Caps Lock

Last updated
The Caps Lock key on a PC keyboard with US keyboard layout (near upper-left corner, below the Tab key and above the left Shift key) Keyboard-left keys.jpg
The Caps Lock key on a PC keyboard with US keyboard layout (near upper-left corner, below the Tab key and above the left Shift key)

Caps Lock⇪ Caps Lock is a button on a computer keyboard that causes all letters of bicameral scripts to be generated in capital letters. It is a toggle key: each press reverses the previous action. Some keyboards also implement a light to give visual feedback about whether it is on or off. Exactly what Caps Lock does depends on the keyboard hardware, the operating system, the device driver, and the keyboard layout. Usually, the effect is limited to letter keys. Letters of non-bicameral scripts (e.g. Arabic, Hebrew, Hindi) and non-letter characters are generated normally.

Contents

History

Depressing caps lock.jpg

The Caps Lock key originated as a Shift lock key on mechanical typewriters. An early innovation in typewriters was the introduction of a second character on each typebar, thereby doubling the number of characters that could be typed, using the same number of keys. The second character was positioned above the first on the face of each typebar, and the typewriter's Shift key caused the entire type apparatus to move, physically shifting the positioning of the typebars relative to the ink ribbon. Just as in modern computer keyboards, the shifted position was used to produce capitals and secondary characters.

The Shift lock key was introduced so the shift operation could be maintained indefinitely without continuous effort. It mechanically locked the typebars in the shifted position, causing the upper character to be typed upon pressing any key. Because the two shift keys on a typewriter required more force to operate and were meant to be pressed by the little finger, it could be difficult to hold the shift down for more than two or three consecutive strokes, therefore the introduction of the Shift lock key was also meant to reduce finger muscle pain caused by repetitive typing.[ citation needed ]

Mechanical typewriter shift lock is typically set by pushing both Shift and lock at the same time, and released by pressing Shift by itself. Computer Caps Lock is set and released by the same key, and the Caps Lock behavior in most QWERTY keyboard layouts differs from the Shift lock behavior in that it capitalizes letters but does not affect other keys, such as numbers or punctuation. Some early computer keyboards, such as the Commodore 64, had a Shift lock but no Caps Lock; others, such as the BBC Micro, had both, only one of which could be enabled at a time.[ citation needed ]

Abolition

There are some proposals to abolish the caps-lock key as being obsolete. [1] [2] [3] Pieter Hintjens, the CEO of iMatix, started a "Capsoff" organization proposing hardware manufacturers delete the Caps Lock key. [1] Google has removed the Caps Lock on the Chromebook keyboard, replacing it with the "Everything Button"; the caps-lock function is then reproduced using an "alt" key combination. [4] [5]

In fact, the current German keyboard layout standard DIN 2137-01:2023-08 (like its preceding edition from 2018) specifies the function of the key as optional, to be replaced by other keys or key combinations. It recommends the function only to be invoked when it is pressed simultaneously with the Control key, while otherwise it acts as a “left AltGr key”, thus enabling touch typists to access all key combinations using AltGr without using two fingers of the same hand, which is considered to be an ergonomic advantage. As a side effect, any inadvertent pressing of this key without pressing another key simultaneously has no effect.

Behavior

Caps Lock on an Apple keyboard. The green LED on the key is lit, indicating that Caps Lock is on. AppleCapsLock.jpg
Caps Lock on an Apple keyboard. The green LED on the key is lit, indicating that Caps Lock is on.

Typical Caps Lock behavior is that pressing the key sets an input mode in which all typed letters are uppercase, if applicable. The keyboard remains in Caps Lock mode and would generate all caps text until the key is pressed again. Keyboards often include a small LED to indicate that Caps Lock is active, either on the key itself or in a dedicated indicators area, where Scroll Lock and Num Lock indicators are also located. On the original IBM PC keyboard, this LED was exclusively controlled by the keyboard. Since the introduction of IBM PC/AT, it is under control of the operating system. Small keyboards, such as netbook keyboards, forgo the indicators to conserve space, instead providing software that gives on-screen or audio feedback.

In most cases, the status of the Caps Lock key only changes the meaning of the alphabet keys, not that of any other key. Microsoft Windows enforces this behavior only when a keyboard layout for a Latin-based script is active, e.g. the "English (United States)" layout but not the "Persian" layout. On certain non-QWERTY keyboard layouts, such as the French AZERTY and the German QWERTZ, Caps Lock still behaves like a traditional Shift lock, i.e., the keyboard behaves as if the Shift key is held down, causing the keyboard to input the alternative values of the keys; example the 5 key generates a "%" when ⇪ Caps Lock is pressed. This is not true for the layout "German (IBM)".

