Explain the various types of keys available on a keyboard.
Answers
Answer:
Whether you're writing a letter or calculating numerical data, your keyboard is the main way to enter information into your computer. But did you know you can also use your keyboard to control your computer? Learning a few simple keyboard commands (instructions to your computer) can help you work more efficiently.
How the keys are organized
The keys on your keyboard can be divided into several groups based on function:
Typing (alphanumeric) keys. These keys include the same letter, number, punctuation, and symbol keys found on a traditional typewriter.
Control keys. These keys are used alone or in combination with other keys to perform certain actions. The most frequently used control keys are Ctrl, Alt, the Windows logo key Picture of the Windows logo key, and Esc.
Function keys. The function keys are used to perform specific tasks. They are labeled as F1, F2, F3, and so on, up to F12. The functionality of these keys differs from program to program.
Navigation keys. These keys are used for moving around in documents or webpages and editing text. They include the arrow keys, Home, End, Page Up, Page Down, Delete, and Insert.
Numeric keypad. The numeric keypad is handy for entering numbers quickly. The keys are grouped together in a block like a conventional calculator or adding machine.
The following illustration shows how these keys are arranged on a typical keyboard. Your keyboard layout might be different.
Picture of keyboard showing types of keys
Typing text
Whenever you need to type something in a program, e‑mail message, or text box, you'll see a blinking vertical line (Picture of the cursor ) called the cursor or insertion point. It shows where the text that you type will begin. You can move the cursor by clicking in the desired location with the mouse, or by using the navigation keys (see the "Using navigation keys" section of this article).
In addition to letters, numerals, punctuation marks, and symbols, the typing keys also include Shift, Caps Lock, Tab, Enter, the Spacebar, and Backspace.
Key name How to use it
Shift
Press Shift in combination with a letter to type an uppercase letter. Press Shift in combination with another key to type the symbol shown on the upper part of that key.
Caps Lock
Press Caps Lock once to type all letters as uppercase. Press Caps Lock again to turn this function off. Your keyboard might have a light indicating whether Caps Lock is on.
Tab
Press Tab to move the cursor several spaces forward. You can also press Tab to move to the next text box on a form.
Enter
Press Enter to move the cursor to the beginning of the next line. In a dialog box, press Enter to select the highlighted button.
Spacebar
Press the Spacebar to move the cursor one space forward.
Backspace
Press Backspace to delete the character before the cursor, or the selected text.
Using keyboard shortcuts
Keyboard shortcuts are ways to perform actions by using your keyboard. They're called shortcuts because they help you work faster. In fact, almost any action or command you can perform with a mouse can be performed faster using one or more keys on your keyboard.
In Help topics, a plus sign (+) between two or more keys indicates that those keys should be pressed in combination. For example, Ctrl + A means to press and hold Ctrl and then press A. Ctrl + Shift + A means to press and hold Ctrl and Shift and then press A.
Find program shortcuts
You can do things in most programs by using the keyboard. To see which commands have keyboard shortcuts, open a menu. The shortcuts (if available) are shown next to the menu items.
Picture of the Edit menu in Notepad showing keyboard shortcuts next to menu commands
Keyboard shortcuts appear next to menu items.
Choose menus, commands, and options
You can open menus and choose commands and other options using your keyboard. In a program that has menus with underlined letters, press Alt and an underlined letter to open the corresponding menu. Press the underlined letter in a menu item to choose that command. For programs that use the ribbon, such as Paint and WordPad, pressing Alt overlays (rather than underlines) a letter that can be pressed.
Picture of the Paint menu showing underlined letters in menu commands
Press Alt + F to open the File menu, then press P to choose the Print command.
This trick works in dialog boxes too. Whenever you see an underlined letter attached to an option in a dialog box, it means you can press Alt plus that letter to choose that option.
Useful shortcuts
The following table lists some of the most useful keyboard shortcuts. For a more detailed list, see Keyboard shortcuts.
Press this To do this
Windows logo key Picture of the Windows logo key
Open the Start menu
Explanation:
IF IT IS USEFUL MARK AS BRAINLIST
Answer:
Alphabetic keys
numeric keys
punctuation keys
functional keys