Chapter 18: Keyboards, Mice, and Pointing Devices^445
Character selection keys TheSHIFTkey is used to toggle a key between its
lowercase and uppercase characters. TheCAPS LOCKkey locks the alphabetic
keys into uppercase characters (theSHIFTkey is used to toggle to the lower
case letters when theCAPS LOCKkey is engaged). TheBACKSPACEkey erases
a character by replacing it with the character or white space that follows it.
Command control keys The Control (CTRL) andALT(short for alternate control
keys) keys are used in combination with the alphabetic, numeric, and function
keys to designate or control actions or commands to software programs.
White space keys TheSPACEBARand theTABkeys are commonly referred to
as the white space keys. TheSPACEBARproduces one character of white space
and theTABkey defaults to half an inch of white space.
Number/special character keys Across the top of the alphabetic keys is a row
of 12 or 13 keys that contain 26 different numbers and special characters. The
number keys (1 through 9 and 0) are standard on all keyboards, but the special
characters that are located on these same keys can vary depending on the
region. The special character keys, which are accessed through theSHIFTkey,
are ~ (tilde), ` (single quote),! (exclamation point), @ (at sign), # (pound or
number sign), $ (dollar sign), % (percent sign), ^ (carat), & (ampersand), *
(asterisk), ( (opening/left parenthesis), ) (closing/right parenthesis), - (hyphen),
_ (underscore), = (equal sign), + (plus sign).Toggles and Locks
Some keys, such as theSHIFT,CTRL, andALTkeys are toggle keys. Toggle keys have two val-
ues that can be selected, a default value when the key is not pressed and an alternate value
when pressed. For example, theSHIFTkey’s default is lowercase, which is what you get if you
do not press theSHIFTkey and press an alphabetic key. Pressing theSHIFTkey toggles any
pressed alphabetic character to its uppercase value. The toggle value is only in effect while
the toggle key is being pressed. When the key is released, the value reverts to its default.
Figure 18-3. The alphabetic keys on the standard keyboard