M73A, I suppose you are writing your essay in Word?
In that case, it is relativly easy to disable it
Method 1: with a macro
This will work for most other keys too (similar things can be done in all other Office programs too, though the macro syntax differs a bit from application to application):
You can make a macro and overwrite the key like that. The macro consists of:
code:
Sub AutoOpen()
KeyBindings.Add wdKeyCategoryDisable, "", BuildKeyCode(wdKeyF1)
End Sub
Put that into a module (which you need to create/add in the VBA for Word editor: Tools > Macro > Visual Basic Editor > Project (whatever) > Right click > Add > Module). Save the document and turn macro's on (if you didn't already), then restart Word and reopen the document...
Method 2: simply disable F1 in Word all together
Right Click a toolbar > Change > Keyboard
(left bottom button) > Category: 'Window and help' > Command: 'Help' > Select the used key in the list (which is F1) > Remove
Close the dialogs by pressing the Close buttons.
Method 3: external apps
Or you could use an external program like
AutoHotKey, which does essentially the same, remapping a key by using a macro.
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