- Clear Keyboard Keys
- Clear Picture Of Keyboard Symbols
- Keyboard Pictures Art
- Clear Picture Of Keyboard Shortcut
Computer Keyboard Normal Keys Layout. So the typical keyboard layout, will look something similar to the one below. If you have an Apple computer then the keyboard will be similar, but won't include keys such as a Window key or Print Screen key. The keyboard was made for ease of use. The most used keys are generally easier to reach. Apple Wireless Keyboard Varna, Bulgaria - November 4, 2013: The incredibly thin Apple Wireless Keyboard isolated on white background. Itaas cable-free. Itaas perfect for any Mac with Bluetooth wireless technology. It has the low-profile aluminum enclosure and the crisp, responsive keys. Qwerty keyboard stock pictures, royalty-free photos & images. Find keyboard stock images in HD and millions of other royalty-free stock photos, illustrations and vectors in the Shutterstock collection. Thousands of new, high-quality pictures added every day. Find keyboard stock images in HD and millions of other royalty-free stock photos, illustrations and vectors in the Shutterstock collection. Thousands of new, high-quality pictures added every day. It all started when all regular stock photo sites rejected his photos due to 'lack of quality'. Two years later, people have downloaded more than 2,500,000+ pictures from picjumbo and now it's one of the best sites with free stock photos featured in the biggest online publications. Made with ♥ in 2013-2020 picjumbo, a project by Viktor Hanacek.
Here's a list of Unicode symbols to represent computer keyboard keys.
Mouse hover or click on a unicode character⌘to see its name and codepoint.
Note, how a unicode character shows on your screen depends the Operating System (MacOS, Microsoft Windows, Linux), browser (example: Google Chrome, Safari, Edge), and font you are using. What you see on this page may not be exactly what other people see.
Following are details.
Control key
• OPEN CENTRE ASTERISK✲ is printed on Microsoft Keyboards.
• HELM SYMBOL⎈ is used on French Canadian MacBook laptop for the Control key, andsometimes used to indicate Control key in Linux documentation.
• CIRCUMFLEX ACCENT^ (aka caret) is the classic notation to indicate ASCII control sequences in programing, and also used as a notation for pressing Control key for inputting control sequence.The symbol ismostly used in 1970s to 1990s, in documentation or from online posts by user.
[see ASCII Table]
Clear Keyboard Keys
• UP ARROWHEAD ⌃, the actual character used by Apple website as of 2017-07, in menu, in documentation.
[see French Keyboard Layout]
The caret character^and UP ARROWHEAD⌃are not good to represent the Control key, because it confuses with the printable caret character on the keyboard, the shifted digit 6 key.
Windows Logo Key
Windows Logo Key (suggestion)❖
This symbol is sometimes used by small keyboard makers.e.g. onTruly Ergonomic Keyboard
The Windows Logo key and the Apple Command key both send the same USB scancode.
On Linux, by convention, the Windows logo key is called Super. (not to be confused with a real Super key on Lisp Machine keyboards.[see Lisp Machine Keyboards])
Command key
Clear Picture Of Keyboard Symbols
Command key ⌘
Alt key
Alt key ⎇. This is standard Unicode symbol for the Alt key, but is rarely used as a label on keyboard nor in documentation.
Option key
Apple's Option key ⌥
Note: Alt on PC keyboard and ⌥ option on Apple Keyboards send the same USB scancode.
Meta Key, Super Key
Meta key ◆
The BLACK DIAMOND ◆ is used on Sun Microsystems Type 6 Keyboard. Solaris documentation calls it the Meta key. The Meta key is a key on Lisp Machine Keyboards and heavily used by emacs.[see A Curious Look at Emacs's One Thousand Keybindings]
Hyper Key
Hyper key (suggestions)✦✧.Hyper is key on Lisp Machine Keyboards.
Shift key
Shift key⇧
Caps lock
Capslock⇪🄰🅰
Other suggestions:
⇬⇫⇮⇯
Most keyboards use A inside a round corners square. Some use a dotted white fat arrow.
Following are Input symbols from Unicode.🔠🔡
Number lock
Number Lock key suggestion⇭🔢🔤
I haven't seen any symbol used as label for Number Lock key.