Depending on the keyboard layout used, the Shift key, when pressed in combination with a Latin-based letter button while Caps Lock is already on, is either ignored, or reverses the effect of Caps Lock, so that typed characters are in lowercase again. Microsoft Windows enforces the latter. RISC OS offers both – Caps Lock alone chooses the former, Shift-Caps Lock the latter.

While the typical locking behavior on keyboards with a ⇪ Caps Lock key is that of a toggle, each press reversing the shift state, some keyboard layouts implement a combi mode,[ example needed ] where pressing a Shift key in Caps Lock mode will also release the Caps Lock mode, just as it typically happens in Shift lock mode.

Some keyboard drivers[ example needed ] include a configuration option to deactivate the Caps Lock key. This behavior allows users to decide themselves whether they want to use the key, or to disable it to prevent accidental activation.

In the Unix communities of the ex-USSR countries, Caps Lock key is traditionally used as input language switcher, convenient for usage with touch typing. Support for this is present in KDE, [6] GNOME and other desktop environments. Default Russian and Ukrainian layouts for FreeBSD specify Caps Lock as input language switcher. In Microsoft Windows, third-party utilities are needed to enable this behavior. [7] [8] In such configurations, the original Caps Lock function is reached with the ⇧ Shift+⇪ Caps Lock combination.

Precautions

Most apps that request users to input a password do not display it on screen, so as not to expose it to prying eyes. A user who does not pay proper attention to the Caps Lock indicator might type the wrong password (in which all small letters become capital letters or vice versa). As such, help guides, tech support materials, and app user interfaces may include warnings on checking the Caps Lock state before typing a password. In Microsoft Windows login screens, a warning that Caps Lock is on is shown in a balloon near the field. In macOS, when Caps Lock is on, a Caps Lock symbol (U+21EA⇪UPWARDS WHITE ARROW FROM BAR) is displayed inside a password field.

SGCAPS

In Microsoft Windows, there are keyboard layouts, such as Swiss German, whose keys generate non-uppercase symbols when pressed in combination with ⇧ Shift. [9]

SGCAPS is named after the first keyboard layout to use this feature; (Swiss German CAPS). [10]

Placement

Modern keyboard that can exchange Caps Lock and left Control keys Caps Lock Control Swappable.jpg
Modern keyboard that can exchange Caps Lock and left Control keys

Since its inception, the IBM PC keyboard had a Caps Lock. In the first version for PC/XT, Caps Lock was located to the bottom right of the letter keys area. Subsequent models switched the places of the Caps Lock key and the Control key. As such, Caps Lock has since been placed on left edge of the keyboard, above the Shift key and below the Tab key, next to letter A. This layout has become the de facto popular standard.

The keyboards of some early computer terminals, including the Teletype Model 33 ASR and Lear-Siegler ADM-3A, the Apple II, and a few Apple Keyboard models retained the Control key where PC/XT first had it; Caps Lock was either absent on these devices or was placed elsewhere. This layout was preserved for later workstation systems and is often associated with Unix workstations. Keyboards from Sun Microsystems came in two layouts; "Unix" and "PC-style", with the Unix layout having the traditional placing of the Control key and other keys. [11] The Amiga computers all had both the Control key and Caps Lock key in this spot at half the width.

Some users of keyboards with Caps Lock on the left remap the keys to exchange Control and Caps Lock, finding the traditional location more ergonomic for using programs benefiting from use of the Control key. Keyboard layout preferences specifically to address this need are available in some operating systems. Some keyboards even provide a switch on the bottom to logically swap the two keys in hardware. [12] [13]

The Happy Hacking Keyboard and the keyboards produced for OLPC XO computers also have the Control key in this location, while not including a Caps Lock. [14] Beginning with the Google Cr-48, Chromebooks have omitted Caps Lock in favor of either a Search button or an "Everything Button". [15] Holding down Alt and pressing the Everything Button enables Caps Lock, which is enabled until Shift is pressed. [5]

Observances

June 28 and October 22 are semiannually observed as International Caps Lock Day as a parody holiday created in October 2000 by Derek Arnold, a user on MetaFilter. The second observation on June 28 was added by Arnold in memory of American pitchman Billy Mays. [16] [17] [18]

Related Research Articles

The keyboard for IBM PC-compatible computers is standardized. However, during the more than 30 years of PC architecture being frequently updated, many keyboard layout variations have been developed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">QWERTY</span> Keyboard layout for Latin-script alphabets

QWERTY is a keyboard layout for Latin-script alphabets. The name comes from the order of the first six keys on the top letter row of the keyboard: QWERTY. The QWERTY design is based on a layout included in the Sholes and Glidden typewriter sold via E. Remington and Sons from 1874. QWERTY became popular with the success of the Remington No. 2 of 1878 and remains in ubiquitous use.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scroll Lock</span> Computer key

