Who uses the scroll lock key and why?

Scroll Lock is a toggling lock key on the keyboard, just like the CAPS LOCK key. Once pressed, Scroll Lock is enabled. To use the arrow keys to move between cells, you must turn Scroll Lock off.
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I'm in IT, and just now, to test this information, was the first time I've used scroll lock.
 
Scroll Lock is a toggling lock key on the keyboard, just like the CAPS LOCK key. Once pressed, Scroll Lock is enabled. To use the arrow keys to move between cells, you must turn Scroll Lock off.
 
Toxic T said:
Scroll Lock is a toggling lock key on the keyboard, just like the CAPS LOCK key. Once pressed, Scroll Lock is enabled. To use the arrow keys to move between cells, you must turn Scroll Lock off.
Click to expand...

Scroll Lock is a toggling lock key on the keyboard, just like the CAPS LOCK key. Once pressed, Scroll Lock is enabled. To use the arrow keys to move between cells, you must turn Scroll Lock off.
 
It removes your mouse cursor from screenshots when used in conjunction with the Print Screen key
 
Just searched my laptop's keyboard - it does not have one.

Still has that sysrq key though.
 
wabbit16 said:
It removes your mouse cursor from screenshots when used in conjunction with the Print Screen key
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Only use I knew of. What was the original purpose, Microsoft forcing it onto keyboards due to excel?

garyc said:
Just searched my laptop's keyboard - it does not have one.

Still has that sysrq key though.
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Check your insert key.
 
Johnatan56 said:
Microsoft forcing it onto keyboards due to excel?
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Hehe. Evil Microsoft, eh. :p

Actually, the Scroll Lock key has been on standard PC keyboards ever since the original IBM PC in 1981, long before GUIs or Excel existed. It was used on the IBM Personal Computer to toggle how the arrow keys worked. When On, the arrow key scrolls the whole text block. When Off, the arrow keys move the cursor one character at a time (or line up/down for vertical arrow keys).

It's not a Microsoft conspiracy.
 
RoganDawes said:
It could also be used to pause screenfuls of data which were scrolling off the screen, IIRC. Back in the old DOS days, that was.
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Doesn't work that way on FreeDOS (pause does the trick though).

Thinking back I honestly can't remember ever using it, looking at my keyboard it does add to the symmetry of the key layout between the main & numeric sections though :)
 
On FreeBSD console after pressing scroll lock you can use pgup/pgdn to scroll through the boot messages (similar to shift+pgup on Linux).
 
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