Return/Enter key
Upgrade to mojave failed. Return/Enter Key↩↵⏎
This is the return key above the right shift key.
Keyboard Pictures Art
[see Keyboard Enter/Return Key Symbol]
- Apple uses arrow with a round hook ↩ on their international version keyboards. For US version, they use the word 'return'.
- Microsoft uses a long version DOWNWARDS ARROW WITH CORNER LEFTWARDS ↵.
- Some other keyboards use an outline 90° sharp turn RETURN SYMBOL ⏎.
Enter⌤This is the enter key on number pad. This symbol is used by Apple.[see Apple Computer Keyboards Gallery]
Enter ⎆. This is unicode symbol named ENTER SYMBOL.
Note: There are 2 return/enter keys on standard PC keyboard: one on main section above right shift key, one on number pad. The keyboard hardware sends different key signals.
- On PC/Windows keyboards, they are both labeled 'enter'.
- On Apple keyboards, the main one is labeled 'return', and the one on number pad is 'enter'.
Menu/App key
Menu/App key (suggestions)▤☰𝌆This key is invented by Microsoft. It is meant to be a application specific key.[see Microsoft Keyboard Menu Key]
Compose key
Compose key⎄.This key is rare. It's on Sun Microsystems Type 6 Keyboard, but it doesn't use any symbol.
[see Alt Graph Key, Compose Key, Dead Key]
Tab key
Tab key⭾↹⇄⇤⇥↤↦
MostPC Keyboardsuse a elongated ↹ for tab.European version of Apple Keyboards use ⇥.
Escape key
Escape key⎋
Most keyboards use 'Esc' as label.
Matias Mini Tactile Pro Keyboard uses ⎋.
[see Matias Mini Tactile Pro Keyboard]
Apple's documentation also uses ⎋.
Backspace
Backspace key⌫⟵
The backspace key is the key on the top right of a PC keyboard. For example, look atIBM Model M keyboard.[see IBM Model M keyboard]
Microsoft keyboard lable this key as 'Backspace' together with a long left arrow ⟵ printed beneath it.[see Microsoft Keyboards]
On Apple Keyboards, this key is labeled 'delete'.
Don't confuse this key with the Delete key in the home/end/insert key cluster.
Delete
Delete key⌦
The delete keys is in the cluster of {home, end, page up, page down, insert}
Insert
Insert symbol⎀
This is Unicode U+2380: INSERTION SYMBOL. This symbol is used by copy editors, to indicate insertion.
Most keyboards label it 'Insert' or 'Ins'.
IBM Model M 3193 uses this symbol, but with the hat ^ at top.[see IBM Model M keyboard]
Clear Key
clear⎚⌧
The clear key is the key on the number pad onApple Keyboards.
It is labeled as 'clear'.
Home/End Keys
Home/End⤒⤓↖↘⇤⇥⇱⇲
Apple keyboard uses ↖ ↘ before 2018, now uses ⤒ ⤓.
[see Mac Keyboard Viewer]
Page Up/Down
Page Up/Down key⇞⇟△▽▲▼
- Apple Keyboards use ⇞ ⇟.
- Logitech Non-Gaming Keyboards usually use ▲ ▼
Previous/Next Page
⎗⎘
These are for browser previous/next page.The ⎗ ⎘ are used by IBM Thinkpad around 2000 to 2011.[see Evolution of Laptop Keyboard]
Arrow Keys
Commonly seen symbols used for arrow keys↑↓←→◀▶▲▼◁▷△▽⇦⇨⇧⇩⬅➡⬆⬇
[see Unicode Arrows →]
Print Screen Key
⎙ PRINT SCREEN SYMBOL
I haven't seen this symbol used on keyboard.
Scroll Lock (ScrLk)
Suggestions:
- ⤓
- ⇳🔒
System Request (SysRq)
Suggestions:
- 🗱 LIGHTNING MOOD BUBBLE
- 🗲 LIGHTNING MOOD
[see Print Screen, SysRq, ScrLk, Pause, Break Keys]
Pause/Break
pause key⎉
break key⎊
These are standard symbols for pause/break used in electronic circuits.
In the beginning, keyboard's pause/break key(s) have similar meaning to the electronic pause/break, but not today.
