KEYBOARDS

Keyboards are designed for the input of text and characters.

Types of keyboard

Special Keys
 Function Keys
 Cursor Control Keys
 Esc Key
 Control Key
 Shift Key
 Enter Key
 Tab Key
 Insert Key
 Delete Key
 ScrollLock Key
 NumLock Key
 CapsLock Key
 Pasue/Break Key
 PrtScr Key
Function Keys
F1 through F12 are the function keys. They have special purposes. The following are mainly
the purpose of the function keys. But it may vary according to the software currently
running.
 F1 ­ Help
 F2 ­ Renames selected file
 F3 ­ Opens the file search box
 F4 ­ Opens the address bar in Windows Explorer
 F5 ­ Refreshes the screen in Windows Explorer
 F6 ­ Navigates between different sections of a Windows Explorer window
 F8 ­ Opens the start­up menu when booting Windows
 F11 ­ Opens full screen mode in Explorer

Cursor Control Keys

These are Special keys on computer keyboards that move the cursor. They are
 UpArrow Key ­ Moves the cursor one line up.
 DownArrow Key – Moves the cursor one line down.
 LeftArrow Key – Moves the cursor one column left.
 RightArrow Key – Moves the cursor one column right.
 Home Key – Moves the cursor to the starting of the current row in a document.
 End Key – Moves the cursor to the end of the current row in a document
 PageUp Key ­ Scrolls the document up one screenful.
 PageDown Key ­ Scrolls the document down one screenful.
 Backspace Key – Moves the cursor one column back by deleting the contents on the
previous column.

Esc Key
A key on computer keyboards, usually labeled Esc. Pressing the Escape key usually cancels
or aborts the current operation.
Control Key
A Control key is a key which, when pressed in conjunction with another key, will perform a
special operation. The result of keeping the control key pressed down while pressing another
character, is a control key combination , which can have different meanings depending on
which program is running.
For example, holding down control and pressing U, turns on underline in some word
processors. The caret (shift­6) symbol represents the control key: ^Y means control­Y.
Shift Key
The shift key is a modifier key on a keyboard, used to type capital letters and other alternate
"upper" characters. There are typically two shift keys, on the left and right sides of the row
below the home row. On an English keyboard, characters that typically require the use of the
shift key include the parentheses, the question mark, the exclamation point, and the colon.
When the caps lock key is engaged, the shift key can be used to type lowercase letters.
On computer keyboards, the shift key can have many more uses:
 It is sometimes used to modify the function keys. Modern Windows keyboards
typically have only 12 function keys; Shift+F1 must be used to type F13, Shift+F2 for
F14, etc.
 It can modify various control and alt keys. For example, if Alt­tab is used to cycle
through open windows, Shift­Alt­tab cycles in the reverse order.
 Holding shift while moving the cursor in a word processor generally selects a range of
text.
 The shift key can also be used to modify the mouse on a computer. For example,
holding shift while clicking on a link in a web browser might cause the page to open
in a new window, or to be downloaded.
 Holding shift while inserting a compact disc in a Microsoft Windows computer will
disable the auto run feature. This ability has been used to circumvent the MediaMax
CD­3 CD copy protection system.
 Holding shift while clicking on "Restart" in Windows will restart Windows and not
the entire system.
 In Windows Explorer and some other file managers, holding shift while deleting a file
will permanently delete that file rather than moving it to the recycle bin.
 Holding shift while scrolling will scan through previously viewed web pages.
Enter Key
A key that moves the cursor (or insertion point) to the beginning of the next line, or returns
control to whatever program is currently running. After a program requests information from
you (by displaying a prompt), it will usually not respond to your input until you have pressed
the Enter or Return key. This allows you to correct typing mistakes or to reconsider your
entry before it is too late. In many applications, pressing the Enter key moves the cursor to
the next field. In graphical user interfaces, pressing Enter activates the currently selected
button or option.

Tab Key
A key on computer keyboards that inserts a tab character or moves the insertion point to the
next tab stop. Some applications respond to the tab key by inserting spaces up to the next tab
stop. This is often called a soft tab, whereas a real tab character is called a hard tab.
Spreadsheet and database management applications usually respond to the Tab key by
moving the cursor to the next field or cell. In dialog boxes and menus, pressing the Tab key
highlights the next button or option.

Insert Key
A key on computer keyboards that turns insert mode on and off. The Insert key does not work
for all programs, but most word processors and text editors support it. It is primarily used to
switch between the two text­entering modes on a personal computer or word processor. The
first is over type mode, in which the cursor, when typing, overwrites any text that is present
on and after its current location. The other is insert mode, where the cursor inserts a character
at its current position, forcing all characters past it one position further.

Delete Key
On computer keyboards, the delete key (sometimes shortened "Del"), should, during normal
text editing, discard the character at the cursor's position, moving all following characters one
position "back" towards the freed place.

Scroll Lock Key

The behaviour of this toggle key depends on the particular software in use. The scroll lock
key is intended to temporarily stop the scrolling of text or halt the operation of a program.
There are not many software programs today that take advantage or have a use for this key.
Microsoft Excel is a good example of a software program that uses this key. If scroll lock is
enabled on the keyboard when you press any of the arrow keys such as the down or up arrow
keys the screen will move, however the selected cell will not move. However, if scroll lock is
not enabled you will be able to navigate through each of the cells using the arrow keys.

Num Lock Key

A key that switches the numeric keypad from numeric mode to cursor control mode, and vice
versa. In numeric mode, the keys represent numbers even when they are combined with the
Shift key, Function key, or Control key. Otherwise these combinations may have different
meanings.
The Num Lock key is a toggle key, meaning that it changes the current mode. If the numeric
keypad is already locked in numeric mode, pressing the Num Lock key releases it.

Caps Lock Key

Pressing the Caps Lock key will set a keyboard mode in which typed letters are capitalized by
default and in lower case when the shift key is pressed; the keyboard remains in this mode
until caps lock is pressed again. This is also a toggle key.

Pause/Break Key
A keyboard key that is pressed to stop the execution of the current program or transmission.

PrtScr Key
(Pronounced PRINT screen.) A keyboard key (on most standard keyboards) that, when
pressed, sends the information displayed on­screen to the printer or to the Clipboard. The
image then can be printed or pasted from the Clipboard into a graphics program for
manipulation and printing later.
Question Time

Let’s find the answer.

F1 F4 Delete BackSpace End

Home UpArrow Shift Pause Insert

1. Usually by pressing ________ key, the ‘help’ menu associated with an application will
be displayed,
2. To erase a character at the cursor position, we need to press _______ key.
3. In order to stop a running program, we need to press ________ key.
4. In order to print the characters displayed on the top of a key, we need to press _____
key along with that key.
5. In order to move the cursor one row up in a document, we need to press _____ key.
6. The _____ key is pressed to move the cursor to the end of the current row.
7. ____ key is pressed to move the cursor to the start of the current row.
8. _______ key is used to erase the character on the left of cursor position.
9. _______ toggle key is used to toggle the insert mode on or off.
10. For opening the address bar in the browser, press the functional key _____.