Computer keyboard key explanation

Computer keyboard key explanations

When dealing with technical commands that use the keyboard (for example, web pages or the command line), you may hear such things as forward slash, backslash, and caret.

Many times, this can be confusing for anyone unfamiliar with each of the symbols on a keyboard. The table below identifies non-alphanumeric keys with a description or link for additional information.

Note: For information on keyboard shortcut key combinations (i.e. Ctrl+S or Alt+F4), see our computer keyboard shortcut keys page.

Key/Symbol	Explanation
Windows	PC keyboards have a Windows key that looks like a four-pane window
Command	Apple Mac computers have a command key.
Menu	PC keyboards also have a Menu key that looks like a cursor pointing to a menu.
Esc	Esc (Escape) key
F1 - F12	Information about the F1 through F12 keyboard keys.
F13 - F24	Information about the F13 through F24 keyboard keys.
Tab	Tab key
Caps lock	Caps lock key
Shift	Shift key
Ctrl	Ctrl (Control) key
Fn	Fn (Function) key
Alt	Alt (Alternate) key (PC Only; Mac users have Option key)
Spacebar	Spacebar key
Arrows	Up, Down, Left, Right Arrow keys
Back Space	Back space (or Backspace) key
Delete	Delete or Del key
Enter	Enter key
Prt Scrn	Print screen key
Scroll lock	Scroll lock key
Pause	Pause key
Break	Break key
Insert	Insert key
Home	Home key
Page up	Page up or pg up key
Page down	Page down or pg dn key
End	End key
Num Lock	Num Lock key
~	Tilde
`	Acute, Back quote, grave, grave accent, left quote, open quote, or a push
!	Exclamation mark, Exclamation point, or Bang
@	Ampersat, Arobase, Asperand, At, or At symbol
#	Octothorpe, Number, Pound, sharp, or Hash
£	Pounds Sterling or Pound symbol
€	Euro
$	Dollar sign or generic currency
¢	Cent sign
¥	Chinese/Japenese Yuan
§	Micro or Section
%	Percent
°	Degree
^	Caret or Circumflex
&	Ampersand, Epershand, or And
*	Asterisk, mathematical multiplication symbol, and sometimes referred to as star.
(	Open parenthesis
)	Close parenthesis
-	Hyphen, Minus or Dash
_	Underscore
+	Plus
=	Equal
{	Open Brace, squiggly brackets, or curly bracket
}	Close Brace, squiggly brackets, or curly bracket
[	Open bracket
]	Closed bracket
|	Pipe, Or, or Vertical bar
\	Backslash or Reverse Solidus
/	Forward slash, Solidus, Virgule, Whack, and mathematical division symbol
:	Colon
;	Semicolon
"	Quote, Quotation mark, or Inverted commas
'	Apostrophe or Single Quote
<	Less Than or Angle brackets
>	Greater Than or Angle brackets
,	Comma
.	Period, dot or Full Stop
?	Question Mark