The keyboard and its special keys

Most of the keyboard is letters and numbers. A handful of other keys do special jobs. This guide names them often, so learn where they are now.

The keys you will use most

• Enter: the wide key on the right side of the letters, marked "Enter" or with a bent arrow. It confirms what you typed, like pressing OK, or starts a new line.
• Backspace: top-right corner of the letters, marked "Backspace" or with a left-pointing arrow. It erases the letter to the left of the blinking line.
• Delete: usually above or near the arrow keys, marked "Del" or "Delete". It erases the letter to the right of the blinking line, and deletes a selected file.
• Shift: the key at each end of the bottom row of letters, marked with a hollow up-arrow. Hold it while pressing a letter to get a capital. It also types the upper symbol on a key: Shift + 1 gives an exclamation mark.
• Ctrl: the bottom-left corner, marked "Ctrl" (short for Control). It is the most important key on a PC. Hold it and press a letter to run a keyboard shortcut. There is a second Ctrl at the bottom-right.
• Windows: next to Ctrl, marked with the Windows logo (four small squares). This is the Windows key. One press opens the Start menu. Held down, it runs shortcuts like Windows + E.
• Alt: to the left of the Space bar, marked "Alt". It is used in a few shortcuts, like Alt + Tab.
• Esc: the top-left corner, marked "Esc" (short for Escape). It cancels: closes a menu, backs out of a box, leaves full screen.
• Tab: left side, above Caps Lock, marked with two arrows. It jumps to the next box on a form. Hold Alt and press Tab to switch between open windows.
• Arrow keys: four small keys at the bottom-right. They move the blinking line one letter or one line at a time.
• Caps Lock: left side, above Shift. One press makes every letter a capital until you press it again. A small light shows when it is on.
• Fn: bottom-left, on laptops. Hold it to make the top row of keys do their second job, or their first, depending on the laptop.
• PrtScn: top-right area, marked "PrtScn" or "Print Screen". It is for screenshots. Step 10 explains it.

How to read a shortcut

When this guide writes Ctrl + C, it means: hold down Ctrl, press C once, then let go of both. Press the keys in that order. You do not press the plus sign. Menus show the same thing as text: "Ctrl+C" means Ctrl + C, and "Ctrl+Shift+Z" means hold Ctrl and Shift, then press Z.

Practice

1. Press the Windows key once. The Start menu opens, with a search box at the top.
2. Type notepad and press Enter. The Notepad app opens: a plain white page for typing.
3. Type Binder is my first app. Then press Enter twice.
4. Hold Shift and type hello. It comes out as HELLO.
5. Press Backspace five times to erase it.
6. Press the up-arrow key twice. The blinking line moves up to your first sentence.
7. Close Notepad with the X at the top-right. If it asks whether to save, click Don't save. On Windows 11, Notepad may keep the text for next time without asking. That is fine.