Keyboard
ALT (Alternate) Key
Doesn't do anything by itself. But if you hold it down while pressing another key, the effect of that key may be different from usual. Exactly what will happen will depend on what program is running at the time.
Function keys
Becoming more standardized as to what they do. For example, F1 is most often used to access the Help file for a program.
The vertical bar |
Called a pipe
ESC (Escape) Key
Cancels actions in progress before they finish. Also closes certain dialogs.
CTRL (Control) key
Does nothing all by itself. It must be pressed in combination with other keys. When used in combination, the key changes the normal effect of a key.
Page Up
Navigation key. Moves the cursor up the displayed area one screen's worth. It does not usually move a literal page at a time. That would depend on the height of a page.
Function Keys
Numbered F1, F2, F3,....F12. These are programmable keys. Programs can assign actions to these keys. So the same key might produce different results in different programs.
Location of the two Enter Keys
One by the middle row of alphabet letters and one on the numeric keypad.
Alphabet Keys
Where the alphabet letters and some punctuation marks are in three rows.
Typewriter
Where the layout of the keys are borrowed
Disk Operating System
DOS
Delete
Erases the character just to the right of the cursor. Any text beyond the erased character is moved to the left.
Backspace
Erases the character on the left of the cursor and moves the cursor that direction, too.
Laptop computers
Have fewer keys but have an additional Fn key that can be combined with other keys to replace the missing keys.
Page Down
Navigation key. Drops the displayed area down the page one screen's worth. It doesn't necessarily move a whole literal page at a time. That would depend on the height of a page.
Enter Keys
In word processing, it acts like the Return key on a typewriter by starting a new line. It is also used in place of a mouse click with buttons and drop-down menus. In a spreadsheet, the key usually registers the value you just typed in a cell and moves the focus to a different cell.
pipe | symbol
Included on the Backslash key
Fn - Function
Laptops and keyboards for other languages often have an additional key for combining with other keys, this key is usually on the left or right side of the left side CTRL key and its label is usually in a different color. It is sometimes at the top left of a very small keyboard.
Tab Key
Moves the cursor over to the right to a pre-set point. This is especially used in word processing to line up text vertically.
Home
Navigation key. Moves the cursor to the beginning of the current line.
End
Navigation key. Moves the cursor to the end of the current line.
The Windows key
Opens the Windows Start menu. It can be combined with other keys, like Win + M minimizes all windows.
Context Menu key
Opens the right-click context menu for whatever you have selected.
Computer control keys
Power Off, Sleep, Wake Up.
Shift Key
Press this with a numeric/symbol key to produce the character at the top of the key.
Toggle key
Repeatedly pressing it will alternate between two effects.
Print Screen, Scroll Lock, Pause/Break
Screen control keys
Favorites, Back, Forward, Refresh
Special keys on a Web Browsing keyboard
Volume control, Play, Stop, Pause, Rewind
Special keys on a multimidedia keyboard
Other buttons on the numeric keypad
Symbols for arithmetic operations, + add, - subtract, * multiply, / divide and a decimal point. The ENTER key behaves like the ENTER key beside the alphabet keys.
DOS
The first widely-installed operating system for personal computers. It is a non-graphical line-oriented command- or menu-driven operating system, with a relatively simple interface but not overly "friendly" user interface. Its prompt to enter a command looks like this: C:>
Keyboard
The most often used input device
Print Screen key
The only one of these three screen control keys that is widely used these days.
NumLock, Caps Lock, Scroll Lock
The three different Status lights
Overtype & Insert Mode
The two modes created by toggling the Insert Key
Arrow keys
These four keys are used to move the cursor on the screen. In a text document, the up and down arrows move the cursor up or down one line. The left and right arrows move the cursor one character sideways. In a spreadsheet, the arrow keys move the cursor up or down a row, left or right a column. In other programs, there might be other actions.
QWERTY
This arrangement of the letters was inherited from the typewriter. The name comes from the order of the letters on the first (TOP) row of alphabet characters. It is not the most efficient layout. With the first typewriters, the typists had trouble with the mechanical keys jamming each other because the typists could strike the keys faster than the keys could get out of each others' way. So the letters were arranged to slow down the typists' speed. Computer keyboards do not have mechanical keys, so a more efficient layout could be used. But so many people are familiar and skilled with the old way that it does not seem likely that the layout will change.
Caps Lock
Turn this on when you want a lot of captial letters to save holding the Shift key down for a long time.
Number Row
Two characters are on each key, one at the top of the key and one at the bottom. The upper character is a symbol and is accessed by holding the SHIFT key down while pressing the key.
Overtype Mode
Types over characters already there.
Insert Mode
Typing inserts characters in between the characters that are already there. Moves characters to the right.
Shift
Used in combination with the alphabetic keys to get upper case letters, one at a time, or with number keys to get the upper symbol on the key.
Spacebar
Used to enter blank spaces in text. Sometimes it can also be used instead of a mouse click on buttons.
TAB key
Used to move the focus on the computer screen through a series of buttons or text boxes or other objects.
Navigation Keys
When Num lock is off, the number keys are navigation keys can act as this.
NumLock
When it is off, the Numeric Keypad responds as navigation keys using the alternate markings on the keys.
Caps Lock Key
When it is on, pressing any alphabetic key will result in an upper case (capital) letter. The number and symbol keys are not affected, however. Watch out - this is different from typewriters.
NumLock
When it is on, the Numeric Keypad responds with numbers.
Caps Lock Key
When on, pressing any alphabetic key will result in an upper case (capital) letter. The number and symbol keys are not affected, however.
Number Row or Numeric Keypad
Where numbers can also be typed from
Numeric Keypad
With NumLock is on, the number keys on the numeric keypad respond as numbers.