Computer keyboard key explanations
Updated: 10/07/2019 by Computer Hope
When dealing with technical commands that use a keyboard (for example, web pages or the command line), you may hear such things as forward slash, backslash, and caret.
Many times, users can be confused as these keys may be unfamiliar. The table below identifies non-alphanumeric keys for US-based keyboards, with a description or link for additional information.
| Key/symbol |
Explanation |
| Windows |
PC keyboards have a Windows key that looks like a four-pane, wavy 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 |
What are the F1 through F12 keys? |
| F13 - F24 |
Information about the F13 through F24 keyboard keys. |
| Tab |
Tab key. |
| Caps lock |
Caps lock key. |
| Shift |
Shift key. |
| Ctrl |
Control key. |
| Fn |
Function key. |
| Alt |
Alternate key (PC only; Mac users have an 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. |
| £ |
Pound 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 symbol. |
| * |
Asterisk, mathematical multiplication symbol, and sometimes referred to as star. |
| ( |
Open or left parenthesis. |
| ) |
Close or right 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. |