[see Print Screen, SysRq, ScrLk, Pause, Break Keys]
I haven't see keyboard using these symbols.
Help Key
Help key suggested symbols.
⍰❓❔ℹ🛈
Help key is in Apple Keyboards ⌨andSun Microsystems Type 6 Keyboard
This key is typically labled just 'help'.
Sleep Key
☾ Text editor with color coding.
[see Astrology Symbols 🌛]
Eject
Eject⏏
mail key
mail✉
[see Office Emoji 📌]
browser home page key
home 🏠🏡⌂
Cut
Cut✂✄
[see Print Screen, SysRq, ScrLk, Pause, Break Keys]
Pause/Break
pause key⎉
break key⎊
These are standard symbols for pause/break used in electronic circuits.
In the beginning, keyboard's pause/break key(s) have similar meaning to the electronic pause/break, but not today.
[see Print Screen, SysRq, ScrLk, Pause, Break Keys]
I haven't see keyboard using these symbols.
Help Key
Help key suggested symbols.
⍰❓❔ℹ🛈
Help key is in Apple Keyboards ⌨andSun Microsystems Type 6 Keyboard
This key is typically labled just 'help'.
Sleep Key
☾ Text editor with color coding.
[see Astrology Symbols 🌛]
Eject
Eject⏏
mail key
mail✉
[see Office Emoji 📌]
browser home page key
home 🏠🏡⌂
Cut
Cut✂✄
Undo, Redo
Undo, redo⎌↶↷
[see Unicode Arrows →]
Reload/Refresh Key
Reload/Refresh⟲⟳↺↻
The symbol ⟳ is used by Chromebook for browser refresh.
Microsoft Edge browser uses ↻ for reload.
Search Key, Magnify Key
search, find, magnify.🔍🔎.The manifying glass 🔍 is used on GoogleChromebook for web search function, as replacement for the CapsLock key.
Screen Brightness Key
brightness.🔅🔆
Multimedia Keys
mute🔇no sound🔈sound down🔉sound up🔊
🕨🕩🕪
stop◼play/pause⏯,prev song⏮,next song⏭,fast backward⏪,fast forward⏩,fast upward⏫,fast downward⏬
[see Unicode: Computer UI Icons 🗑]
Number Lock, Number Pad Keys
[see Unicode Circled Numbers ① ② ③]
Sample Use of Keyboard Symbols
Computer Interfac Icons
Character Representation
Key Label
If you have a question, put $5 at patreon and message me.
Explanation of the Keys on a Windows QWERTY Keyboard
- Q W E R T Y
- 'The name 'QWERTY' for our computer keyboard comes from the first six letters in the top alphabet row (the one just below the numbers). It is also referred to as the 'Universal' keyboard. It was the work of inventor C. L. Sholes, who put together the prototypes of the first commercial typewriter in a Milwaukee machine shop back in the 1860's.'
- Esc
- Equivalent to clicking the Cancel button. In PowerPoint the Esc key will stop a running slide show. On a web page with animations, the Esc key will stop the animations. On a web page that is loading, the Esc key will stop the page from loading. The keyboard combination Ctrl + Esc will open the Start Menu.
- F1
- While working in an application, depressing this key will bring up the applications help menu. If there is no open application F1 will open Windows Help.
- F2
- Choose this key to rename a selected item or object.
- F3
- Depressing this key will display the Find: All Files dialog box.
- F4
- Selects the Go To A Different Folder box and moves down the entries in the box (if the toolbar is active in Windows Explorer)
- F5
- Refreshes the current window. In Internet Explorer, F5 will Refresh the web page.
- F6
- Moves among panes in Windows Explorer.
- F7
- F8
- F9
- F10
- Activates menu bar options. Use right and left arrows to select menus and down arrows to display pull down menus.
- F11
- In Internet Explorer this key will allow you to toggle between full screen viewing mode and normal viewing mode.
- F12
- Print Screen/SysRq
- Usually located at the upper right hand corner of your keyboard next to the Scroll Lock and Pause/Break keys. Often abbreviated PrtScr, the Print Screen key is a useful key supported on most PCs. In DOS, pressing the Print Screen key causes the computer to send whatever images and text are currently on the display screen to the printer. Some graphics programs and Windows, use the Print Screen key to obtain Screen Captures.
