Short answer
Windows has no setting to turn Caps Lock into copy and paste. You can remap it to another key with Microsoft PowerToys, but to copy with one tap and paste with two, you need a small app like Capslock-CopyPaste.
Think about how often you press Ctrl + C and Ctrl + V in a day. Now think about how often you need CAPITALS that last longer than one word. Caps Lock has the best spot on the keyboard, right under your left little finger, and for most people it's the least useful key there.
What Windows lets you do
Windows has no built-in setting to change what Caps Lock does. The closest is Microsoft PowerToys, a free set of tools from Microsoft. Its Keyboard Manager can turn Caps Lock into another single key, like Ctrl or Esc.
That helps, but it isn't copy and paste: you would still press two keys for each.
One tap to copy, two taps to paste
This is how I set up my own keyboard:
- Tap Caps Lock once to copy what you selected.
- Tap it twice quickly to paste.
- Press Ctrl + Caps Lock twice to paste as plain text, without the website's fonts and colours.
- Press Shift + Caps Lock when you really need CAPITALS.
A small note next to your mouse tells you it worked: Copied! or Pasted! If nothing was selected, your old clipboard is kept, so you never lose what you copied before by accident.
It works with text, pictures and files, in every app, including Word, Gmail and File Explorer.
Set it up
- Download Capslock-CopyPaste. It's free and there's nothing to install.
- Double-click the file and click Yes when Windows asks.
- Select some text and tap Caps Lock.
To have it start with your PC, right-click its icon next to the clock and tick Start with Windows. Need normal Caps Lock back for a while? Choose Pause from the same menu.