Scroll Lock is a lock key on most IBM-compatible computer keyboards. Depending on the operating system, it may be used for different purposes, and applications may assign functions to the key or change their behavior depending on its toggling state. The key is not frequently used, and therefore some reduced or specialized keyboards lack Scroll Lock altogether.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Control key</span> Key on computer keyboards

In computing, a Control keyCtrl is a modifier key which, when pressed in conjunction with another key, performs a special operation. Similarly to the Shift key, the Control key rarely performs any function when pressed by itself. The Control key is located on or near the bottom left side of most keyboards, with many featuring an additional one at the bottom right.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AZERTY</span> Keyboard layout used for French

AZERTY is a specific layout for the characters of the Latin alphabet on typewriter keys and computer keyboards. The layout takes its name from the first six letters to appear on the first row of alphabetical keys; that is,. Similar to the QWERTZ layout, it is modelled on the English QWERTY layout. It is used in France and Belgium, although each of these countries has its own national variation on the layout. Luxembourg and Switzerland use the Swiss QWERTZ keyboard. Most residents of Quebec, the mainly French-speaking province of Canada, use a QWERTY keyboard that has been adapted to the French language such as the Multilingual Standard keyboard CAN/CSA Z243.200-92 which is stipulated by the government of Quebec and the Government of Canada.

A dead key is a special kind of modifier key on a mechanical typewriter, or computer keyboard, that is typically used to attach a specific diacritic to a base letter. The dead key does not generate a (complete) character by itself, but modifies the character generated by the key struck immediately after. Thus, a dedicated key is not needed for each possible combination of a diacritic and a letter, but rather only one dead key for each diacritic is needed, in addition to the normal base letter keys.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Windows key</span> Keyboard key

The Windows key is a keyboard key which was originally introduced on Microsoft's Natural Keyboard in 1994. Windows 95 used it to bring up the start menu and it then became a standard key on PC keyboards. On computers running the Microsoft Windows operating system, Ctrl+Esc performs the same function, in case the keyboard lacks this key.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shift key</span> Key on typewriter or computer keyboard

The Shift key⇧ Shift is a modifier key on a keyboard, used to type capital letters and other alternate "upper" characters. There are typically two Shift keys, on the left and right sides of the row below the home row. The Shift key's name originated from the typewriter, where one had to press and hold the button to shift up the case stamp to change to capital letters; the Shift key was first used in the Remington No. 2 Type-Writer of 1878; the No. 1 model was capital-only. On the US layout and similar keyboard layouts, characters that typically require the use of the Shift key include the parentheses, the question mark, the exclamation point, and the colon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AltGr key</span> Modifier key on some computer keyboards

AltGr is a modifier key found on many computer keyboards. It is primarily used to type special characters and symbols that are not widely used in the territory where sold, such as foreign currency symbols, typographic marks and accented letters. On a typical Windows-compatible PC keyboard, the AltGr key, when present, takes the place of the right-hand Alt key. The key at this location will operate as AltGr if a keyboard layout using AltGr is chosen in the operating system, regardless of what is engraved on the key. In macOS, the Option key has functions similar to the AltGr key.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alt key</span> Computer key

The Alt keyAlt on a computer keyboard is used to change (alternate) the function of other pressed keys. Thus, the Alt key is a modifier key, used in a similar fashion to the Shift key. For example, simply pressing A will type the letter 'a', but holding down the Alt key while pressing A will cause the computer to perform an Alt+A function, which varies from program to program. The international standard ISO/IEC 9995-2 calls it Alternate key. The key is located on either side of the space bar, but in non-US PC keyboard layouts, rather than a second Alt key, there is an 'Alt Gr' key to the right of the space bar. Both placements are in accordance with ISO/IEC 9995-2. With some keyboard mappings, the right Alt key can be reconfigured to function as an AltGr key although not engraved as such.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Option key</span> Modifier key present on Apple keyboards

The Option key, ⌥, is a modifier key present on Apple keyboards. It is located between the Control key and the Command key on a typical Mac keyboard. There are two Option keys on modern Mac desktop and notebook keyboards, one on each side of the space bar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Insert key</span> Computer keyboard key

The Insert keyInsert is a key commonly found on computer keyboards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Japanese input method</span> Methods used to input Japanese characters on a computer

Japanese input methods are used to input Japanese characters on a computer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fn key</span> Keyboard modifier key

The Fn key, short form for function, is a modifier key on many keyboards, especially external keyboards, and is not available for mobile devices. For use in a compact layout, combine keys which are normally kept separate. It-Alt + FN is typically found on laptops due to their keyboard size restrictions. It is also found on many full-sized "multimedia" keyboards as the F-Lock key. It is mainly for the purpose of changing display or audio settings quickly, such as brightness, contrast, or volume, and is held down in conjunction with the Caps Lock to change the settings.

