Scroll Lock key
Sometimes abbreviated as ScLk, ScrLk, or Slk, the Scroll Lock key is found on a computer keyboard, often located close to the pause key. The Scroll Lock key was initially intended to be used with the arrow keys to scroll through the contents of a text box. It has also been used to stop the scrolling of text or halt the operation of a program. The picture shows what a Scroll Lock key with an LED (light-emitting diode) may look like on a keyboard. Today, the key is rarely used.
The abbreviations ScLk and ScrLk may sometimes be inappropriately called a screen lock key.
Where is the Scroll Lock key on the keyboard?
The Scroll Lock key is labeled as one of the abbreviations mentioned earlier and located with or near the other control keys on the keyboard. Below is an overview of a computer keyboard with the Scroll Lock key highlighted in blue.
On Apple computer keyboards, the Scroll Lock key may be missing and have an F14 function key instead.
Where is the Scroll Lock key on a laptop keyboard?
The Scroll Lock key on a laptop is often a secondary function of another key, located near the Backspace key. If a laptop uses two keys as one key, you must press the Fn key with the second key you want to use. On a laptop, the Scr Lk, Pause, and Break functions are usually part of another key and are in blue text.
To use these keys, press Fn and the key with the blue text you want to use. In the example picture, Scroll Lock is part of the Num Lk key, so you would need to press Fn and Num Lock to execute the Scroll Lock functionality.
With laptops there's no standard placement for the Scroll Lock key. Your laptop may not have the same configuration as shown in the picture.
Smaller, more compact laptops may not have a Scroll Lock key. Chromebooks also do not have a Scroll Lock key.
Example of Scroll Lock used today
Microsoft Excel is a good example of a program that still uses this key. If Scroll Lock is enabled, pressing any of the arrow keys results in the screen moving in that direction, but the selected cell will not change.
Computer acronyms, Control keys, Keyboard terms, Scroll, Togglekeys