Keyboard Operation

Keyboard Operations

Typing keys The part of the keyboard which is used to type letters, numbers and other characters. The alphabets layout resembles a standard typewriter keyboard exactly, however there some extra keys for entering commands, e.g. Ctrl key, Alt key, Shift key, Enter key etc. On most keyboards these extra keys are grey in colour whereas the alphabet, number, symbol and punctuation keys are white in colour. The Ctrl, Alt and Shift key is always used in conjunction with some other key.

Shift and Caps Lock key The shift key is used to type capital letters i.e. if you want to type the letter “F”, you have to press the Shift key, keep it pressed with one finger and press “f” key with the other. However, if you want to type an entire word or a sentence in capital letters, use the Caps Lock key instead. Unlike the Shift key, Caps Lock key is a toggle key and does not need to be pressed continuously. Press it once and it becomes On (you will see the Caps Lock indicator on the keyboard lighting up when you do this) and thereafter whatever you type would be in capital letters, pres it again and it becomes off.

Function keys The row of 10-12 keys—F1 to F12 above the typing keys are called the Function keys and are used to execute special commands or as shortcut keys. The use of these keys varies from program to program, however within MS Office some degree of standardization has been achieved. In Word, the functions keys are used alone or together with the Shift, Alt and Ctrl keys to give commands.

Cursor control keys A group of special keys used to control and navigate the cursor arrow keys (Up, Down, Left, Right). Home and End are used to quickly place the cursor in the beginning or end of a line. To delete an alphabet to the left of the cursor press the Backspace key (normally above the Enter key), to delete and alphabet to the right of the cursor press the Del key.

Numeric keypad The keys on the extreme right of the keyboard (resembling a calculator’s keyboard), which can be used both – to enter numbers (when the Num Lock On) or to move the cursor (when the Num Lock is Off). The Num Lock key is located above the number 7 (Home) key on the Numeric keypad and its On or Off status is displayed by the Num Lock indicator light on your keyboard. Since Num Lock is also a toggle key, pressing it once makes is On and pressing it again makes it Off.

Note: Press the keys briefly with a light pressure, you want repeated characters.