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\ [custom_folder]\"
  

Severus

This is the correct answer. It shows how the built in hotkey can be disabled and how you can create your own, assigning one for the file shortcut. Just like to add one thing: to be able to execute the new hotkey, you need the shortcut in some system available folder. I think it should be in a folder that's in the system environment variables, such folders are the libraries. – Wil

@Wil Thank you! I've added that information to the answer. – Severus

Also for true hotkeys you can use the windows built in feature like this: i.imgur.com/T4KYX9k.png?1 – Wil

@Wil Oh, that looks very convenient. Is that new in Windows 8 or 10, or is that available in 7? – Severus

It's available in Windows 7 too. – Wil

Okay, I've tried assigning Ctl-Alt-L to my shortcut-to-lock.bat as in your example, but that key-combination doesn't appear to actually do anything, even when I've got the shortcut pinned to the taskbar. Any idea what I might be missing? – Severus

To make it work I had to place the shortcut in the Start Menu folder "C:\Users\ [user_name]\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\ [custom_folder]\": i.imgur.com/3bro1Pi.png. If it doesn't start working right away, I've found that changing the hotkey combination a couple of times fixes it. – Wil

@Wil Thank you. When I get some free time I'll test that out and re-write my answer accordingly. – Severus

@Wil It's been a year and a half since you've made your suggestion and I haven't had any reason to disable the standard Win-L shortcut again, so I've gone ahead and added your contribution to the answer even though I haven't tested it. Thanks again! – Severus

It is worth noting that anyone who needs to make a .reg file needs to have the "Hide extensions for known file types" setting disabled in their file explorer settings. – City

@City Thanks! – Severus

Answer 3

The Win+L is a system assigned hotkey and there's no option to disable it. This means there's no way for an application to detect it, unless you use a low-level global keyboard hook (WH_KEYBOARD_LL). This works in XP SP3; haven't tested it in Vista though:

LRESULT CALLBACK LowLevelKeyboardProc(int code, WPARAM wparam, LPARAM lparam) {
    KBDLLHOOKSTRUCT& kllhs = *(KBDLLHOOKSTRUCT*)lparam;
    if (code == HC_ACTION) {
        // Test for an 'L' keypress with either Win key down.
        if (wparam == WM_KEYDOWN && kllhs.vkCode == 'L' && 
            (GetAsyncKeyState(VK_LWIN) < 0 || GetAsyncKeyState(VK_RWIN) < 0))
        {
            // Place some code here to do whatever you want.
            // ...

            // Return non-zero to halt message propagation
            // and prevent the Win+L hotkey from getting activated.
            return 1;
        }
    }
    return CallNextHookEx(0, code, wparam, lparam);
}

Note that you need a low-level keyboard hook. A normal keyboard hook (WH_KEYBOARD) won't catch hotkey events.

Bombard

@elmarco, yes, it does work in XP. Maybe Vista/7 have become more strict about letting the system hotkeys get overridden? Also, make sure your DLL is 64-bit if you're trying this in a 64-bit OS. – Bombard

my app is 64-bit, on a 64-bit system. It blocks other keys fine, but not win+l – Inspired

You're right. I just tested it on Win7 x64 and it seems that Win+L is handled specially (returning non-0 from the hook doesn't block the Lock Screen). To be honest, I don't blame them for doing this. So, it seems that FrancoisB's suggestion of disabling locking via a policy is the proper way to do this in Win7+ (and perhaps Vista too). – Bombard

Answer 4

Looks like you can't.

You can disable all built-in Windows hotkeys except Win+L and Win+U by making the following change to the registry (this should work on all OSes but a reboot is probably required):

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer NoWinKeys REG_DWORD 0x00000001 (1)

(http://www.autohotkey.com/docs/misc/Override.htm)

But you could try using Tweak UI. Under the Explorer tree view item, uncheck "Enabled Windows+X" hotkeys. Hoekey also might work, haven't tried it. Source.

Earwax

Has to do with the fact that this is being registered by Winlogon, not Explorer - so this would be the wrong section to look for settings. A hook can be used to emulate the functionality of registered hotkeys (as mentioned in this topic and elsewhere). – Twyla

Why Win+U? Why does Microsoft force accessibility if it is not being used? :roll: – Dixie

Answer 5

The @FrancoisB method works for Win8 and Win7. To automate the solution:

1. Create a text file with the .reg suffix (DisableWinL.reg, for example)

2. Paste the following content and save the file:

   [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System]
   "DisableLockWorkstation"=dword:00000001
   

3. Open that file with RegEdit (double-click should work) to execute the change.

   This file can be copied to a new machine to repeat the process. And another one named something like "EnableWinL.reg" could be created that re-enables the Win+L key:

   [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System]
   "DisableLockWorkstation"=dword:00000000
   

Comedian