Derrick
ლ(ಠ_ಠ )ლ
- Joined
- Nov 22, 2010
- Messages
- 5,085
- Reaction score
- 5
The scroll lock key. It just sits there, unused, disregarded, yet somehow important enough to warrant its own LED status light. WiseGeek.com refers to it as the appendix of the IBM-PC keyboard. So what does one actually do with this unobtrusive little key?
Once upon a time it had a very useful function, back in the day of the 83 key PC/XT and 84 key AT IBM PC keyboards. In these hallowed times (around 1981 to 1983), many screens could only display 25 lines of text. With much code writing taking place, and fancy user interfaces with scroll bars yet to be invented, it was quite a task to move the cursor from line 200 up to line 2.
The scroll lock key was invented as another toggling key – like Num Lock or Caps Lock. When activated, the arrow keys would scroll an entire screen of content, rather than just one line at a time. This function is no longer required and it seems the Scroll Lock has been retained mostly for posterity. There are however a few modern examples where it has been put in to use.
In some spreadsheet applications, such as Microsoft Excel, activating the key will lock the currently selected cell, and allow the spreadsheet to be navigated with the arrow keys without losing the selected cell.
Linux virtual consoles use it to pause screen output (much like the Pause/Break key in DOS systems). The Opera web browser uses it to activate its voice recognition feature. Some KVM switches use it as a modifier key (Scroll Lock + a number key) to switch between computers.
Applications can also use the key for whatever purpose might strike the developer’s fancy. Some games use it to bring up their options menu, or display character inventories. Xfire, a gaming chat application, uses the key when combined with ‘X’ to activate the program. Some programs even hijack the function purely for the use of the LED, making it flash to notify a user of an event.
So there you have it; mystery solved. Be sure to bring this up at your next cocktail party when running out of interesting conversation.