When it comes to computer, I’m really finicky about little things. I do a lot of tweaks to get my computer works just the way I like it. Take the keyboard for example, I do a lot of key remapping. IT guys always think my machine is busted when Ctrl-Alt Delete combo doesn’t bring up the Windows logon dialog (I swap Capslock & Ctrl keys). IT guys don’t like me.

We use Putty here a alot @ Yahoo to logon to BSD development machines and it bugs me that the right Alt key doesn’t work as a Meta key. This is due to the fact Putty is a British app and those funny Brits use a different keyboard layout that maps the key to AltGr. Enough users complained such that this little gripe became a wish list feature.

Rather than waiting for the feature, I found a simple workaround with a nifty little open-source app. called Auto Hot Key. It enables macros & key remapping.
In this case, the workaround is to simply map the right Alt key to the left Alt key with the following entry in the script:

RAlt::LAlt

Like most open source products, the GUI is lacking and requires editing scripts. Usability aside, it’s pretty powerful though and is worthwhile checking it out.