Notes

The keyboard is an input device that you use to enter information such as alphabetic characters, numerical data, symbols, and commands. There are many keyboards, although not all have the same layout style. The most common kind is a QWERTY keyboard. Its name refers to the first six keys in the top row of letters. A keyboard is divided into several groups based on what the keys do.The special keys are used alone or in combination with other keys to perform certain actions. On a PC, special keys include Ctrl, Alt, Esc, Windows logo key, Tab, Caps Lock, and Shift.

You can use these keys in combination with other keys to give a command. A key combination is often represented by a Plus Sign (+). For example, in some programs, pressing the key combination Ctrl+S saves a file.

Pressing Shift and a letter produces an uppercase letter.

You use the Caps Lock key to enter all letters as uppercase letters without having to press Shift. This function can be turned on or off. An indicator light might be present on the keyboard to indicate that the function is on.

Most keyboards include a special key called the Windows logo key. This key is used to open the Start screen, or is used in combination with a second key to perform common tasks in Windows. The functions keys, F1 through F12, are used to perform specific tasks, depending on the operating system and software in use. For example, in many programs, F1 is used to display the Help file. In some cases, it can control the monitor brightness or the volume.
The alphanumeric keys refer to the letter, number, punctuation, and symbol keys, and to the Spacebar, the Tab key, Backspace, Caps Lock, Shift, and Enter.

Press the Spacebar to insert a space.



Press the Enter key to move the cursor to the beginning of the next line.



Press the Backspace key to delete the character before the cursor or selected text.
Use the navigation keys to move around in documents or webpages and to edit text. Navigation keys include Delete, Insert, Home, End, Page Up, and Page Down.



Use the Home key to move the cursor to the beginning of a line or to move to the top of the webpage.

The Left Arrow, Right Arrow, Up Arrow, and Down Arrow keys move the cursor one space or one line, or move the cursor to the end of the currently selected text, in the direction of the arrow. You can also use these keys to scroll through a webpage in the direction of the arrow.

Press the End key to move the cursor to the end of a line or to the bottom of a webpage.

Press the Page Up key to move the cursor or page up one screen.

Press the Page Down key to move the cursor or page down one screen.

Press the Delete key to delete the character after the cursor or the selected text. If used in Windows, the Delete key can be used to move to selected items to the Recycle Bin.

The Insert key can be turned on or off. When it is turned on, the text you enter is inserted at the cursor. When the Insert key is not used, the text you enter replaces existing characters.



The numeric keypad can look like a calculator keypad. This keypad includes numbers and arithmetic operators such as the Plus Sign (+), which is used for addition. This is helpful when you need to enter numbers quickly.

The keys of the numeric keypad can also be used to navigate left, right, up, and down. Press the Num Lock key to switch between number mode and navigation mode.

Three additional keys that you might be familiar with on your keyboard are Print Screen, Scroll Lock, and Pause. These have different uses in different programs.

Use Print Screen to copy an image of your entire screen to the Clipboard. This image is known as a screen shot.

Use Scroll Lock to change the behavior of the arrow keys.

You will probably use Pause infrequently. When pressed in a program, Pause pauses the program, or when pressed in combination with Ctrl, stops the program from running.