Most useless key?

[frodeflintstone]

Rant:  

It occurred to me that the insert key has to be the most useless key on the keyboard (or perhaps the most annoying).  I can't think of a single instance where I would actually want to overwrite my text this way (or toggle back and forth).  

Before I found geekhack, I yanked it out with a pair of pliers just because I was irritated with it.  Now, I have a key puller and know about key remapping!

Runner up: Pause / Break?


Does anyone actually use these keys for anything?


FF

[oneproduct]

In some older command line interfaces shift+insert is the only way to paste (you can do this instead of ctrl+v), but still I agree with you. However, you could also argue that the `~ key is also pretty useless except for in games where it's used to open the console, other than that it doesn't get much use. Several of the F# keys are also seldom used. Windows+pause brings up the "system" window, which is quite handy.

Now that I think of it, I probably use shift+insert more often that quite a few other keys, but that's because shift+insert can be used everywhere whereas many keys only find use because they were given functions by that specific program and are not widely used otherwise.

[keyboardlover]

I find Insert useful on the command line sometimes.

Scroll Lock...now THAT'S a useless key!

[mmmty]

I use [strike]****[/strike]shift+insert and win+pause. ~ is usually for switching languages. Scroll Lock is for when you have a KVM. The Menu key is probably less used since most people will just right-click.

[jpc]

BackSpace.

Never understood the need for that one.

[mmmty]

Backspace is for changing **** to shift.

[oneproduct]

~ useless?

Math, dude!  Math!

ScrollLock on a Tenkeyless board.  Can't even use it on Excel!

But **** Insert.

Scroll lock works in excel, at least in the 2007 and forward versions where they have the "ribbon" and that large button at the top left. I believe it works in Word and likely any other Microsoft office product where it's relevant.

[theferenc]

~ and ` are incredibly useful. Obviously, you're a windows person, as if you spent any time in a UNIX-a-like, you'd know how useful the ~ and ` both are.

[hashbaz]

I use ~ dozens of times every day.  It denotes the home directory in UNIX-like systems.  Pause will stop terminal spew so you can read it.

I don't use Insert per se, but in vim I do use replace mode every now and again (via capital R).  Waaay back in my pre-vim days I preferred ctrl-Insert/shift-Insert for copy/paste.

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My vote for most useless is the menu key.  I literally have never used it.

[oneproduct]

Just installed Ubuntu on my laptop not too long ago but haven't really had all that much time to explore it, still mostly using Windows. Guess I'll find out in the near future. All I know for now is that cd ~ can bring me back to my home directory heh.

[hashbaz]

Actually you don't need the ~ in that case.  cd with no options will do the job.

[sordna]

While I highlight/copy stuff with the mouse, I prefer to use shift+insert to paste stuff in my unix shell windows (xterm). Ctrl-V does not work in them. For me the most useless keys are Win & Menu. I like to have them though, so I can assign stuff like AltGr and compose keys to them.

[litster]

**** insert.

QFT.  To ****, you must insert.

[cactux]

Caps lock and its friend scroll lock

[hashbaz]

While I highlight/copy stuff with the mouse, I prefer to use shift+insert to paste stuff in my unix shell windows (xterm). Ctrl-V does not work in them. For me the most useless keys are Win & Menu. I like to have them though, so I can assign stuff like AltGr and compose keys to them.

Yeah, I use the Windows key for my window manager shortcuts (xmonad), and ctrl-shift-{c,v} for non-mouse copy/paste inside gnome-terminal.

And, now that I think of it, I do actually sometimes use the Windows key to pop open the Start menu on my Windows 7 machine.

[mmmty]

QFT.  To ****, you must insert.

Quote of the day  :becky:

[Sam]

I use my Ins key all the time.  At least 50 times a day.  When coding I often copy and paste lines of code several times, with each paste only requiring a minor change via typeover mode.  So after copying it as many times as I need, I just search for each occurrence of what needs to be changed and typeover the correct value/label/etc.  Then when finished, go back to insert mode.  It's way faster using typeover mode in that case.  If you're just typing words, and not coding, I imagine it wouldn't be so useful.

