PEOPLE are only now realising they are using their computer keyboard wrongly and finding out what underused buttons actually do.
Most people nowadays can at least find their way around an ordinary QWERTY keyboard and carry out most functions.
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But anyone taking a closer look at the periphery of their keyboard may start to wonder what exactly do button marked with odd symbols do.
On top of that, how many know what the menu button even does?
While in many cases they can be seemingly pointless in most people’s daily lives but they can also be very handy for a crafty shortcut.
Menu Key
If you look for the Ctrl button near the bottom-right of your keyboard, you’ll find the menu key.
The key’s symbol is often a mini page or a few lines that look like text.
By hitting the menu key, it operates just like a right click and opens a context menu for the current application being used.
While this key is usually forgotten about, it can be really helpful for anyone who has difficulty clicking on a laptop mousepad.
By using this tool, the user can avoid the pad completely, as arrow keys can also be used to scroll through each menu option.
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Once you’ve found the selection you want, the user can then simply click the enter button and you don’t have to take your hand off the keyboard.
Function Keys
Some more advanced keyboard users may be familiar with at least some of buttons running across the top of a keyboard which can conceal some very useful shortcuts.
Running from left to right at the top are buttons marked F1, F2 through to F12 and these can make light work of computer tasks, if you know what they do.
F1: Help
This is probably self-explanatory. If you’re having a problem with something, by pressing F1 it opens up a helps system window when searching the web.
Google can help provide advice on a variety of topics, such as deleting your internet history, creating a personal profile or managing an account.
F2: Renaming
This button quickly allows documents to be renamed when looking through files and folders.
All you need to do is visit the This PC menu, click on a folder and press F2 to rename it.
F3: Searching
The F3 button performs the same function as holding the Ctrl button and letter F down together.
It allows the user to find quickly a specific term or phrase which could be anywhere in a huge Word document.
F4: Closing
This button can also be useful for anyone who has trouble using a mouse.
By simply pressing F4 and the Alt key simultaneously you can close any window you have open such as an internet browser or a Microsoft program and you don’t have to click using a mouse.
By pressing the buttons the window should just automatically shut.
F5: Refresh
By hitting F5 this quickly refreshes a web page.
This can be really handy if you think a site has crashed.
F6 and F10: Cursor mover and selection tool
F6 can be used to move the cursor between different subjects in a window.
When it’s first pressed, the cursor may select the search bar at the top of an internet browser.
Pressing it a second time, you’ll see the cursor move to somewhere else – which could be a tab or an option in the Favourites bar.
On Microsoft Word, F6 can also be used in conjunction with Ctrl and Shift to switch between documents.
Similarly, F10 can highlight a number of options in a Microsoft document when tapped.
The options will be marked with letters of the alphabet, which can then be pressed on a keyboard to select the associated option.
F7, F8 and F9: Volume control
These buttons can alter the volume a recording is playing at.
Press F7 if you want to completely mute the sound.
Press F8 to turn down the volume and F9 turns it up.
Some of those buttons though also have other functions which may be useful to know.
By pressing Alt and F7 together it brings up the spelling and grammar checker when using Microsoft Word.
By pressing Shift and F7 together that brings up the Thesaurus in Word.
F9 can also act in a similar way to F5 in order to refresh a page but is primarily used for Microsoft Word.
F11: Full screen mode
By tapping the F11 key, computers can enter or exit the full screen mode of Google or other browers.
This can be useful when you want to enlarge the size of a clip being watched in a web page.
F12: Save As
This opens up a Save As box when someone is using Microsoft.
It allows users to store the latest version of a file they are working on.
End Key
The End key is located next to the Delete function and can prove to be a nifty tool to know about.
It is mainly used when typing up text in a document.
By hitting the button, the cursor instantly moves to the end of the text line.
It has the same effect has holding down the right arrow but does things so much faster.
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Featured Image Credit: Unsplash
