Fn key

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Fn key on a Dell Inspiron 1150 laptop Keyboard fn key.png
Fn key on a Dell Inspiron 1150 laptop
Fn key on a USB Raspberry Pi keyboard RaspberryPi KeyBoardHub MetaKey.jpg
Fn key on a USB Raspberry Pi keyboard

The Fn key, short form for function, is a modifier key on many keyboards, especially on laptops, used in a compact layout to combine keys which are usually kept separate. It 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 appropriate key to change the settings.

Contents

Compact layouts

Typically, in a compact layout the main area of the keyboard (containing the letter keys) is kept in much the same layout as with a full-sized keyboard, and the numeric keypad is moved to share a group of central keys. This allows typists to enter text without having to learn a new layout. The symbol that is accessed through pressing Fn is often printed on the key in a smaller font, a box, or different colour (usually blue but sometimes orange). [ citation needed ]

Apple iBook compact layout (UK) KB UK Apple compact.svg
Apple iBook compact layout (UK)

This 78-key UK layout is taken from the Apple iBook. Characters in blue are accessed through the Fn key, but functions on the top row can be accessed without Fn key in Mac OS X.

Technical details

Fn is a modifier key, and works like other modifiers keys, such as Ctrl, Shift, Alt and AltGr. For a standard modifier key, the microcontroller inside the keyboard sends a scancode for the modifier itself, which is then interpreted by the operating system and combined with other simultaneous key-presses. The Fn key is a form of meta-modifier key, in that it causes the operating system to see altered scancodes when other keys on the keyboard are pressed. This allows the keyboard to directly emulate a full-sized keyboard, so the operating system can use standard keymaps designed for a full-sized keyboard. However, because the operating system has no notion of the Fn key, the key can not normally be remapped in software, unlike all other standard keyboard keys.

While it is more common for the Fn key processing to happen directly in the keyboard micro-controller, offering no knowledge to the main computer of whether the Fn key was pressed, some manufacturers, like Lenovo, perform this mapping in BIOS, allowing remapping the Fn key for the built-in keyboard; [1] and Apple, in which the Fn key is mappable and serves other uses too, as triggering the Dictation function by pressing the Fn key twice.

In addition to being mapped to standard keyboard keys like Scroll Lock and Num Lock, the Fn key combinations may also be mapped to control system interfaces to change the LCD brightness, VGA output, or speaker volume on most laptop computers.

Fn and Control key placement

There is not yet an agreed-upon standard for the placement of the Fn key, although most manufacturers have elected to place it alongside a shrunken and/or displaced left Control key. Because the Control key is most frequently associated with OS and application shortcuts (such as Control+S to save a document, or Control+Shift+Escape to launch the Task Manager in modern versions of Microsoft Windows), altering its size and placement is often regarded as inconvenient for users accustomed to the larger left Control key on IBM PC-style keyboards commonly used for desktop computers. [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]

The majority of portable computer manufacturers today (including HP, Dell, and Samsung) currently place the Fn key between the left Control key and the left Windows key, making it the second key from the left on the bottom row of the keyboard. This usually means that the Control key is reduced in size, but allows it to remain in the lowest-left position on the keyboard.

Conversely, Lenovo currently arrange keyboards on their ThinkPad computers with the Fn key as the lowest-left, making Control the second-from-left on the bottom row. This arrangement is currently unique to ThinkPads amongst all laptops shipped with Windows, but it is one that has been in place since the modern ThinkPad product line was introduced by IBM in 1992. IBM designers chose this arrangement at least in part because it allowed the laptop's ThinkLight to be turned on in the dark simply by feeling for the keys in two of the keyboard's corners. [7] Notably, ThinkPads did not include Windows keys on any of their keyboards until 2006, which meant that though the left Control key was displaced by the Fn key, neither it nor the left Alt key needed to be made smaller. The inclusion of Windows keys on ThinkPad models from mid-2006 onwards was achieved mainly by shrinking the left Alt key, which means that ThinkPad keyboards now generally have larger left Control keys than those of many other manufacturers, and are unique in preserving on laptops the Control, Windows, and Alt key arrangement used on most desktop keyboards. Many laptops place the Fn key at a less convenient position (and with a smaller size) within the top row of functions keys F1 to F12 and other "multimedia" or manufacturer-specific device/power control key.

Apple also place the Fn key at the bottom left of the keyboard, displacing and shrinking the left Control key, though this is less controversial as macOS, the main operating system for most Apple laptops, is much less reliant on the Control key for shortcuts and modifiers than Windows or Unix-like operating systems.