On personal computers with numeric keypads that use Microsoft operating systems, such as Windows, many characters that do not have a dedicated key combination on the keyboard may nevertheless be entered using the Alt code. This is done by pressing and holding the Alt key, then typing a number on the keyboard's numeric keypad that identifies the character and then releasing Alt.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hebrew keyboard</span> Keyboard layout

A Hebrew keyboard comes in two different keyboard layouts. Most Hebrew keyboards are bilingual, with Latin characters, usually in a US Qwerty layout.

Language input keys, which are usually found on Japanese and Korean keyboards, are keys designed to translate letters using an input method editor (IME). On non-Japanese or Korean keyboard layouts using an IME, these functions can usually be reproduced via hotkeys, though not always directly corresponding to the behavior of these keys.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Computer keyboard</span> Data input device

A computer keyboard is a peripheral input device modeled after the typewriter keyboard which uses an arrangement of buttons or keys to act as mechanical levers or electronic switches. Replacing early punched cards and paper tape technology, interaction via teleprinter-style keyboards have been the main input method for computers since the 1970s, supplemented by the computer mouse since the 1980s.

JCUKEN is the main Cyrillic keyboard layout for the Russian language in computers and typewriters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Keyboard layout</span> Arrangement of keys on a typographic keyboard

A keyboard layout is any specific physical, visual, or functional arrangement of the keys, legends, or key-meaning associations (respectively) of a computer keyboard, mobile phone, or other computer-controlled typographic keyboard.

References

  1. 1 2 "Death to CAPS LOCK", Wired, August 2006. Retrieved July 14, 2019.
  2. ↑ Daniel Colin James, It’s time for CAPS LOCK to die", Medium, May 24, 2019. Retrieved July 14, 2019.
  3. ↑ "I Hate the CapsLock key". Archived from the original on 2010-07-22. Retrieved 2009-09-23.
  4. ↑ Anna Attkisson, "How to Turn On CAPS LOCK on a Chromebook", Laptop Magazine, January 23, 2018. Retrieved July 14, 2019.
  5. 1 2 Diaz, Jesus (December 7, 2010). "Google wants to take your Caps Lock key away". Gizmodo . Retrieved December 9, 2010.
  6. ↑ "Верхом на Debian GNU Linux: Настройка переключателя раскладки в KDE - прощайте, тормоза!". April 1, 2008. Retrieved June 28, 2014.
  7. ↑ "Переключение раскладки клавиатуры в Windows по Caps Lock: окончательный выбор". December 20, 2013. Retrieved June 28, 2014.
  8. ↑ "cpswitch" . Retrieved June 28, 2014.
  9. ↑ "Keyboard layouts with SGCAPS keys". kbdlayout.info. Retrieved 2024-11-18.
  10. ↑ "Swiss German - Keyboard Layout Info". kbdlayout.info. Retrieved 2024-11-18.
  11. ↑ Sun hardware reference manual
  12. ↑ "WASD V2/V2B User Guide" (PDF). wasdkeyboards.com. Retrieved 2016-10-24.
  13. ↑ "Pok3r User Guide" (PDF). vortexgear.tw. Retrieved 2016-10-24.
  14. ↑ Marti, Don (October 27, 2006). "Doing it for the kids, man: Children's laptop inspires open source projects". Linux World. IDG. Archived from the original on 2007-11-22. Retrieved 2007-11-05.
  15. ↑ Schoon, Ben (2020-10-28). "The 'Everything' button is on every single Chromebook". 9to5Google . Retrieved 2020-12-21.
  16. ↑ Brian, Matt (October 22, 2010). "Today is INTERNATIONAL CAPS LOCK DAY, but what is it?" . Retrieved October 22, 2010.
  17. ↑ Popkin, Helen A.S. (October 10, 2012). "CAPS LOCK DAY COMES BUT TWICE A YEAR!". NBC News . NBCUniversal News Group. Archived from the original on April 9, 2016. Retrieved September 12, 2015.
  18. ↑ Hoffer, Steven (June 28, 2011). "CAPS LOCK DAY 2011: Celebrate Capital Letters With TWEETS!". Huffington Post . Archived from the original on July 22, 2014. Retrieved September 12, 2015.
IBM PC keyboard (Windows, ANSI US layout)
Esc F1 F2 F3 F4 F5 F6 F7 F8 F9 F10 F11 F12 PrtScn/
SysRq 		Scroll
Lock 		Pause/
Break
KB United States-NoAltGr.svg
 Insert Home PgUp Num
Lock 		∕ ∗ −
Delete End PgDn 7 8 9 +
4 5 6
↑ 1 2 3 Enter
← ↓ →    0
   Ins 		  .  
Del
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.