1. Short for escape, esc is a key located on

the top-left of a computer keyboard that

allows a user to cancel or abort operations.

TAB is used for tabulation (indenting the first

line of a new paragraph) when using the

computer as a word processor. It is also used

to advance from one item to the next item

when filling in forms.

The Alt key (pronounced /ˈɔːlt/) on a

computer keyboard is used to change

(alternate) the function of other pressed

keys. Thus, the Alt key is a modifier key,

used in a similar fashion to the Shift key. For

example, simply pressing "A" will type the

letter a, but if you hold down either Alt key

while pressing A, the computer will perform

an Alt+A function, which varies

from program to program.

In computing, a Control key is a modifier

key which, when pressed in conjunction with

another key, performs a special operation

(for example, Ctrl+C); similar to the Shift

key, the Control key rarely performs any

function when pressed by itself.

A long horizontal key on the lower edge of

a keyboard that is always the largest key on

the keyboard. When the spacebar key is

pressed it creates an empty space, also

known as a space character that helps

separate words and other characters in a

sentences. In the below keyboard picture, is

an example of the spacebar.

Alternatively referred to as a return key,

the enter key when referring to a keyboard

is used to return a cursor to the next line or

execute a command or operation. It is

common for most standard keyboards to have

two enter or return keys, one on the

keyboard and another on the numeric

keypad.

Caps Lock is a lock key found on

many computer keyboards, depending on the

local keyboard layout they implement. It is

located in the position of a similar Shift

lock key (and sometimes a Ctrl key) found in

some other keyboard layouts.

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. The

shift key's name originated from

the typewriter, where one had to press and

hold the button to shift up the case stamp to

change to capital letters; the shift key was

first used in the Remington No. 2 Type-Writer

of 1878; the No. 1 model was capital-only.[1]

Sometimes referred to as the rubout key,

the backspace key orback space key is

a keyboard key used to delete

any characterbefore the current position of

the cursor that is adapted from typewriters.

For example, click the mouse button at the

end of the below text and press backspace to

delete the last character in the line. As seen

in the picture the backspace key always has

an arrow that points to the left, on Apple

Macintosh computers, the backspace key is

delete.

Cursor movement keys or arrow keys are

buttons on a computer keyboard that are

either programmed or designated to move

the cursor in a specified direction.[1] The

term "cursor movement key" is distinct from

"arrow key" in that the former term may

refer to any of various keys on a computer

keyboard designated for cursor movement,

whereas "arrow keys" generally refers to one

of four specific keys, typically marked with

arrows.

A typewriter is a mechanical or

electromechanical machine for writing in

characters similar to those produced by

printer's movable type by means of

keyboard-operated types striking a ribbon to

transfer ink or carbon impressions onto the

paper

A keypad that has become a standard featur

e of PC keyboards, consisting of a rectangula

r array of 17extra keys at the right-

hand end: 0-9, ., Num Lock, /, *, -

, + and Enter. Apart from Num Lock, thesetyp

ically duplicate the function of other keys bu

t are designed to make entering basic numeri

calcalculations as quick as on a digital calcul

ator.

Many keyboards include some special

keys (also called hotkeys or multimedia

keys), which are supposed to execute an

application or print special characters (not

included in the standard national

keymaps). udevcontains a large database of

mappings specific to individual keyboards, so

common keyboards usually work out of the

box. If you have very recent or uncommon

piece of hardware, you may need to adjust

the mapping manually.

Windows logo key (also known as Windows

key, start key, logo key, flag key or flag) is

a keyboard key which was originally

introduced on the Microsoft Natural

keyboard before the release of Windows 95.

This key became a standard key on PC

keyboards. Tapping this key invokes the

operating system's start menu, if it has one.

In Windows, Ctrl+Esc performs the same

function, in case the keyboard lacks this key.