Useless keys on a keyboard

[calderoats]

I never use right shift or the right keys on the bottom row so I normally try to do something useful with them.

I always imagined that the right side keys are useful for left handed people. When you are a left handed mouse user, those modifier keys are useful for you own right-handed hotkey layout. Oh! I just noticed I always use the right hand shift for typing, not the left at all.

[Grrizz]

I use everything except scroll lock (I hear its useful if you use excel a lot though), pause/break, num lock and menu would probably be the least used out of my used keys though.

[TopreFan333]

I use everything except scroll lock (I hear its useful if you use excel a lot though), pause/break, num lock and menu would probably be the least used out of my used keys though.

I actually just remapped "pause" to mute notifications on OS X -- seemed like kind of a good fit.

[Nai_Calus]

Here's my map of useless/marginal/required/daily keys to me: http://www.keyboard-layout-editor.com/#/gists/a3a7bca76145322cf8a8

Blue is at least several times a day, green is frequent but not necessarily daily, yellow is occasional use, red I never use for anything ever. NumLock I suppose is a special case because it's never used due to always being active; so I technically need it to enable NumLock, but after that it never gets used again.

[Eszett]

Here's my opinion.

[ctm]

Get a 60% and get rid of the useless keys
On my 60% kb, I change the caps lock to dual role ctrl/esc. This works great for me because I am a programmer. I also type Pinyin but I use super+space to switch input methods between English and Chinese, so I don't really miss the caps lock.

[bigDave]

I have done part time work at my dads in the past where'd I had to scan and rename documents, I used the menu key a lot then, it has become a habit and I use it to this day.

[KRKS]

My try at picking out keys by usefulness and making a layout out of them. The bottom row is weird like that because that puts the spacebar switch exactly where I hit spacebar.

Raw data(because saving layouts requires now a github account apparently):

More

[{c:"#d1e00b"},"Esc",{x:1},"F1","F2","F3","F4",{x:0.5},"F5","F6","F7","F8",{x:0.5},"F9","F10","F11","F12",{x:0.25},"PrtSc",{c:"#e31010"},"Scroll Lock","Pause\nBreak"],
[{y:0.25,c:"#19d8e6"},"~\n`","!\n1","@\n2","#\n3","$\n4","%\n5","^\n6","&\n7","*\n8","(\n9",")\n0","_\n-","+\n=",{w:2},"Backspace",{x:0.25,c:"#e31010"},"Insert","Home","PgUp",{x:0.25},"Num Lock",{c:"#d1e00b"},"/","*","-"],
[{c:"#19d8e6",w:1.5},"Tab","Q","W","E","R","T","Y","U","I","O","P","{\n[","}\n]",{w:1.5},"|\n\\",{x:0.25,c:"#e31010"},"Delete","End","PgDn",{x:0.25,c:"#d1e00b"},"7\nHome","8\n↑","9\nPgUp",{h:2},"+"],
[{c:"#19d8e6",w:1.75},"Control","A","S","D","F","G","H","J","K","L",":\n;","\"\n'",{w:2.25},"Enter",{x:3.5,c:"#d1e00b"},"4\n←","5","6\n→"],
[{c:"#19d8e6",w:2.25},"Shift","Z","X","C","V","B","N","M","<\n,",">\n.","?\n/",{w:2.75},"Shift",{x:1.25,c:"#e31010"},"↑",{x:1.25,c:"#d1e00b"},"1\nEnd","2\n↓","3\nPgDn",{h:2},"Enter"],
[{w:1.25},"Caps",{w:1.25},"Super",{c:"#19d8e6",w:1.25},"Alt",{a:5,w:6.25},"Teal = Often\nRed = (Almost) Never\n\n\n\n\nYellow = Sometimes",{a:4,w:1.25},"Alt Gr",{c:"#e31010",w:1.25},"Super",{c:"#d1e00b",w:1.25},"IME Toggle",{c:"#e31010",w:1.25},"Ctrl",{x:0.25},"←","↓","→",{x:0.25,c:"#d1e00b",w:2},"0\nIns",".\nDel"],
[{y:0.75,x:1},"-","*\n\n\n\nF10","/\n\n\n\nF11",{c:"#19d8e6"},"~\n`\n\n\nF12",{x:0.25,c:"#d1e00b"},"Esc",{c:"#19d8e6"},"!\n1","@\n2","#\n3","$\n4","%\n5","^\n6","&\n7","*\n8","(\n9",")\n0","_\n-\n\n\nPgDn","+\n=\n\n\nPgUp",{w:2},"Backspace\n\n\n\nDelete"],
[{x:1,c:"#d1e00b",h:2},"+\n\n\n\nCaps","7\n\n\n\nF7","8\n\n\n\nF8","9\n\n\n\nF9",{x:0.25,c:"#19d8e6",w:1.5},"Tab","Q","W","E","R","T","Y","U","I","O","P","{\n[\n\n\n↑","}\n]",{w:1.5},"|\n\\\n\n\nInsert"],
[{x:2,c:"#d1e00b"},"4\n\n\n\nF4","5\n\n\n\nF5","6\n\n\n\nF6",{x:0.25,c:"#19d8e6",w:1.75},"Control","A","S\n\n\n\nMute","D\n\n\n\nVol +","F\n\n\n\nVol -","G","H","J","K","L",":\n;\n\n\n←","\"\n'\n\n\n→",{w:2.25},"Enter"],
[{x:1,c:"#d1e00b",h:2},"Enter\n\n\n\nScroll","1\n\n\n\nF1","2\n\n\n\nF2","3\n\n\n\nF3",{x:0.25,c:"#19d8e6",w:2.25},"Shift","Z\n\n\n\nPrev","X\n\n\n\nStop","C\n\n\n\nPase","V\n\n\n\nNext","B","N","M","<\n,\n\n\nHome",">\n.\n\n\nEnd","?\n/\n\n\n↓",{w:2.75},"Shift"],
[{x:2,c:"#d1e00b",w:2},"0\n\n\n\nNum",".\n\n\n\nPause",{x:0.25,c:"#cccccc",w:1.5},"Fn",{c:"#d1e00b",w:1.5},"Super",{c:"#19d8e6",w:1.5},"Alt",{a:7,w:4},"",{a:4,w:1.5},"Alt Gr",{c:"#cccccc",w:1.5},"Fn",{c:"#d1e00b",w:1.5},"IME Toggle","Print Screen",{c:"#cccccc"},"what ever"]

