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geekhack Community => Keyboards => Topic started by: msiegel on Thu, 08 October 2009, 13:50:28
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i've never used these keys. what are they for?
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in windows if you hit printscreen a screenshot of the whole screen is copied to clipboard. you can then open MS Paint and paste it in and save it.
alt-printscreen takes a screenshot of the currently active window rather than whole screen.
in outlook, you can paste these directly into an email (no need to save in ms paint first).
(Iirc, in the old dos days, printscreen used to literally print the screen to your (dot matrix) printer).
as for scroll lock, i remember using it now and then in the DOS days, but these days mostly its a common key to activate KVM's.
Pause key i dont think i've ever used. Its usually my experimentation key when i want to mess with a switch on a new keyb. ;)
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Scroll lock used to prevent scrolling of test in a terminal. That was all it did. Yeah, what is the point of Pause/Break?
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Now my Rule Home key.... that's the one that's not working too well...
no, you see, rule/home is a toggle. they're mutually exclusive. ;-D
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I find it odd that someone would be oblivious to what PrtScr does, but yet doesn't ask what Sys Rq does :P
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i'm oblivious to both... i'm just trying to eliminate 3 physical keys from an 87-key layout :)
what does sys rq do, btw?
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I find it odd that someone would be oblivious to what PrtScr does, but yet doesn't ask what Sys Rq does :P
Some modern keyboards are actually missing the "SysRq" labelling on the Print Screen key, so people would not be aware that the function was there to ask about.
As for Pause/Break: the Break function, activated by shifting the key with Ctrl, works like control-C for interrupting a running program under some circumstances.
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On Windows OS, you can get to the system properties by doing Windows+Pause. Very handy.
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As Welly pointed out, Print Screen would print the screen contents back in the days of DOS (and probably UNIX, too). You could use Pause in DOS to pause the scrolling of the text on commands such as "dir" in a big directory (I always used "dir/w," FWIW). Today, you can use Ctrl+Break in MS Access to stop a query in mid-run. Scroll lock is used in MS Excel to scroll with the arrow keys instead of changing cells. I never really used Sys Req (System Request), but from what I remember, it did something like stop a misbehaving program and kick you back to the prompt (in DOS). I'm sure these keys performed similar (or maybe even completely different functions in other OSs.
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i know sys rq in linux is also known as the "magic syq rq" key.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_SysRq_key
and it's pretty much the same as the previous poster mentioned, it can be used to stop a stuck program and such on a system which is hung up. My das III doesn't even have the label for it, hah.
scroll lock also still works with it's original purpose in a linux console, stops it from scrolling, which can be useful when there's a ton of text flying by. They aren't really used much under windows, heh nor linux for that matter, it's one of those once in a while keys :P
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Due to general disuse I use Scroll Lock and Pause as hotkeys to my liking.
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They are making room for Multimedia keys (groan). The other thing I just realized is the new Das S loses the left Windows key for the FCN key. Which IS a good idea.
Now if only they'd put a matte finish on it instead of the gloss and a rounded edge on the front, assuming the nkro issue is fixed it might actually be a half-decent keyboard
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My das III doesn't even have the label for it, hah.
I checked my Filco
to see if it would be marked.
I have blank keys.
-An Epic Fail brought to you through the magic of Haiku.
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Scroll Lock is used on some editors to keep the cursor centered in the editor window while scrolling the text around it.
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Scroll Lock is used on some editors to keep the cursor centered in the editor window while scrolling the text around it.
That would be handy. I'll have to check some of my compilers/editors.
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Nothing wrong with a 87 key layout. It's just the Model F's layout that sucks.
if i eliminate 3 keys from an 87 key layout, it becomes just the right number to re-use an AT model F's switch components :)
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Just noticed my Bernie Madoff special has Quote and Select keys for ScrollLk and Pause. Anybody want to invest in my Keyboard Company?
Where was the thread on your modifications to that board?
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I'm still waiting for Msiegel to crack open that Model F and start modding
oh, i've cracked alright :D
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Nobody seems to have mentioned the, in my opinion, most useful function of the Pause/Break key: interrupting boot.
helpful; thanks kishy! :)
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used my sysrq key today actually...evince-thumbnailer ate all my ram and killed my system...163 days of uptime too...anyway ended up having to reboot
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What does that foam stuff do anyway? It seems that it's helps hold the keys wells and maybe does some sound dampening. Seems you could just take it out and maybe use carpet tape or something to stick the key wells to the metal plate.
It's gonna melt anyway someday so might as well think of an alternative.
yes, that's exactly what they intended the foam to do.
i was thinking about a thin sheet of silicone; not sure if that's quite right either, but it should be more durable.
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On Windows OS, you can get to the system properties by doing Windows+Pause. Very handy.
Waaaaaaaaaa.... I didn't know that. Cool!
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btw, in case you model m hackers haven't seen this neat mod yet:
http://geekhack.org/showthread.php?t=7405
brought to you by at&t (for real :)
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XD oh no!
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Nobody seems to have mentioned the, in my opinion, most useful function of the Pause/Break key: interrupting boot.
In any pre-operating-system stage of booting the system, hitting pause will immediately freeze the computer allowing you to write out important info like BIOS strings, etc. Pressing any key afterwards returns the system to normal operation.
Write? I hit PrintScreen.
You need a parallel port printer of course. Take that, USB!!!
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Oh, and by the way... SysRq, or System Request, is basically a key that lies between Control-Break and Control-Alt-Delete. It was on a key by itself on the 84-key AT keyboard, and was the one key added to make that keyboard 84 keys, instead of 83 keys like the original IBM PC keyboard.
Although current PC operating software does not make use of this, in standard PC hardware, pressing the System Request key activates a specific interrupt for the CPU. Thus, it could potentially be used to get out of difficult lock-up situations.
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I looked up "Silicone Mouse Pad" and look what popped up.
Wow. I hope nothing else "popped up."
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She seems to have a really bad case of "lazy eye".
Ripster, not sure you really want that in the house with a teenage son :)