I know I speak for many when I request the ability to rebind my keys to the numpad. This should not have been overlooked, and I'm shocked that not a single alpha/beta tester did not bring this easy to fix problem to the dev team. I beg you to fix this game breaking error. There is no point in fumbling around with WASD, something completely alien to me. I'm too old to relearn a new input setup for my right hand. I either play with the numpad or I don't play. In recent memory I cannot think of a game that did not allow the numpad to be used.

I request either a fix in game, where I can traditionally remap keys with ease or a more complex set of directions so that I may manually edit the necessary files to play the game accordingly. Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks.

No, you're not alone. This is a REALLY amateur interface design error. I have more than a hundred games and none of them lock out commonly used interface keys.

WASD is more common that number-key-centric schemes but it isn't the only way.

This is a *severe* disappopintment, the controls are basically crippled for you and me and a lot like us.

This is just tragically poor interface design. Seriously, no one brought this up in testing? Not one?

What in the *world* is so important about reserved keys that you tell a chunk of your audience "our way or the highway?"

I was about to write exactly the same thing.

“All the buttons can be remapped so you can flip them like that if you want”, Hine said to a fan asking on Twitter about remapping on the X360 controller. Apparently it's too much to ask on PC :/

It's impossible for me to play with WASD. I always use the numpad in every game i play. Please fix this or provide us with a way to change the keymapping.

I really want to play Skyrim, but right now i just can't.

I found a folder called ControlMap_Custom. This is a text file with 1 line of WingDing-like symbols. There doesn't appear to be anything useful for now. If i find a solution elsewhere, I will post my findings. I ask that anyone else who finds anything that can help to do the same. Thanks.

Someone posted on another thread about a program called "autohotkey."

I'm going to check that out.

But seriously, it's like having to add power windows to a new car because the dealer always used AC and never went through a toll booth.

I registered here to post about this issue (when I should be playing.. thats the importance here)

I'm a lefty and the numpad keybindings are a VERY big deal... I completely missed out on the intro fumbling with key bindings.

Also of note, the keybindings do not go with other functions... For example, rebinding left and right apparently does not affect lock picking (still likes a and d).

I also registered and made a thread about my keybind woes. If you hit Escape when binding a key, you are locked out of the main menu. Restarting does nothing, defaults button when I was in it for that one initial time did nothing, and I don't see a keybinds file in sight that isn't in broken wing dings font... I just wanted to get this noticed elsewhere and see if anyone else is having this issue as well.

I would really like to avoid using autohotkey. It changes the key bindings in the registry, thus making the numpad inoperable outside the game. In order for one to go back to default key mappings, they must restart their computer. For example, the "KP_5" key is remapped to "W" key. I use my computer for work purposes as well, so having a numpad where each key is remapped to a letter key will not work. I need the numpad for quick number entries in excel as well as other software associated with how I make a living.

By using autohotkey, one would be allowed to use the numpad technically, but the numpad will be a mish-mosh of useless keys outside of Skyrim. Furthermore, every key bind I use for every other game I play (quite a few) would have to be reconfigured to satisfy Skyrim. To ask me to reconfigure my hotkeys for every game I play besides Skyrim to enable the numpad in game is a tall order. If you do not use the numpad in any way outside of gaming, then autohotkey will work.

I would like to add my left-handed voice to say please take the reservations off the numeric keypad numerals.

I don't want to hex-edit. I don't want to use a third party program. I want to have the same options and keybinds I had in Oblivion.

This is not a small matter to lefties. Next time, a left-handed beta-tester or 10 might help you out with this sort of thing.

Thanks for listening.

I have the exact same problem. Really not in the mood to hot key all the keys. Why didn't my teachers beat this out of me when I was young then I could now also be playing issue free with the WASD keys. svcks being left.

Oh, Gad. Not more unlisted keys. I think it was FarCry2 (one of my most hated games) that had a critical key linked to one in the menu but not described, could make gamestopping bugs.

If a key does something in the game, have it in the control menu.

Hour and a half in and I haven't actually *played* yet.

(golf clap for Bethesda)

Some of the key bindings is not working when i change them to what i want, is there any solution for this or what?