The most useless key for me is the Sys Req key.  I've never in my life used it that I can recall.  I think it's the only key I've never used.

[daerid]

I use all the keys, pretty much, except for Scroll Lock

Now there's a key I have NEVER EVER used, in 20 years and more OS's and user interface systems than I can count

[porgo]

Caps lock, surely. When you ever need to write all-caps ragings? When it's really a must, I can go gU for the text. As a key it's important as rebound escape key

[daerid]

Well, now that you mention it, since I've remapped my CapsLock to be escape, I haven't used the actual escape key in months.

[Findecanor]

: I use it only in Windows command prompt. I hate that it is not in perpetual insert mode.

,< Scroll Lock>, : I remap these to media keys. => , and the others to /

: Only for touch typists who can't keep one little finger on the key while they type with both hands. I have this remapped to "Control".

/: Don't have them on all my keyboards. Don't use them.

: If you have a numeric key pad and cursor keys, then the num pad could be in numeric mode all the time.

[domin8r]

I vote "Scroll Lock" .. possibly the only button I've never ever used

[hargon]

Caps lock and its friend scroll lock

 
+1

[mbc]

all nummlock off keys and caps lock and scroll lock

[itlnstln]

Scroll Lock
Context Menu
Insert
Pause/Break (maybe, I'm a little torn on this one. It's useful in MS Access. Something else I avoid if I can.)

These are my most useless keys in this order.  I am a die-hard Num Lock and Caps Lock user.

[Surly73]

Scroll lock and caps lock get my votes.

[AlleyViper]

To me, it's a toss up between Scroll Lock and « (» shifted) in PT layout. I'd rather have it for the more common superscript “” quote signs, as using " twice results in dumb quotes outside text editors.

[alaricljs]

The Menu key is pointless... CapsLock slightly less so.

[Lolcakes]

My vote goes to Scroll Lock, the menu button and the.... right windows button. I use the left one excessively but I never use the right one.

[Minskleip]

There are no useless keys, only useless users.

[Keymonger]

There are no useless keys, only useless users.

So you're saying any useless keys should be remapped?

[itlnstln]

There are no useless keys, only useless users.

This gave me something to ponder deeply about on the ****ter this morning.

Profound.

[Minskleip]

Only if their original function is less useful than what you can conjure up. For instance, the App key doesn't do anything in Emacs by default, so I remap it to 'meta.

What I'm really saying, however, is that useless people should be remapped.

[smw]

: I use it only in Windows command prompt. I hate that it is not in perpetual insert mode.

You can change this permanently in the command prompt properties menu.

Caps Lock>: Only for touch typists who can't keep one little finger on the key while they type with both hands. I have this remapped to "Control".

Back in my VT100/VT220 days I liked having the Control key in the Caps Lock position. Since 1987, when I started using Model M keyboards, I've gotten used to the dual control keys at the bottom, and have never looked back (although in the mid 90s, when I had a Sparcstation and a Windows PC on my desk, switching back and forth took a little getting used to).

/: Don't have them on all my keyboards. Don't use them.

I map Scroll Lock to the Windows key - once you learn the Windows key shortcuts it's a big help.

[alaricljs]

Ah... So I should have mentioned that I intend for the Menu key to be a hard layer switch and the Caps key to be a soft layer switch when I finally finish my little project?

[nrd]

I love all my keys equally

Caps Lock is my "push to talk"-button on TeamSpeak, Scroll Lock is part of many personal hotkeys, Pause came in handy when programming, Menu plus the whole Insert, Home, Page up/down, Delete and End block work as media keys, Print Screen for screenshots, Win key for certain hotkeys and bringing up the start menu, Ctrl, Alt and AltGr as modifiers for even more personal hotkeys...

