Keyboard Input Device: Types & Functions

## Keyboard A keyboard is an input device that contains keys you can press to enter letters, numbers, and symbols. Desktop computers have traditional full-size keyboards connected either wired or wirelessly, and laptop computers have a compact keyboard built-in. Mobile devices such as tablets and s...

## Keyboard A keyboard is an input device that contains keys you can press to enter letters, numbers, and symbols. Desktop computers have traditional full-size keyboards connected either wired or wirelessly, and laptop computers have a compact keyboard built-in. Mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones typically have an on-screen; that is, the keys are typically displayed on the screen, and selected by touching their image. ### Types of Keys on a Keyboard - **Alphanumeric keys** include the letter keys (A-Z), number keys (0-9), and special characters keys (symbols as! @ # $ % & *). These keys are fundamental for typing and data entry. Spacebar Key, the longest key on the keyboard, provides a space between words when typing. - **Function Keys (F1-F12)** are programmable keys that act as shortcuts to frequently used commands. For instance, F1 opens the help menu, while F5 refreshes a webpage in browsers. In Microsoft Word, F7 checks spelling and grammar. - **Navigation Keys** are located between the typing area and the numeric keypad. These keys are used for moving around in documents, scrolling through webpages and editing text. They include the arrow keys (move the cursor up, down, left or right), Home, End, Page Up, Page Down, Delete, and Insert. - **Numeric Keypad** is located on the right-hand side of the keyboard. It looks like a calculator's keypad with its 10 digits and some mathematical operators. The **NUM LOCK** key enables or disables the numeric pad. When the **Num lk** is turned off, the numeric keypad can be used as navigation keys. - **Modifier keys (SHIFT, ALT, and CTRL)** are special keys that do nothing by themselves but modify the functions of other keys when pressed together. For example: The **Control (CTRL)** key is used in combination with other keys to perform shortcuts and special commands (e.g., Ctrl + C for copy, Ctrl + P for print). **Alt** also works in combination with other keys (Alt+F4 is a shortcut that closes an active window). The **Shift** key is used to type uppercase (capital) letters when pressed in combination with alphabetic keys. - **Editing keys** include **ESCAPE** (allows the user to abort or cancel an operation, is pressed to select options from a menu or to start a new paragraph), **DELETE** (removes text to the right of the cursor), **BACKSPACE** (deletes the character to the left of the cursor), **Caps Lock Key** (is a toggle key because when clicked, it activates writing in capital letters. To return to writing in lowercase, just click the Caps Lock button again.) **Toggle keys** are keys that are turned on/off by pressing the same key. ## The Mouse A mouse is a small handheld pointing device that lets you move a pointer (cursor / insertion point), and select items on the screen. On the top of the mouse are two buttons and a small wheel in the center that can be rotated to scroll documents or Web pages up and down. **Thumb buttons** enable forward and backward navigation through Web pages. The mouse pointer usually appears in the shape of an arrow or a pointing hand. There are four actions of mouse: - **Click**, press and release the left button to select an item on the screen. - **Double-click**, press and release the left button twice to open a document or program. - **Drag and Drop** is used to move (drag) the object (file or icon) to another location on the screen. - **Right-click** to display a list of commands on a drop-down menu.