Computer Keyboard Keys: Useful Information You Need

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In the early days, people used typewriters as the equipment to enter text directly on papers. As the years went by, many technological innovations happened. This has led to the invention of computers which replaced typewriters with computer keyboards that have more different functions. This article talks about the computer keyboard keys and the functions that they can do.

Enumerating computer keyboard keys

Compared to typewriters, computer keyboards have many more functions. This is because of the computer’s ability to execute different commands which are mostly executed through the different computer keyboard keys.

Also, the computer keyboard is composed of more keys and key functions than the typewriter. Here is a list of the most important computer keyboard keys:

  1. Indicators
  2. Scroll
  3. Print screen
  4. Backspace
  5. Enter
  6. Function
  7. Escape
  8. Shift
  9. Arrows
  10. Number pad
  11. Control
  12. Menu
  13. Windows
  14. Alt
  15. Space bar
  16. Alt
  17. Windows
  18. Control
  19. Capitals lock
  20. Delete

All keyboards have the same number of keys. However, some keyboards, especially the laptop keyboards, have a slightly different layout. For example, the delete key or the number pad may be in a different place on the laptop keyboards.

Functions of computer keyboard keys

The computer keyboard keys are easier to use and much softer compared to the keys on typewriters. They also have more functions that many people, especially the baby boomers, find confusing and overwhelming.

The following are guides on using the keyboard, including the different functions of computer keyboard keys.

  1. The letter keys are the main computer keyboard keys. Pressing a letter produces a lower case print. If you want an upper case, hold the Shift key while pressing the letter or turn on the Caps Lock key and press the letters.
  1. If you want to insert a space, press the Space Bar key which is the widest key found at the bottom of the keyboard.
  1. If you make a mistake in typing, you can always delete it by pressing the Backspace key. If you found a mistake in the middle if your sentence, place the mouse pointer after the letter and click. Briefly press the Spacebar key or hold the Backspace key if you want to delete the consecutive letters or spaces.

If you want to delete more characters or a paragraph, highlight them and briefly press the Backspace key or Delete key. You can also use the Arrow keys to move the cursor forwards or backward.

  1. If you wish to use the Number Pad, press the Num Lock key. There is a light indicator on top of the Num Pad to show that it’s on or off. You can also press the numbers found on top of the letters.
  1. The numbers on top of the letters come with different symbols such as @, #, $, %, ^, &, *, and more. To use these, hold the Shift key and briefly press the desired symbols.
  1. A Windows button is one of the computer keyboard keys. It functions the same as the Windows button on the taskbar of the computer screen. You can use it either by pressing the Windows button or clicking on the Windows taskbar.
  1. When browsing the Internet, you can move around the web page by pressing the Home, Page Up, End, and Page Down keys.
  1. You can also shift the monitor screen to different tasks you are working on by pressing the Alt key while briefly pressing the Tab key. You can choose which task you would like to shift your screen by holding the Alt key while pressing the Tab key several times depending on the task you want to see on your monitor.

There you have it! These are just some of the computer keyboard keys and their functions. You can discover more as you use the computer keyboard and do more computer tasks.

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