A shortcut such as Ctrl+S normally asks you to hold one key while pressing another. If that movement is difficult, Windows Sticky Keys offers a way to enter the combination sequentially.

In Windows 11, open Settings, Accessibility, Keyboard and turn on Sticky keys. Microsoft describes this feature as allowing multi-key commands one key at a time. Keep the settings window available while you try it, so you can easily return to the previous arrangement.

Choose a harmless shortcut to practise

Open a disposable text document, type a short sentence and use the application’s normal Save command once. Give the file a clearly recognisable test name.

Add another word, then try the sequential form of the save shortcut: press Ctrl and then S. Check the application’s saved-state indication, or reopen the test copy after saving through the normal controls if needed. The aim is to confirm a complete action, not merely that a keyboard setting is switched on.

Next, type an ordinary sentence and a capital letter. Confirm that modifiers are behaving as you expect between commands. If typing produces unexpected selections or commands, pause the test and review the Sticky Keys options instead of practising inside valuable work.

Keep the adaptation tied to your needs

Try the two or three shortcuts that matter in your actual program. Applications can assign different meanings to the same combination, so use that application’s documented command when choosing the test.

Explain the setting to anyone who shares the computer. A deliberate accessibility choice can otherwise be mistaken for a faulty keyboard and removed during troubleshooting.

If the physical keys fail to register, repeat or act without being pressed, record that separate symptom. Sticky Keys changes how combinations are entered; it is not a repair for damaged keys. Keep a note of the shortcuts that worked and any application where the sequence still needs another method.

Sources: Microsoft keyboard accessibility settings.