I think the only key I really don't need is the Num Lock key (it's a full size keyboard, so no reason to not use the numpad as, well, a numpad) and maybe some of the F keys, like F7... because while they do have a function and are generally useful, I can never remember what each key does in each program, so I don't use most of them at all

[itlnstln]

What I'm really saying, however, is that useless people should be remapped.

Hey, anything's possible in the Matrix.  I have an internal short-list of people I would like to see "remapped."

The only reason I might find some keys useless is that they are too far away even if I remapped them to something more useful.  In that regard, I kind of miss my HHKB.  I keep toying with the idea of getting a Poker, but I'm not sure if the layout is as appealing as the HHKB.

[Minskleip]

Just lock out the useless people.
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Not when they keep babbling about "useless keys". Think if someone influential reads this and starts a process of reducing the set of scan codes! It's too small as it is.

[frodeflintstone]

So the grand total (as accurately tallied as one can do in a forum like this)....

Scroll lock: 11
Insert: 2
CAPS LOCK:4
Menu key: 4
~:1
Win key: 1
Backspace: 1
Sys Req: 1





What I want to know is why was ripster looking up "tossed salad" on urban dictionary (in his screen print)...

Edit:  no, I dont' want to know that!


FF

[hemflit]

I use Insert every now and then.

Caps Lock is useful about once every couple of years. Today I keep it as a backspace, but haven't picked up the habit of using it yet.

Scroll Lock is so useless I've made it my key layout switcher.
I also never use Pause except in Windows' cmd.exe, and I haven't used that in a couple of years now.

[squarebox]

Most useless keys for me will be the Pause and Scroll Lock. I never ever found any use for them...

[itlnstln]

Scroll Lock was awesome back before GUIs.  It still has a use, but it's role has been greatly diminished with the advent of GUIs and mice.  Similarly with Pause/Break.  MS Access is the only program I use on a regular basis that makes use of Pause/Break.

[domin8r]

Scroll Lock was awesome back before GUIs.  It still has a use, but it's role has been greatly diminished with the advent of GUIs and mice.  Similarly with Pause/Break.  MS Access is the only program I use on a regular basis that makes use of Pause/Break.

"Back in the day" a lot of games would actually support the pause key.. Don't really know why they stopped doing that?!

[itlnstln]

Good point.  There might be something OS-specific that prevents that, but I don't really know.

[Sam]

I use PrintScreen/SysReq to do screen captures all the time.

Observe:
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Well I do use the PrintScreen occasionally.  But on my keyboard (IBM PC AT), the Sys Req key is separate from the Print Screen.  Thus I have no use for the Sys Req key.

Likewise, those who mention the Break key, I don't have that as a standalone key, or it would have gotten equal footing with the Sys Req key.  On the PC AT board, it's a secondary function on the Scroll Lock key.  Admittedly, I don't use the Scroll Lock much these days, but did use it frequently back in the day when it was commonly used by software packages.

[ch_123]

Some software (particularly terminal emulator stuff) uses Shift + Insert as Paste.

Most useless key? Probably that context menu key.

[DaemonRaccoon]

Some software (particularly terminal emulator stuff) uses Shift + Insert as Paste.

Most useless key? Probably that context menu key.

Shift + Insert is how I paste, I agree that the Context Menu key is the most useless.

[TheSoulhunter]

CAPS LOCK!  Remapped it to "delete" on my Poker...

[daerid]

Shift + Insert is how I paste, I agree that the Context Menu key is the most useless.

Dude! No way... I use that thing all the time. I'd much rather do that then move my hand to the mouse.

[hashbaz]

Scroll Lock was awesome back before GUIs.  It still has a use, but it's role has been greatly diminished with the advent of GUIs and mice.  Similarly with Pause/Break.  MS Access is the only program I use on a regular basis that makes use of Pause/Break.

I actually wasn't aware of scroll lock's pre-GUI use until I looked it up just now.  Lame that gnome-terminal and xterm don't seem to respect that use anymore.