This inconsistency between manufacturers, and the overall issue of Control key shrinkage, has long been a point of contention between laptop purchasers and users, which is aggravated by the fact that on most keyboards the Fn key is mapped at the hardware level and so cannot be remapped (that is, reconfigured or virtually "moved") at the OS level. [8] Lenovo, however, have since circa 2011 allowed users to reverse the Fn and left Control key arrangement via a BIOS setting. [9]

Other manufacturers have chosen to map the Fn key not to the left of the space bar but instead to the right, so that the space bar can be better centered with the rest positions (alphabetic keys F and J on Latin layouts), without sacrificing the width of the left Control and left Alt key (already reduced by the insertion of the left Win key between them), while keeping AltGr on the right large enough for more frequent use on international layouts; in that case, the Fn key just replaces the second Win key (which is optional and in fact not needed) of extended PC keyboards. Other manufacturers have placed the Fn key at end of row B, immediately to the right of the second Shift key which is larger than necessary for typing text, in order to map the second Win key next to the right of AltGr, or to preserve the conventional placement of Japanese input mode keys.

A different solution, which side-steps the Fn key placement issue altogether, is to remap the Caps-Lock key as Control. [10] This emulates the layout of the IBM Model F keyboard for the original IBM PC, which placed the Caps-Lock key where right Control is found on modern keyboards, a location that is favoured by some Vim and Emacs users because of its prominent location and long-time use on Unix workstations.

Common Fn key features

Fn key features vary from keyboard to keyboard, but the common ones are the following:

Related Research Articles

The Break key of a computer keyboard refers to breaking a telegraph circuit and originated with 19th century practice. In modern usage, the key has no well-defined purpose, but while this is the case, it can be used by software for miscellaneous tasks, such as to switch between multiple login sessions, to terminate a program, or to interrupt a modem connection.

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">Scroll Lock</span> Computer key

Scroll Lock is a lock key on most IBM-compatible computer keyboards.

In computing, a modifier key is a special key on a computer keyboard that temporarily modifies the normal action of another key when pressed together. By themselves, modifier keys usually do nothing; that is, pressing any of the ⇧ Shift, Alt, or Ctrl keys alone does not (generally) trigger any action from the computer.

<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">ThinkPad</span> Business computers and tablets series by Lenovo

ThinkPad is a line of business-oriented laptop computers and tablets, the early models of which were designed, developed and marketed by IBM, starting in 1992. In 2005 IBM sold its PC business, including laptops to Lenovo. The Chinese manufacturer further developed the line, and is still selling new models in 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Function key</span> Key on a computer or terminal keyboard

A function key is a key on a computer or terminal keyboard that can be programmed to cause the operating system or an application program to perform certain actions, a form of soft key. On some keyboards/computers, function keys may have default actions, accessible on power-on.

<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 characters 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.

The Command key, , formerly also known as the Apple key or open Apple key, is a modifier key present on Apple keyboards. The Command key's purpose is to allow the user to enter keyboard commands in applications and in the system. An "extended" Macintosh keyboard—the most common type—has two command keys, one on each side of the space bar; some compact keyboards have one only on the left.

The magic SysRq key is a key combination understood by the Linux kernel, which allows the user to perform various low-level commands regardless of the system's state. It is often used to recover from freezes, or to reboot a computer without corrupting the filesystem. Its effect is similar to the computer's hardware reset button but with many more options and much more control.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ThinkLight</span> Keyboard light

ThinkLight was a keyboard light present on many older ThinkPad families of notebook computers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gateway AnyKey</span> Programmable PC keyboard

The Gateway AnyKey is a programmable PC keyboard that was sold with desktop computers from the Gateway 2000 company roughly from 1990 to 1997. It was manufactured in at least five known versions and incarnations by Tucson, Arizona-based Maxi Switch, now a subsidiary of LiteOn Technology Corporation. The AnyKey is no longer manufactured, with the latest dated model available marked 1997. Maxi Switch, Gateway, and LiteOn currently do not offer any product labeled as or comparable to the AnyKey.

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. Trilingual keyboard options also exist, with the third script being Arabic or Russian, due to the sizable Arabic- and Russian-speaking populations in Israel.

Super key (❖) is an alternative and older name for what is commonly labelled as the Windows key or Command key on modern keyboards, typically bound and handled as such by Linux and BSD operating systems and software today.

<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.

<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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Numeric keypad</span> Section of computer keyboard

A numeric keypad, number pad, numpad, or ten key, is the palm-sized, usually-17-key section of a standard computer keyboard, usually on the far right. It provides calculator-style efficiency for entering numbers. The idea of a 10-key number pad cluster was originally introduced by Tadao Kashio, the developer of Casio electronic calculators.

References

  1. "FN-CTRL swap on all Lenovo laptops [SOLVED]". notebookreview.com. Archived from the original on 2010-11-14.
  2. Lenovo Fn Key
  3. Thinkpad Fn Ctrl Key
  4. Lenovo Fn Control Swap
  5. FN key placement - I want my control
  6. Fn vs Ctrl let the games begin
  7. Hill, David (2009-07-17). "Fn Versus Ctrl: Let the Games Begin". Design Matters. Archived from the original on 2011-11-15. Retrieved 2018-12-21., Design Matters blog, Lenovo
  8. Fn Key Remapping
  9. Fn Cntrl Swap Lenovo Laptops
  10. Moving the Ctrl Key
  11. "How to Use the Fn Key on Your Laptop".
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