Thekeyboard forIBM PC-compatible computers is standardized. However, during the more than 30 years of PC architecture being frequently updated, manykeyboard layout variations have been developed.
A well-known class of IBM PC keyboards is theModel M. Introduced in 1984 and manufactured byIBM,Lexmark, Maxi-Switch andUnicomp, the vast majority of Model M keyboards feature abuckling spring key design and many have fully swappablekeycaps.
Additional navigation and control keys; dedicated cursor control block with inverted T for arrow keys to left of numeric pad. 12 F keys in separate row along top, grouped F1–4, F5–8, and F9–12. Early models of Enhanced keyboard (notably those manufactured by Northgate Ltd.) maintained the layout with function keys on the left side, arranged in two columns of six pairs. This layout was more efficient for touch typists but was superseded in the marketplace by that with F-keys along the top. PS/2 released April 1987. There are different versions of the Enhanced keyboard layout:
101
standard US layout
double-width Return key (spanningC12 andC13) with a 1.5-width key atD13
additional 3 keys: one to the right of the Left Shift key (B00), one to the left of the Right Shift key (B11), and one on the numeric keypad above Enter (C54)
106
Japanese JIS layout
different shaped Return key (spanning 1.5-widthD13 andC13) with the U.S.D13 atC12 and single width
additional 5 keys: one to the left (A03) of the space bar, two to the right (A06 andA07) of the space bar, one to the left of the Right Shift key (B11), and one to the left of the Backspace key (E13); three of which arelanguage input keys
AdditionalWindows key (×2) and Menu key added (one Windows key to the right of the left control key, the other and the Menu key to the left of the right control key).[2][3] Introduced in theMicrosoft Natural keyboard for use with theWindows 95 operating system.[4] Most modern PCs, whether supplied withMicrosoft Windows or not, are now delivered with this layout.[5] Like the Enhanced layout, there are regional variants of the Windows keyboard layout:[5]
BrazilianABNT NBR 10346 variant 2 (alphanumeric portion) and 10347 (numeric), as above
109
Japanese layout (as above)
Common additions to the standard layouts include additionalpower management keys, volume controls,media player controls (e.g. "Play/Pause", "Previous track", "Next track") and miscellaneous user-configurable shortcuts foremail client,World Wide Web browser, etc.
The IBM PC layout, particularly the Model M, has been extremely influential, and today most keyboards use some variant of it. This has caused problems for applications developed with alternative layouts, which require keys that are in awkward positions on the Model M layout – often requiring the pinkie to operate – and thus require remapping for comfortable use.[6] One notable example is theescape key, used by thevi editor: on theADM-3A terminal this was located where the Tab key is on the IBM PC, but on the IBM PC the Escape key is in the corner; this is typically solved by remapping Caps Lock to Escape.[6] Another example is theEmacs editor, which makes extensive use ofmodifier keys, and uses the Control key more than themeta key (IBM PC instead has the Alt key) – these date to theKnight keyboard, which had the Control key on theinside of the Meta key, opposite to the Model M, where it is on theoutside of the Alt key; and to thespace-cadet keyboard, where the fourbucky bit keys (Control, Meta, Super, Hyper) are in a row, allowing easy chording to press several, unlike on the Model M layout. This results in the "Emacs pinky" problem.[7]
AlthoughPC Magazine praised most aspects of the 1981 IBM PC keyboard's hardware design, it questioned "how IBM, that ultimate pro of keyboard manufacture, could put the left-hand shift key at the awkward reach they did".[8] The magazine reported in 1982 that it received more letters to its "Wish List" column asking for the ability to determine the status of the three lock keys than on any other topic.[9]Byte columnistJerry Pournelle described the keyboard as "infuriatingly excellent". He praised its feel but complained that the Shift and other keys' locations were "enough to make a saint weep", and denounced the trend ofPC compatible computers to emulate the layout but not the feel.[10] He reported that the layout "nearly drove" science-fiction editorJim Baen "crazy", and that "many of [Baen's] authors refused to work with that keyboard" so could not submit manuscripts in a compatible format.[11] The magazine's official review was more sanguine. It praised the keyboard as "bar none, the best ... on any microcomputer" and described the unusual Shift key locations as "minor [problems] compared to some of the gigantic mistakes made on almost every other microcomputer keyboard".[12]
"I wasn't thrilled with the placement of [the left Shift and Return] keys, either", IBM'sDon Estridge stated in 1983. He defended the layout, however, stating that "every place you pick to put them is not a good place for somebody ... there's no consensus", and claimed that "if we were to change it now we would be in hot water".[13]
The PC keyboard with its various keys has a long history of evolution reaching back toteletypewriters. In addition to the 'old' standard keys, the PC keyboard has accumulated several special keys over the years. Some of the additions have been inspired by the opportunity or requirement for improving user productivity with general officeapplication software, while other slightly more general keyboard additions have become the factory standards after being introduced by certainoperating system orGUI software vendors such asMicrosoft.
⇧Shift selects the upper character, or upper case of letters. The Shift key in typewriters was attached to a lever that moved the character types so that the uppercase characters could be printed on the paper. Unlike mechanical typewriters, PC keyboards do not capitalize all letters properly when both shift keys are engaged simultaneously.[citation needed]
⇪Caps Lock selects upper case, or if shift is pressed, lower case of letters. In mechanical typewriters, it worked like the Shift key, but also used a lock to keep the Shift key depressed. The lock was released by pressing the Shift key.[citation needed]
Enter wraps to the next line or activates the default or selected option. ASCII keyboards were labeled CR or Return. Typewriters used a lever that would return the cylinder with the paper to the start of the line.
