FN Key...disable/enable??

I just purchased and received a new Inspiron laptop.  I've found several posts on here about the FN key, but none seem to be addressing the simplest of issues, which is how do you make the F1-12 keys default to the F1-12 key as opposed to the "hotkey" function that is assigned to it.  An industry-specific software that I use utilized the F1-12 keys in almost every function, and I can't seriously have to keep hitting Fn+F4 every time.