h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I misundertood what the abbreviations meant. I thought they stood for "Part Scroll."

On my keyboard, the Print Screen button says "Print Screen" rather than PrtSc.

I use that key about 3 or 4 times a week. I don't think I've ever used Scroll Lock, and I've been using a PC since 1981 or 1982.

I've never used scrolllock either.

There are a lot of keys along the top of the keyboard with F's in front of them. Why are so many of them needed?

We used to use Scroll Lock when we used a PC as a terminal emulator - to pause the scrolling output. Going back to the 80s, here.

useful in Word F7 does a spelling & grammar check whereas Shift F7 brings up the Thesorus.

I just tried the Scroll Lock with the Command prompt (type cd.. followed by dir/s and it should scroll for a while).

Scroll Lock didn't work, but Pause/Break did (press any key to continue scrolling)

In many (all?) browsers, F11?thread=In many (all?) browsers, F11?thread=In many (all?) browsers, F11?thread=In many (all?) browsers, F11?thread=In many (all?) browsers, F11 brings you into full-screen mode, which can be very handy, what with all the extra bars installed on some machines... Y. PS: On German keyboards, the Control key is labelled STRG - which makes sense, as the German translation of Control (in this context) is "Steuerung" - so why is it that many German computer users call this key the "String" key? That ain't no German word! Y.

There are so many F keys because the keyboard was designed before graphical interfaces and mice were common. So to do things, you had to press buttons, and the more special buttons there were, the more things you could do. Now you just click on an icon.

Yes, things have progressed, if that is the correct word.
Maybe it's more accurate to say things have just changed.

I never got the hang of the F (Function) keys. Except
way back when I first had to use a keyboard to write
scripts and office memos, I vaguely recall F-11 was
'Reveal Codes' and would show all the otherwise invisible
coding that was part of the formatting of a page - things
like spaces, underscores and HR (Hard Returns).

We often had to see these codes to figure out why an unwanted
gap had occurred or a line had run on without a carriage return.
Scripts have lots of peculiar formatting demands including
a lot of Centering of headers and FULL CAPS in {brackets}
for sound, lighting and stage directions.

Usually it just showed where a finger had rested on a key
longer than it should. Took a long time for me to learn to
type without the satisfying clicky sounds of a typewriter.

I had (have) the habit of resting my fingerbones on the keys
while I contemplate the next word or sentence. That's probably
why I keep setting off the AltCar key.


~jwf~

on German keyboards (well, the ones I use) have Druck (print) and S-Abf. I use the former all the time (sending screenshots of error messages to my HQ boys to fix...) but I have no idea what S-Abf meas or does.

I love AltGr + Arrow - I have a monitor that can be used in portrait as well as landscape, which would be useful for some of the long - narrow screens, but that key combination would be great for doing the same with a notebook.

@€µ²³| - those are the keys I need AltGr for on this netbook.

Oh... I just read a wiki article (don't give me that, okay? Hootoo does not have an entry on S-Abf!!!) on the S-Abf key on German keyboards. It's the equivalent to the English SysRq key. Oh boy... the wiki article had fun words in it, none of which make any sense to me. But I liked the "kerneldebugger" - sounded too much like Colonel D. Bugger

Y.

As far as I remember, SysRq (system request) was put on to the original IBM PCs even though it didn't do anything. Obviously the team designing the keyboard were led to believe it would be needed, but the team designing the operating system decided they didn't need it after all. So it never did anything. Its original suggested function was to switch from one operating system to another or something.

Once they'd provided it, they didn't want to remove it in case some programs had used it, so it is still there and still not used.

Apperently, Linux systems can be set up to give some sort of "magical system request" function to the SysRq key. Apperently, this lets you use the computer even if the computer does not work - or something...


... says Yelbakk and has no idea what he is talking about even though he is on a Linux Ubuntu system...

Y.

It never ceases to amaze me that even other years of computer use one can still pick up life-changing hints'n'tips. Things that make you think 'Jaysus! If only I'd known that...'

Yesterday I was working with a colleague who used her PC in an entirely different way to mine. Neither of us could figure out what the other was doing. I was completely surprised that she'd never come across the outline view in Word which I find indispensable. She had a mysterious way of popping up a wee window which has all your open documents listed so that you don't have to click on the buttons in your task bar.

btw...finding buttons to cheat at games...

To my children it seems that 'Cheat Codes' are part of the game. It's accepted that you'll seek out sites so that you can have more mushrooms or killer otters or whatever.

I'm using someone else's (Spanish) laptop, and I've just discovered a top-line key that apparently unblocks the system. The instruction is "Impr Pant Pet Sis".

"IMPress with your PANTs, my PET SISter"???
Man, those Spanish...

Y.

As it's the lunch break, I thought I'd try Alt Gr ->

The screen went black, then everything was sideways-on.

I finally got out of it (before getting a crick in my neck) buy pressing AltGr and arow-upwards.

I don't know why I'm making so many typing mistakes this lunch break. Perhaps my keyboard is offended that I'm experimenting with it.