- Tab
- This key can be used to move forward through options in a dialog box.
- Ctrl + Shift + Tab can be used to move backward through the options.
- Ctrl + Tab allows movement from one open window to the next in an application with more than one open window.
- Alt + Tab displays a list of open application windows. Keeping Alt depressed and selecting Tab cycles through the list. Releasing selects the highlighted application window.
- Caps Lock
- Locks the keyboard in 'Capitals' mode (only applies to Alpha keys). The Caps Lock key should be used with caution. Using ALL CAPS is a usability no-no as many have difficulty scanning text that is ALL CAPS. Also, when sending email in all caps, this could be misconstrued as shouting at someone.
- Shift
- The obvious use of this key is to allow selection of capital letters when depressing the alphabet characters, or selecting the characters above other non-alpha keys.
- Depressing the Shift key while inserting a CD-ROM will bypass auto play.
- Shift + Delete to permanently delete a selected item, bypasses the Recycle Bin.
Control Key
- Ctrl
- Depressing the Ctrl key while clicking allows multiple selections. Holding the Ctrl key down and pressing other key combinations will initiate quite a few actions. Some of the more common ones are listed below.
- Ctrl + A
- Select All items
- Ctrl + B
- Add or remove Bold formatting
- Ctrl + C
- Copy, places the selected/highlighted copy on the clipboard.
- Ctrl + C + C
- Opens the clipboard.
- Ctrl + F
- Opens the Find what: dialog box. Great for finding references on a web page while using your favorite web browser.
- Ctrl + H
- Replace, brings up the Find and Replace dialog box. Great for global find and replace routines while working in normal and html views in your favorite WYSIWYG editors like FrontPage. You can also use this to find and replace content within your Word Documents, Excel Spreadsheets, etc..
- Ctrl + I
- Add or remove Italic formatting.
- Ctrl + N
- Window, In Internet Explorer, opens a New Window. In Outlook, opens a New Mail Message. In most publishing programs like Word, opens a New Document.
- Ctrl + O
- Open, brings up a browse dialog and allows you to select a file to open.
- Ctrl + P
- Ctrl + S
- Save
- Ctrl + U
- Add or remove Underline formatting.
- Ctrl + V
- Paste, inserts the copy on the clipboard into the area where your flashing cursoris positioned or the area you have selected/highlighted.
Clear Picture Of Keyboard Shortcut
- Ctrl + W
- Close, will close the document currently open.
- Ctrl + X
- Cut, removes the selected/highlighted copy and places it on the clipboard.
- Ctrl + Y
- Redo last command. Many software programs offer multiple Redo's by pressing Ctrl + Y + Y + Y..
- Ctrl + Z
- Undo last command. Many software programs offer multiple Undo's by pressing Ctrl + Z + Z + Z..
- Ctrl + Esc
- Open the Start menu (or use the Windows Key if you have one).
- Ctrl + =
- Spell checker (pre WinXP).
- Ctrl
- While dragging a file to copy the file.
- Ctrl + Shift
- While dragging a file to create a shortcut.
- Ctrl + Tab
- Allows movement (toggle) from one open window to the next in an application with more than one open window.
- Ctrl + F4
- Close a window in an application without closing the application.
- Ctrl + F5
- In Internet Explorer, Ctrl + F5 will Refresh the web page bypassing cache (all images and external file references will be reloaded).
Windows Key
- Windows Key
- On either side of the spacebar, outside the Alt key, is a key with the Windows logo. Holding the Windows key down and pressing another key will initiate quite a few actions. Some of the more common are listed in the table below:
- Displays the Start Menu.
- + D
- Minimizes all windows and shows the Desktop.
- + D
- Opens all windows and takes you right back to where you were.
- + E
- Opens a new Explorer Window. Probably one of the hottest Windows keyboard shortcuts. This one gets a lot of hoorahs!
- + F
- Displays the Find all files dialog box.
- + L
- Lock your Windows XP computer. Logoff in Windows Pre-XP.
- + M
- Minimizes all open windows.
- + Shift + M
- Restores all previously open windows to how they were before you Minimized them.
- + R
- Displays the Run command.
- + F1
- Displays the Windows Help menu.
- + Pause/Break
- Displays the Systems Properties dialog box.