[Zawvat]

I'm surprised by how many people don't use forward delete. I love it. Putting it on a layer would not be the same. I remapped my capslock into an extra control key.

[TopreFan333]

I'm surprised by how many people don't use forward delete. I love it. Putting it on a layer would not be the same. I remapped my capslock into an extra control key.

Same. I don't always use it, but when I want it, I want it. On the HHKB, it's FN + ~ so I used Karabiner to remap it to just be the ~ key, which I rarely rarely need. (I would probably need it a lot more if I was a programmer, but I'm not)

[Polymer]

They tried forcing the normal homerow stuff on me in back in 4th/5th grade and it was always super uncomfortable and bad to use, not to mention that it felt super clumsy. I really just ended up learning to type just by playing MMOs and chatting to folks on there.

I just feel like the best bet is to get people typing and let them figure out what's comfortable for them. Trying to force myself to type a certain way (1 finger per key, doing it some specific way) is a lot more effort then just typing however feels naturally, and my speed hasn't suffered for it, so sticking with what's comfortable is the way to go.

That method works for some but not others.

If you're typing with good speed and not creating problems for your hands/wrists/arms, I say go for it...

But there are so many people losing a lot of speed and also creating physical problems for themselves because their form is so terrible. 

As far as what is good speed...That's all very subjective...IMO, sufficient speed is a speed that allows you to do what you want without slowing you down (what you perceive as being too slow).  If I had to place a number on that, I'd probably say, for anyone typing below 65-70WPM and not using "proper" form, you can probably improve considerably by changing the way you type.  In reality, you're not often going at full speed and you're thinking about what you want to write so this should allow you to keep up somewhat.  If your job relies on you copying something where you're not thinking, just typing, you probably need a much higher speed. 

[phosphor]

Are there any keys that are just completely neglected by most software? i know i have NEVER used the Pause/Break, Scroll Lock and Print Screen/ SysRq keys.
Ever.
And i often hit the Insert key but i think the only key in that cluster i use is Delete.

[filphil]

Are there any keys that are just completely neglected by most software? i know i have NEVER used the Pause/Break, Scroll Lock and Print Screen/ SysRq keys.
Ever.
And i often hit the Insert key but i think the only key in that cluster i use is Delete.

I don't use pause it scroll lock.

I find pg down and pg up more comfortable to use than the scroll wheel when browsing.

[KaminKevCrew]

On Mac keyboards the f13-f15 or so. I don't think I've ever heard of those being used.

[phosphor]

I don't use pause it scroll lock.

I find pg down and pg up more comfortable to use than the scroll wheel when browsing.

I've used those too, mostly when writing in an office suite. It depends on the scroll wheel for me. A better gaming mouse with a weighted wheel feels pretty good.
But why are there still all those stand alone keys when you can do the same thing from the number pad on a full size?

On Mac keyboards the f13-f15 or so. I don't think I've ever heard of those being used.

not being a Mac user (far too poor), i didnt even know they had that many function keys.

[KaminKevCrew]

not being a Mac user (far too poor), i didnt even know they had that many function keys.