Tab ↹ produces an ASCIItab character, moving to the next tab stop.
Ctrl shifts the value of letters and numbers from the ASCII graphics range, down into theASCII control characters. For example, CTRL-S is XOFF (stops many programs as they print to screen) CTRL-Q is XON (resume printing stopped by CTRL-S).
Esc produces an ASCIIescape character. It may be used to exit menus or modes.
~ is thetilde, an accent backspaced and printed over other letters for non-English languages. Nowadays the key does not produce a backspaceable character in US/UK keyboard layouts, and is used for 'not' or 'circa'.
` is abacktick or grave accent, also formerly backspaced over letters to write non-English languages; on some systems it is used as an opening quote. The single quote ' is normally used for an acute accent.
* is anasterisk, used to indicate a note, or multiplication.
_ is anunderscore, which can be backspaced and overprinted to add emphasis, or in certainProgramming Languages in place of aSpace to form a compound word where the use ofSpace would yield several separate words.
| is avertical bar, originally used as a typographic separator for optical character recognition. Many character sets break it in the middle so it cannot be confused with the numeral "1" or the letter "l" (in mostEBCDICcodepages, vertical bar and divided vertical bar are separate characters). This character is often known as a "pipe" (after its use inUnix shells) or a "fencepost".
Del (Delete) deletes the character after the cursor, or the selected items.
Ins (Insert) originally toggled between text insertion and overwrite modes. Importantly, it is involved along with Ctrl and Shift keys in keyboard shortcuts for copy (Ctrl+Insert) and paste (⇧ Shift+Insert) according to theIBM CUA user interface guidelines; the IBM CUA shortcuts are still widely supported by most current PC operating systems, and many PC users who learned those shortcuts between the late 1980s and the early 1990s may still find them more natural, convenient, or ergonomic than their "modern" Ctrl+X/C/V counterparts, given the close proximity of the Ctrl, Shift and Insert keys to the cursor movement keys. This particular role of the Insert key is often overlooked by modern-times documentation, if not hardware design, which tend to attribute to "Insert" only its more obvious, but much less frequently used and somewhat obsolete, original function.
Print Screen originally printed a text image of the screen. (On modern computers,Ctrl+Print Screen usually takes a screenshot.) With the Alt key, it switched toSysRq, a different keycode.
Num Lock toggles the state of thenumeric keypad. When off, the keypad acts as arrow and navigational keys. When on, it is a 10-key number pad similar to a standard calculator. Preferences vary so much that a favorite default for this key can often be configured in the BIOS. The key continues to exist on keyboards with separate arrow keys to accommodate those who still prefer the toggleable keypad.
Scroll Lock is little-used. IBM documentation described it as "inactive", and the key's purpose was a mystery even to keyboard manufacturers.[14] In modern software, typing text usually causes previous text to scroll off the top of the screen or window. Some old programs could disable this and restart at the top of the window when scroll lock was pressed. The advantage is that the entire screenful of text does not shift, making it easier to read. Scroll Lock was also used to lock the cursor on its line and scroll the work area under it. In spreadsheets such asMicrosoft Excel, it locks the cell pointer on the current cell, allowing the user to use the arrow keys to move the view window without moving the cell pointer. On some consoles (such as theLinux console), it prevents scrolling of messages until another key combination is pressed. Many hardwareKVM switches use Scroll Lock to switch between the devices they control.
Pause pauses output or processing. In combination with Ctrl, it produces a keycode forBreak.Ctrl+Break traditionally stopped programs in DOS.Ctrl+Break is also used to halt execution of the debugger in some programming environments such as Microsoft Visual Studio. In combination with the Windows key, it opens the System Properties window in Microsoft Windows environments.
Alt shifts the letters and numbers into the range above hex 0x80 where the international characters and special characters exist in the PC's standard character set.Alt plus a number typed on the numeric keypad produces special characters; seeWindows Alt keycodes.
⊞Win (sometimes known outside Windows asSuper) is a quick way to open theStart menu inMicrosoft Windows's standard Explorer shell, and can usually be configured to open the main menu in other operating systems. In Microsoft Windows, the Windows key can also be used in combination with other keys to perform desktop-related actions (e.g.⊞ Win+M to minimize all open windows, then again to restore them). When connected to aMacintosh computer, the Windows key behaves like the⌘Command key.
≣Menu brings up the active application's context menu, in a similar way to right-clicking.
AltGr is often used in combination with other keys to print special characters like thebackslash on non-English keyboards. It can often be emulated byCtrl+Alt.
Fn may be present on compact keyboards such as those built into laptop computers. When depressed in combination with other keys, it either enables the user to access key functions that do not have dedicated keys on the compact keyboard (such as the numeric keypad simulation block), or it controls hardware functions such as switching between the built-in screen and an external display, changing screen brightness, or changing speaker volume. These secondary meanings are usually indicated with text or symbols of a different color printed on the key, with the 'Fn' key text having that same color.
Turbo is present on some keyboards. It is usually on the right side of the right Shift key. When depressed in combination with afunction key it sets the key repeat rate.[18]
Introduced with originalIBM PC August 1981.
Introduced August 1984.
Introduced April 1986.[1]
Introduced April 1986.