- + Tab
- Cycle through the buttons on the Task Bar.
Alt
- Alt
- Located on either side of the space bar. Holding the Alt key down and pressing another key will initiate various actions. Some of the more common ones are listed below:
- Alt + F4
- Closes the current active window. If there is no active window this opens the Shut Down dialog box.
- Alt + underlined letter in menu
- To carry out the corresponding command on the menu.
- Alt + left/right arrows
- In a browser moves forward or back through the pages visited in a window.
- Alt + Space Bar
- Displays the current window's system menu. This is the same as left clicking on the application icon at the top left of the window.
- Alt + Enter
- Displays a selected items properties. This can also be done with Alt + double-click.
- Alt + PrtScn
- Captures the top window of the active application.
- Alt + Space Bar
- Displays the main window's system menu. This is the same as clicking on the application icon at the left end of the title bar.
- Alt + Space Bar + C
- After the system menu is displayed (see above), this combination will close a window. This works the same way as Alt + F4 but requires less stretch.
- Alt + - (hyphen)
- Displays the current window's system menu. This is the same as left clicking on the application icon at the top left of the window.
- Alt + Tab
- Displays a list of open application windows. Keeping Alt depressed and selecting Tab cycles through the list. Releasing selects the highlighted application window.
- AltCtrl
- The Application key has an image of a mouse pointer on a menu (between the Alt and Ctrl keys () to the right of your Space Bar). Depressing this key will display the selected item's shortcut window. This is the menu that is displayed by right-clicking.
- Space Bar
- Insert a space between words. It is suggested that you utilize Tabs (or other formatting commands) to put distance between elements. Using the space bar to insert visual space works but would not be considered a best practice in page design. Double spaces between sentences are no longer required. This is a carryover from the days of fixed width fonts on a typewriter such as Courier, Orator, Prestige Elite, etc.
- Pressing the Space Bar while viewing a web page in Internet Explorer will scroll the page downwards. Shift + Space Bar will scroll the page upwards.
- Enter
- Creates a new Paragraph
() or what is referred to as a Hard Return. In any dialog box a selected button or command can be selected by depressing this key. Selected buttons can be recognized by their darker (dotted) borders, or what is referred to as Focus.
- Shift + Enter
- Creates a new Line Break
() or what is referred to as a Soft Return.
- Shift + Arrow
- Shift + Arrow Up, Down, Left or Right. Position your cursorat the beginning of the area you wish to highlight for copying. Now use the up, down, left or right arrow keys to select areas of content to be highlighted, copied, pasted, etc.
- Backspace
- While working with text, use this key to delete characters to the left of the insertion point.
- Insert
- Home
- Depress and hold the Ctrl key as you select Home to go to the first line of a document.
- Page Up
- In a browser window use the Page Up key to move up one full screen on a web page.
- Delete
- While working with text, use this key to delete characters to the right of the insertion point. This key can also be used to delete selected files. If you use the keyboard combination Shift + Delete the item is permanently deleted, bypassing the Recycle Bin.
- End
- Depress and hold the Ctrl key as you select End to go to the last line of a document.
- Page Down
- In a browser window use the Page Down key to move down one full screen on a web page.
- Up Arrow
- Navigate in a document to the line above. Hold the Ctrl key down as you press this key to move to the beginning of the second line above.
- Right Arrow
- Navigate in a document one character to the right. Hold the Ctrl key down as you press this key to move one word to the right.
- Down Arrow
- Navigate in a document to the line below. Hold the Ctrl key down as you press this key to move to the beginning of the second line below.
- Left Arrow
- Navigate in a document one character to the left. Hold the Ctrl key down as you press this key to move one word to the left.
Keypad Keys
- Num Lock
- If you want to use the numeric keypad on the right end of the keyboard to display numbers, the Num Lock key must be selected (usually a light above the Num Lock will indicate that it is on). If you want to use the keypad to navigate within a document, turn off Num Lock by pressing the key (the light will go off).
- * (Asterisk)
- In Windows Explorer this expands everything under the current selection. Caution: do not try this with the C Drive icon selected.
- - (Minus Sign)
- In Windows Explorer this collapses the current selection.
- + (Plus Sign)
- In Windows Explorer this expands the current selection.