I'm not a mac user either. My school had them though, and the full size keyboards have function keys across the entire top of the keyboard. It seemed totally pointless, there weren't even any shortcuts that I came across that used them.

[fohat.digs]

I do use Print Screen but Scroll Lock and Pause Break are holdovers. I use Scroll Lock in spreadsheets, but rarely.

Caps Lock is occasionally useful and Delete is one of my most often-used keys. I don't ever use Home and End.

[hwood34]

I don't even think I've touched scroll lock or pause break before. Don't really use pgup/pgdn, much prefer scroll wheel

[alienman82]

removed.

[vivalarevolución]

I keep trying to hit Delete for all my life mistakes, but it never seems to work.  We should eliminate it.

[user 18]

Insert and Scroll lock. I know they have uses, but they rarely come up for me. Pause actually pauses several games I play.

[Bucake]

the right windows button. never used it in my life.
never used insert (except for hitting it accidentally).
never used scroll lock.
never used the menu key.
i also never use caps lock; it's simply redundant for me.

i see how some could be useful, but to me they are not..

[jacobolus]

Why make a new thread when we already have https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=73835 about the same topic, active for the last few weeks?

[Steezus]

Home, End, Page Up, Page Down, Print Screen, Scroll Lock, and Pause/Break have no use for me. I love having the num pad though, if I ever get a TKL I would definitely need to get a Duck Pad of B Pad to go along with it.

[Findecanor]

What you don't use can also depend somewhat on which nation'slanguage's layout you use.
In Swedish layout there is the § key. It is where ~ is on US-ANSI, next to number row-1.

[Coreda]

Page up/down and Home/End are easily the most useful keys outside of the alphanumeric set and arrow keys.

That said I've become accustomed to not using them as often with my Poker as the default equivalent hotkeys aren't ideal.

[azhdar]

Page up/down and Home/End are easily the most useful keys outside of the alphanumeric set.

Those are very very usefull keys when you code.

[physicalist]

Insert ans ScrollLock are certainly among the least useful keys. But I have also remapped CapsLock to FN on my POK3R and I'm not missing this key at all.

[jd29]

As long as you have a numpad, the nav cluster and arrow keys are pretty much useless. The "inverted T" format for the arrow keys is a little more ergonomic than the "+" used in the numpad, but I don't think it's worth including it.

As someone who does a lot of numeric input, I would much rather have a navless than a tenkeyless keyboard. This will probably be the layout for my next keyboard.

Also, if I had a compatible keycap set, I would definitely replace caps lock with backspace. I first heard about it in the workman layout and it is glorious.

[davkol]

Page up/down and Home/End are easily the most useful keys outside of the alphanumeric set.

Those are very very usefull keys when you code.

Most certainly, if you code in a beefed-up notepad.exe. I recommend using an actual text editor instead though.

[Steezus]

Insert ans ScrollLock are certainly among the least useful keys. But I have also remapped CapsLock to FN on my POK3R and I'm not missing this key at all.

I was thinking of remapping my caps lock to control for my RS96 until I got some MX Lock switches, you don't see too many of them so I definitely wanted to toss a few on my board for the lock keys.

[eddie]

caps lock

[fohat.digs]

I would much rather have a navless than a tenkeyless keyboard

OMG!

The worst of all worlds!

That is what keeps the Model F AT with ANSI/Alt mod from being one of the truly great keyboards.

Dedicated keys are essential for people who actually work with numbers. Toggling between arrows and numbers is painful death.

[jd29]

OMG!

The worst of all worlds!

That is what keeps the Model F AT with ANSI/Alt mod from being one of the truly great keyboards.

Dedicated keys are essential for people who actually work with numbers. Toggling between arrows and numbers is painful death.

I'll just make navigation an alt layer of the numpad or something, if the num lock bothers me.

It can't be the worst of all worlds because I still have a numpad, and TKL doesn't

[Leslieann]

Menu key is good if the mouse fails (batteries, bad cord)
Capslock has it's uses once in a great while (software codes).
Print Screen is handy for screen shots.
Scroll lock works on some KVM's to switch computers.
Pause, can actually pause your computer on bootup, while still in Bios. I've had to use it once or twice to see how much memory is in a computer and find the key to enter bios. I'm not sure if that still works, especially with UEFI.

The key that needs to be burned in eternal hellfire is the insert key. This is the only key I have never, ever found it useful.

I remap Insert to delete and Capslock to shift (some remap it as a ctrl)
During games, my left Winkey is disabled and most uncommon keys become macro keys.
I also have it auto-correct common typing errors.

[tp4tissue]

Pg up and Pg down  is from before smooth-scrolling..

Because if it's skipping 3 lines,  then you somewhat lose track of where you were reading anyway..

