Personal Computer Fundamentals
Keyboards
In this lesson, you will learn:
The most frequently used of all the devices, information can be entered directly into the computer. A cursor or insertion point (a small vertical line) marks the point on the screen where information will be entered, and it flashes at a set rate until you change it. The keyboard allows you to move the cursor around on the screen and Alpha, Numeric and Symbol characters can be entered anywhere at will. The function keys along the top (F1, --F12) are hot key commands that perform different functions, and can be set up the way you like if needed. The function defaults that are set up by different programs do the most common tasks, and usually there is very little need to change them.
The 101 qwerty Keyboard
The QWERTY board is named after the key sequence under the number keys, left to right.
Keyboards are very sensitive so you do not need to press hard on the keys. The keyboard responds to the slightest key press, and if you hold a key down for a longer period of time, the key will auto repeat across the screen. This rate can also be set, as you will learn later. Pressing and holding certain keys turn on "sticky keys" which will be covered later. If that happens, just select 'No' to keep Sticky Keys turned off.
Different brands and types of keyboards have very different functions and feels. Some are called ergonomic, some are split and raised up, some are called Internet keyboards, meaning there are special 'Hot' buttons that auto-magically perform preset functions that are common to every day tasks, like going out to the internet with a push of a button, etc. The keys on some keyboards make a click sound, some are silent, and some are stiffer than others for the faster typist whose typing may tend to run away with lighter touch keyboards.
Keyboards come in different layouts, like Dvorak, that use character sequences different that the standard English QWERTY. Different Languages use character sets that are mapped to different keys, and use templates or keyboard overlays to help the user with finger placement.
Some of the functions keys that are not so obvious are:
Used for quick or precise navigation across a page. On most keyboards, the arrow keys are grouped together by themselves on the lower right. They move the cursor one position left, right, up or down, and can be used to precisely place the cursor and for scrolling. Holding down the keys moves the cursor rapidly in that direction.
Probably the key most used by mistake. It is in easy reach of your left little finger, and once pressed changes all of the characters to UPPER CASE. The key affects Letter Characters only. This means that to get the symbol for money $, you still have to press and hold the shift key and then the 4 key, even if the CAPS LOCK is on.
This is a toggle key, which means you press it once to turn it on, and again to turn it off. Simply look at the light on the keyboard and turn it on and off a couple of times to become familiar with where it is on this particular keyboard.
I use this key to test an unresponsive computer. If the light turns on and off, that means the computer is not locked up and is just thinking and will eventually come back to life. If the light does not toggle on and off, the computer is probably frozen.
Most Keyboards have two keys for erasing. The Backspace Key erases one character to the left of where the cursor is placed, and the Delete or DEL Key erases one character to the right of the cursor. Some keyboards only show a left arrow for the Backspace Key. Practice the use of these keys and get to know them well!
The Key marked End will move your cursor to the end of the document (Control + End) or to the end of the line the cursor is on
The Home key does the opposite of the End Key. It will move to the beginning of the document (Control Home) or the beginning of the line.
Sometimes when using pictures or tables in a document, it looks like there is no room to put anything above the picture. Simply press Control + Home, which moves the cursor to the very top of the page above everything else, and then press the Enter key one time, and presto, you have room to type text above the objects.
Use these keys to quickly scroll from one page to another in a long document. Use the page up keys to move to the same position inside of the page either before or after the one you are presently on.
This key is sometimes labeled Return on older keyboards. The Enter Key is like the Carriage Return key on the old typewriter. You press it to go to the next line or to start a new paragraph. This key inserts a carriage return and a line feed. That means that the cursor returns to the beginning of the line and a line feed moves the cursor to the next line.
This is called a 'hidden' character, which means that it does not show until you select the option that shows hidden characters. In the Word Processing lesson you will learn how to do this. In your document, the symbol ¶ is placed at the spot the key was pressed, and it also contains all of the formatting code for the entire sentence. If it the only 'return' character in the paragraph, it contains all of the formatting code for the paragraph. This means that to eliminate all of the paragraph formatting in one operation, simply delete this character from your document. Again, you will learn to show and hide characters like this that are hidden in later lessons on Word Processing.
You do not need to press enter on the end of each line when you are typing because the word processing program will do this automatically for you. This is called Word Wrap, and can be turned on and off as an option.
The Insert (INS) key is also a toggle Key. When toggled on, it is a Type-Over Key, which means that anything typed will TYPE OVER any other text. To insert text without erasing, make sure the INS key is off.
Go to the Mavis Keyboarding Lesson
Go to the Mavis 10 Key Lesson
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