A QWERTY keyboard has letter and number keys, and
it also has many other keys that do important things.
TIP: Some keyboards, like a keyboard on a Mac or a
laptop, may not have all of these keys. If you can't find
a key on your keyboard, ask someone who's familiar
with your computer for help.
The BACKSPACE key and the
DELETE key can
delete text when they're pressed.
You'll use the BACKSPACE and DELETE keys to
erase errors from text you type.
When you press and hold the SHIFT key while
pressing a letter on the keyboard, you type the
capitalized version of the letter.
When you press and hold the SHIFT key while
pressing a number on the keyboard, a symbol
appears. For example, when you press and hold the
SHIFT key while you press 1, an exclamation point
appears.
Later, you'll use the SHIFT key to create symbols and
capital letters.
The Function keys are keys
that make an operating
system or software program do special tasks when
they're pressed.
For example, pressing a certain Function key could
send a document to the printer.
The CTRL key lets you do
certain tasks with your
keyboard by pressing and holding the CTRL key while
you press another key.
For example, in some software programs, you can
press and hold the CTRL key while you press the S
key to save your work.
The Command key is a key that works like the CTRL
key.
Keyboards for AppleŽ computers sometimes have a
Command key instead of a CTRL key.