But now that we HAVE smooth-scrolling...  it doesn't make much sense to use pg up and pg down,  unless you're scroll wheel setting is too slow, and you gotta get down a bit faster.

[KeypressGraphics]

The only key on my HHKB I press very rarely (excluding cmd & right alt/shift) is forward slash. Thankfully the DOS days are long gone and I seem to get very little use out of that key these days.

The lack of redundant keys is another reason to love this little keyboard's amazing functionality & efficiency.

[Steezus]

Menu key is good if the mouse fails (batteries, bad cord)
Capslock has it's uses once in a great while (software codes).
Print Screen is handy for screen shots.
Scroll lock works on some KVM's to switch computers.
Pause, can actually pause your computer on bootup, while still in Bios. I've had to use it once or twice to see how much memory is in a computer and find the key to enter bios. I'm not sure if that still works, especially with UEFI.

The key that needs to be burned in eternal hellfire is the insert key. This is the only key I have never, ever found it useful.

I remap Insert to delete and Capslock to shift (some remap it as a ctrl)
During games, my left Winkey is disabled and most uncommon keys become macro keys.
I also have it auto-correct common typing errors.

I can see how the menu key can be useful but I have a bunch of old mouses lying around that if my main one broke I would have a backup.
I have found caps lock useful only for programming, little kids on games such as minecraft find this the most useful key when it comes to communication. 
Print screen has become obsolete for the most part for me because I the use the program Gyazo which lets you take snapshots of whatever you want on the screen. I would say it is useful for games but if you're playing a game on Steam than F12 captures the screen image.
As for the insert key, destroy them all! 

[Sifo]

the "G" key is pretty useless

I never lose

[Steezus]

the "G" key is pretty useless

I never lose

Yeah getting rid of the G key is a great idea...maybe not. 

[Blaise170]

I replaced my Caps Lock with Fn on my 60%. Never use Scroll Lock or Pause/Break on my other boards either.

[keshley]

Caps lock. But then I always remap Control to Caps Lack, putting Control back in its proper place. Scroll Lock. Every other key (on a 101/104) I've used at least occasionally. On a 80% board, I've never used a couple more keys. All keys get used on most 60% boards I've owned (minus the Japanese layout HHKB I had).

[fatchoi]

Well... The scroll lock is useful in MS Excel. The pause break is quite useful in some BIOS as well as Excel VBA.
Insert is useful for IBM lotus note to mark email as read.

Nevertheless, in my custom Ergodox keyboard, I map them as 2nd layer. lol

[phosphor]

Why make a new thread when we already have https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=73835 about the same topic, active for the last few weeks?

Yeah, i noticed that after i posted it. I was screwing around with a keyset template, wondering why the hell i should bother with keys i never use and decided to see if i was the only one. I'll probably remap the keys and use generic symbols i like. And NEVER map Insert to anything.

[rowdy]

Why make a new thread when we already have https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=73835 about the same topic, active for the last few weeks?

Yeah, i noticed that after i posted it. I was screwing around with a keyset template, wondering why the hell i should bother with keys i never use and decided to see if i was the only one. I'll probably remap the keys and use generic symbols i like. And NEVER map Insert to anything.

And that other thread has pictures too

[chyros]

As someone who does a lot of numeric input, I would much rather have a navless than a tenkeyless keyboard.

I agree completely. If they stick the down arrow on num 5 rather than num 2 (something I'm not quite sure of why it hasn't happened ages ago yet) I wouldn't mind using that sort of payout at all. Not the greatest fan of what IBM did to the numpad on the AT, though.

[Oobly]

Every single key on the board has a use in current software and I have used them all. However, I could easily live without quite a lot of them. And I do. Proud 60%, 48% and 40% user. It's just a matter of how often they're used and whether that functionality is worth a dedicated key.

[HoffmanMyster]

Merged the duplicate threads.  Unfortunately there's a bit of overlap, so it may be difficult to follow the conversations, especially on tapatalk.  Please search for existing threads before creating new ones to avoid these issues.

[HoffmanMyster]

Also everyone who doesn't use home/end must really love their arrow keys or switching back to their mouse...maybe that's why people feel the need to have their mouse so close to the alpha keys...? 

Seriously though, honest question for those that don't use home/end.  If you have to edit the middle of a sentence while you're posting, why not hit 'end' to skip to the end of the line?  Or maybe you just don't make mistakes like that. 

[Blaise170]

Also everyone who doesn't use home/end must really love their arrow keys or switching back to their mouse...maybe that's why people feel the need to have their mouse so close to the alpha keys...? 

Seriously though, honest question for those that don't use home/end.  If you have to edit the middle of a sentence while you're posting, why not hit 'end' to skip to the end of the line?  Or maybe you just don't make mistakes like that. 

I think a lot of people aren't aware of the functionality. I used to use arrow keys to go forward/back for most of my life.