5-1
T
HE
K
EYBOARD

Chapter 5

The Keyboard
The computer’s keyboard layouts are compatible with a 101/102-key enhanced
keyboard. By pressing some keys in combination, all the 101/102-key keyboard
functions can be executed on the computer.
The number of keys on your keyboard depends on which country/region’s key-
board layout your computer is configured with. Keyboards for numerous languages
are available.
There are five types of keys: typewriter keys, keypad overlay, function keys, soft
keys and cursor control keys.

Typewriter keys

The typewriter keys, produce the upper- and lower-case letters, numbers, punctua-
tion marks, and special symbols that appear on the screen.
There are some differences, however, between using a typewriter and using a
computer keyboard:
❑Letters and numbers produced in computer text vary in width. Spaces, which
are created by a “space character,” may also vary depending on line justifica-
tion and other factors.
❑The lowercase l (el) and the number 1 (one) are not interchangeable on
computers as they are on a typewriter.
❑The uppercase O (oh) and the 0 (zero) are not interchangeable.
❑The Caps Lock function key locks only the alphabetic characters in upper-
case while the shift lock on a typewriter places all keys in the shifted position.
❑The Shift keys, the Tab key, and the BkSp (backspace) key perform the
same function as their typewriter counterparts but also have special computer
functions.