I have unchecked the 360 controller that some say fix this issue, but still my bindings don't work?

Another request for keybinds to numpad. I'm in disbelief this is lacking. Back in '94 when Bethesda released Arena, the numpad was as ubiquitous, probably more so than WSAD for gaming. While its been inexplicably shunned in the past decade, any PC game should support navigation & interaction via WSAD and NUMPAD. Numpad caters better to left handers, to many veteran gamers and those are more comfortable with the layout or prefer a more consolidated interface where one doesn't have to separate their hands at least a foot and a half.

I am left handed, so I have to keybind everything really. I noticed that when you keybind, it doesn't update the contextual interface. For instance I tried to drop a weapon using "R" but it wouldn't work, because I had keybound "R" to the "Apps" key which is closer to the arrow keys. It makes me wonder if they have left-handed testers at Bethesda.

Lefty too here. Frustrated and can't play. 20 years playing with a keypad and they manage in 2011 to launch a game with such an aberation !!!

We want a fix or a mod now !!! It can't be real pls wake me up...

The file "ControlMap_Custom.txt" that is located in "STEAM\SteamApps\common\skyrim" and is created when you bind your keys/mouse to what you want looks rely weird when you open it, can that be the problem or is it supposed to look like this??

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          	       !   "   #   $   *   -   .   /   0'   1*   2!   3(   4)   5   8   9   ?   B   é   ?    ?
   ?
 €     
   
   ?   ?	   ?   ?   ?   ?   ?   ?!   ?'   ?)   ?*   ?(   ?"   ?    ?   ?   ?   ?   ?   ?   ?   ?   ?
 ?   	   !           @   €  
           	  @   € 

Same issue here with remapped keys that is not working, can't even bother to play the game as it is now.

I was about to make my own thread about this.

You cannot bind any actions to keys 1 through 8 of the numpad, regardless of whether NumLock is on or off. The game says, "Key is reserved". Presumably for hotkeys, since it's only 1 through 8; 9 and 0 are still available.

I can see what you were thinking, Bethesda, but... you just royally borked the keybind preferences of legions of left handed players by making this so, and apparently a few righties as well.

I'm going to have to fire up IntelliType and see if I can define a custom remap template for this game, so that I can play it with the keymappings that I've been using for first person games for over fifteen years, without any trouble... up until now.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yo3uxqwTxk0 please. And please do so promptly. This is not acceptable.

Add to the list another lefty who registered just to complain about this.

As many have already mentioned playing games with WASD is basically impossible for a lefty as we all use either the numpad or arrows+numpad. That Bethesda just stonewalled every left-handed persons control scheme is a HUGE disappointment. This game may be amazing but I will not learn an entire new control system, or degrade myself and use a controller (there's a reason I bought this for PC) for it.

This needs to be fixed ASAP. Preferably by Bethesda, we shouldn't have to haxx0r a brand new game just to be able to bind keys that we've been using since the dawn of computers.

A lot of the keys I remapped do not work or a wrongly advertised in the interfaces.

I remapped "right hand" to "M1" and "left hand" to "CTRL".
In game I can use them as expected, but in the interfaces "CTRL" is ignored.
The key works if I map it to another mouse button (M4) or another keyboard key (ENTER).
But of course my thumb is close to CTRL and I've used this mapping on first person since Doom so I'd like it to work.

An other, if less annoying, issue is that they are still advertised as "M1" and "M2" instead of "CTRL" and "M1".

Probably just ASCII representation of the various keys. There are 256 possible keys and only half of them really have meaningful representations in most text editors. Very (100%) likely not the problem.

Autohotkey it is, I guess, for the time being (and hopefully no more). I thought MS IntelliType would remap the normal keys on my Digital Media Pro, but it only works for the "special" keys.

Other folks having this problem - do check and see if your keyboard makers' software utility (if any) allows you to remap on an app-per-app basis.

Oh, and reminder to Bethesda: FIX IT

I used a program that remaps keys in the registry (sharpkeys) and even though the new number pad key mappings work in all windows programs, skyrim still says the number pad keys are reserved. If anyone finds a solution that's verified to work, please post it here.

Add another person who signed up specifically to log a complaint about this.

I'm one of these