Adjusting How Quickly Your Keyboard Responds

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated February 24, 2020)

One of the primary input devices used for most desktop computers is the keyboard. (I know when I'm writing these tips, I'd have a very hard time doing it without a keyboard!) Like any other device connected to your computer, Windows allows you to adjust how it interacts with your system.

The biggest way you can adjust your keyboard is to change the speed at which it reacts to you. Specifically, you can adjust how long you have to hold down keys in order to have them start repeating and, once they start repeating, how quickly the repeating occurs. This adjustment comes in handy if you tend to rest your fingers "heavily" on keys or if you tend to leave keys depressed longer than you want. Here's how to make the adjustments:

  1. Display the Control Panel.
  2. In the search box (upper-right corner of the Control Panel window) type "keyboard" (without the quotes). Windows displays several matching options.
  3. Click the Keyboard link. Windows displays the Keyboard Properties dialog box with the Speed tab selected. (See Figure 1.)

    4. Figure 1. The Keyboard Properties dialog box.

  4. Use the Repeat Delay slider to adjust how long a key needs to be held down before it starts repeating.
  5. Use the Repeat Rate slider to adjust how quickly a key repeats while you're holding it down.
  6. Click on OK to close the Keyboard Properties dialog box.
  7. Close the Control Panel.

There is no "proper" setting for these controls; you should simply set them so that you can comfortably use the keyboard and have it react as you expect.

 This tip (13420) applies to Windows 7, 8, and 10.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Freezing the Top Three Rows

Excel allows you to freeze rows or columns in your worksheet so that they don't scroll. How you freeze them can be a bit ...

Discover More

Locking Worksheet Names

Want to stop other people from changing the names of your worksheets? You can provide the desired safeguard by using the ...

Discover More

Viewing Your Entire Document Width

The Zoom tool is very useful to help you see all of your document information. Here's how to make sure you can see all ...

Discover More
More WindowsTips

Sharing Resources on a Network

Business or home networks can make efficient use of resources by sharing them. You can establish a print server and/or a ...

Discover More

Disabling USB Selective Suspending

USB Selective Suspending allows Windows to automatically (and without warning) suspend USB ports. Discover how to ...

Discover More

Organizing the All Programs Menu

All of the programs installed on your system are visible when you choose All Programs from the Start menu. If you want to ...

Discover More
Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is one minus 0?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)

Newest Tips
Links and Sharing
OUR COMPANY
OUR PRODUCTS
OUR SITES
 

Copyright © 2025 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.