Keyboard - a device, to input text and characters by depressing buttons (referred to as keys), similar to a typewriter.

The most common Englishlanguage key layout is the QWERTY layout. The 5 Main Parts of the Keyboard a. Alphanumeric keys the letters from A to Z with punctuation symbols. When Shift is pressed at the same time it creates upper-case letters or the upper case symbol for the punctuation keys. b. Cursor Movement/Directional keys - are also called arrow keys; Pressing these keys will move the cursor one character or one line in the direction of the arrow. c. Numeric keys - are located in the numeric keypad on the right side of the keyboard which functions like a calculator. To enter numbers from the keypad, press the Num Lock key, which acts as an on-off switch. When the Num Lock light indicator is. off, the keypad will function not as a number but as indicated therein. d. Functions keys - are keys from F1 to F 12, which are used to perform special functions. Pressing a function key may allow the user to accomplish something quickly or it may be the only way to issue a command. e. Special keys - are additional keys of the computer keyboard that perform special functions. They are usually found in modern keyboards. Kinds of Special Key a. Shift key - makes a capital letter or the upper symbol on number keys when used in combination with other keys, b. Enter or Return key - is the carriage return key. It is pressed if you want to go down to the next line. It is also pressed to tell the computer that you are done entering the command or have completed a line of text. c. Control key (Ctrl) - is similar to the shift key in that it is held down while you press another key. When pressed together with the alphabetic key, enables the user to perform specific functions and commands d. Alternate key (Alt) - is used in the same manner as the control key. e. Caps Lock or Capital Lock key - when pressed once it locks the characters A to Z in the uppercase mode. f. Print Screen key - is pressed when you want to capture a snapshot of what you see on the screen. g. Backspace key - is pressed to move the cursor one character to the left while deleting the character. h. Space Bar - is pressed to enter a blank space on the screen instead of a character. i. Escape key (ESC) - is pressed in case of process interruption; it is used to go back to a previous screen, previous application, or to clear or reset a command. j. Tab key - is usually used to move the cursor to the next tab stop at the right of the cursor's present position k. Scroll Lock key - is a special-purpose key; It locks the scrolling of the "electronic page". When pressed together with CTRL, it enables the user to return to the command level without saving any changes made. I. Delete key (Del) - is used to delete character at the cursor position or it is used to delete characters to the right of the cursor while moving the cursor one space to the right. m. Insert Key (Ins) - allow you to insert characters to the left of the cursor when the insert mode IS on. n, Page Up and Page Down keys - are pressed to display screen information one screen up or one screen down. o. Home and End keys - when pressed, it causes the cursor to move to the top (home) or bottom (end) of the screen.