The keyboard is a peripheral device that is quite important because it allows users to enter text, numbers, characters, and others into the computer.
The keyboard is also one of the primary hardware on the computer, if there is no keyboard then most likely you will not be able to input anything into your computer screen.
Everyone must have used the keyboard for almost everything, such as writing letters, sending emails, playing games, and many others. However, do you know about the keyboard parts themselves?
There are several parts of the keyboard that you can know. To find out more about the keyboard parts, let’s check this out.
1. General Typing Area
The first part of the keyboard is the general typing area. The general typing area is the part of the keyboard that contains 46 letters, numbers, and symbols.
This is the main part of the keyboard that can enter all the letters and numbers as desired. It is mostly arranged QWERTY, which is the absolute arrangement of all types of keyboards in the world.
In addition to the letter and number keys, there are other keys that have their own functions such as the enter key to add rows, the space key to give space on the document, and so on.
If one of the buttons in the general typing area is broken or no longer works, this will affect you later when you are using it.
You will be in a lot of trouble because you have to use the virtual keyboard that is on the screen or inevitably have to repair the keyboard if it can still be used.
2. CTRL, ALT dan Function Keys
Next is the keyboard section CTRL, ALT, and function keys. They certainly have their respective functions. Mostly, those three buttons are used simultaneously to apply certain commands.
An example is copying and pasting text. To copy, you can use CTRL+C and place it again using CTRL+V.
Of course, this part of the keyboard is very helpful for you, especially if you are a graphic designer who generally uses these keys to speed up your work.
On the Windows OS, it uses a button with the Windows logo, but for the iOS OS, the Windows button is replaced with the command button. There are also function keys, which are shortened to F1 to F12.
Each function key has its own function. It depends on the type of keyboard and the settings of the computer itself. For example, use the F5 key to refresh the page.
In addition, usually by pressing the function key, you can adjust the screen brightness, close an application, change music, increase or decrease the volume and can also activate Numlock.
So, in short, the CTRL, ALT, and Function keys are shortcut keys on the computer that makes it much faster for users to organize things. Know every setting of this function key by looking at the icon above it or you can also read the instructions in the manual.
3. Legacy Keys
The third part of the keyboard is the legacy keys. Legacy keys are keys that come from computing every computer.
It contains the Print Screen button which serves to save the image on your computer screen. In addition, there is also the Esc key which functions to interrupt the program automatically.
The scroll lock is also found in the legacy keys section. Its function is to prevent the text in the screen buffer from scrolling. And another button is Pause/Break, used to send data on your computer.
4. Numeric Keys
The fourth part of the keyboard is the numeric keys. Numeric keys are keys that contain numbers, which you can input into your document by pressing one of these numeric keys.
Numeric keys are on the right of the keyboard with several character combinations. You can disable these numeric keys by pressing the Numlock button which is usually on the side of the keyboard.
Numeric keys also allow you to quickly enter numbers into text documents on your computer. Usually used for shops, malls, finance, accounting, and so on.
Numeric keys are also commonly found in a separate state and are not integrated with the keyboard hardware. These numeric keys are also usually connected with a USB cable, but now many provide wireless numeric keys, which you don’t need to use a cable to use.
Numeric keypads are usually connected to a computer with a USB cable, but older keypads may use a serial connector instead of a USB.
Some separate numeric keypads have a single-line LCD, such as the calculator and the Kensington keypad on the right.
5. Cursor Control Keys
Next is the cursor control keys, a part of the keyboard that functions as a substitute for the mouse, or in a way, these cursor control keys can be used to navigate the computer cursor.
You can easily move the computer cursor with these cursor control keys. Generally, they are used for multimedia and gaming needs.
The cursor control keys are located to the right of the keyboard. With buttons that have arrows up, down, left, and right. In addition, there are page up, page down, home, and end buttons to move the computer cursor.
6. Indicator Lamp
The indicator lamp on the keyboard is generally located on the top right, but there are also those located below the keyboard depending on each type of keyboard.
An indicator lamp is an indicator light that shows which part of the keyboard is being used or active. For example, when the numkey indicator light is on, the numkey keyboard part can work or can be used. Just like other indicator lamps.
There are also indicator lights on the buttons such as capslock settings and RGB lighting settings. However, this indicator lamp only applies to some types of keyboards, such as a gaming keyboard.
With the indicator lamp, you will easily detect a broken or malfunctioning part of the keyboard. You can also set which parts of the keyboard can only be used.
Those are some parts that you may not know. Indeed, every part of the keyboard that you use has its own function.
There may be parts that are slightly different from the keyboard you are using, but those are the keyboard parts that you can generally find in most keyboards.