- QWERTY Keyboard is a fast and accurate typing keyboard. QWERTY Typing Keyboard enables you to type in the QWERTY language, so no need to install any software. You can use your computer keyboard or mouse to type QWERTY letters with this online keyboard.
- The Qwerkywriter®’s signature all metal macro programmable return bar defaults to the “enter” key. But you can program it up to 15 characters to generate signatures and even copy, cut, paste commands.
Whenever you use a computer, you'll probably use a keyboard
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The most common kind of keyboard is referred to as a ‘QWERTY’ keyboard after the keys on the top row of letters. It was invented by C L Scholes in the 1860s when he was working out the best place to put the keys on a manual typewriter.
History Of The Computer Keyboard
Follow these step-by-step instructions to help you get to know what your keyboard can do
So that you can carry out the simple exercises below, you’ll need a document open to type into. Read our guides What is WordPad? and How to open WordPad. Then create a WordPad document and go through the following steps.
Step 1: Have a good look at your keyboard. The most important keys are labelled on the diagram below:
Click here for an enlarged version of the above diagram, which you can print out for easy reference.
Some keyboards, especially those on laptops, will have a slightly different layout. For example, yours might not have a number pad or the delete key may be in a different place. But virtually all keyboards will have these important keys somewhere.
Step 2: The main keys are the letter keys. When you type just using these, you get lower-case print. However, if you hold down a ‘shift key’ (there are two to choose from) at the same time as you type, you’ll get UPPER-CASE letters.
Try typing your name, including capitals (UPPER-CASE) and spaces. The ‘space bar’ (which you press briefly to make a space) is the wide key at the bottom of the keyboard.
Step 3: If you make a mistake in your typing, there’s always a remedy.
To delete a letter, place your cursor (mouse pointer) just after the letter and click. Then press Backspace briefly. (Always press briefly – otherwise, you’ll get repeated deletions, spaces, letters or whatever.) Or place your cursor just before the letter, click and press Delete.
Step 4: Now try typing a sentence:
This is a good sentence to practise because it contains most of the letters of the alphabet.
Step 5: You can move the cursor along this sentence without deleting anything by using the arrow keys:
Try moving the cursor backwards and forwards through your sentence.
Step 6: Now try using the number pad, if you have one.
To use this to type numbers, you have to press the Num Lock key. There may be an indicator light at the top of the keyboard or on the ‘Num Lock’ key itself to show that it’s on.
Step 7: You can also type using the numbers on the main keyboard. You’ll find them on the row of keys above the top line of letters.
Above these numbers are various symbols, which include ‘£’, ‘&’, ‘!’. To use these, hold down the Shift key while you type. So if you press ’7′ on its own, you get ’7′, but if you press ’7′ while you hold down the ‘Shift’ key, you get ‘&’.
Try typing:
You’ll find similar extra symbols elsewhere on the keyboard:
They operate in exactly the same way as the ones above the numbers.
Step 8: If you want everything to appear in upper case, press the Caps Lock key and then type:
Again, an indicator light may come on to show that your capitals are ‘locked’. Don’t forget to press this key again when you’re finished to turn ‘Caps Lock’ off.
Step 9: The ‘Windows’ key comes in a number of different designs, such as the example to the right.
It does exactly the same thing as the Windows button on the taskbar on your computer screen. You can choose to open the ‘Start’ menu by pressing this key or by clicking the button on the taskbar with your mouse.
Step 10: There are a number of ways that you can move round a web page. Try using the keys below to see where they take you:
Step 10: You’ll be told to use the ‘Control’ (Ctrl) and ‘Alternate’ (Alt) keys for some operations. When you do so, keep holding down one or the other key or both keys while you press any other keys.
For example, if you press Ctrl, Alt and Delete all at the same time, a menu will open. To make it disappear, press the ‘Escape’ (Esc) key in the top left-hand corner of the keyboard.
Step 11: Some of the things that you use the mouse for can be done with keyboard shortcuts. These require you to hold down one key while pressing another, and often involve using the ‘Ctrl’ and/or ‘Alt’ keys. Some people prefer using them to using the mouse. There are many shortcuts – check out the list provided by Microsoft Support.
Done
Stephen Baird-Parker is a qualified ICT teacher.
There’s a 99% chance you’re reading this article on a device that has a QWERTY keyboard. Your computer, your phone, your tablet – all of these have the QWERTY keyboard arrangement of letters. But, why? Is it really the most efficient way to type? Where did this arrangement come from, and why is it the universal standard? The real explanation might surprise you!
50 Years Of Indecision
QWERTY wasn’t always the standard. In fact, there was a 50 year period of indecision. In the 1840s, Hues Printing Press tried arranging the letters like piano keys, and in 1865, there was Hansen’s Writing Ball. Yes, believe it or not, people pecked away at this ball of sorts, which had the letters of the alphabet arranged in different ways depending on the version. It wasn’t until 1868 that we start to see the beginnings of what would come to be the standard typewriter.
Christopher Latham Sholes developed several versions of the keyboard, and in the 1870s, came up with the model below. You’ll notice that aside from a few quirks, it basically looks like what we have today. Who would have guessed our modern keyboard is 150 years old!
Guns & Typewriters
In an unexpected turn of events, Remmingnton, which you probably recognize as a company that produces guns, bought the design for the keyboard. Thus, they entered the typwriting business. After a few slight changes that gave us the contemporary keyboard (aside from the M being in a different place), Remmington sent this design out to manufacturers and started giving out business packets with the new design.
Some people say the QWERTY keyboard became standard because the design prevented the keys from getting stuck, but there are lots of designs that could have accomplished the same thing. In fact, our friend Christopher Latham Sholes came up with another design that was being used in the 1890s by lots of businesses. It worked just as well as the QWERTY design.
Monopoly In The Market
In the 1890s, many companies merged into trusts, which allowed them to fix prices and control markets. Some of the biggest names in typewriting came together to form Union Typewriter Company. Basically, this trust controlled the market, so what they said and what they produced became the most popular, despite other variations that might be more practical and more efficient.
It’s no secret that most, if not all typists and secretaries were women back in the day. The jobs that required typing often paid more than any other job available to women. While that is worth noting, the more important thing to notice is that they are all in the same class together, learning their new skills. At the time, typing wasn’t something everyone just knew how to do, so there were special classes typists took to hone their skills. Thus, with enough sway in the market, and classes full of secretaries who learned the QWERTY keyboard, we have the modern-day design that is here to stay.
Qwerty Computer Keyboard
Find out more in the video below!