Chapter 18: Keyboards, Mice, and Pointing Devices^443
Keyboard Elements
Most keyboard layouts are still a variation on the key layout of a typewriter, at least for
the alphabetic, numerical, and special character keys. All keyboards have a core component
of keys founded on the keyboards of a particular continent (North America, Europe, etc.),
country (France), or language (Chinese). However, keyboards also include a variety of
other keys that are dedicated to specific functions or are assigned functions by the soft-
ware running on the PC, such as a keyboard’s function keys.
Akeyboard’skeyscanbegroupedintofunctionalgroups,asillustratedinFigure18-2: Alphabetic keys The alphabetic keys along with the row numbers and
special characters. These keys match those on a typewriter.
Cursor control keys Located to the right of the alphabetic keys, this group
of keys has two smaller groups of keys: the cursor function keys and the
cursor arrow keys.
Function keys Typically located across the top of a keyboard today, they
were once located on either side of a keyboard. Current keyboards have 12
function keys, while most older keyboards have 8.
Number pad keys The number pad, which is located on the extreme right
side of nearly all modern keyboards, contains keys for ten numbers, as well
as the four arithmetic functions. The number pad can also be used as a cursor
control pad by toggling theNUM LOCKkey.Figure 18-1. A typical PC keyboard