1.4 IMPORTANT COMPUTER KEYS

As well as getting to know the letters on a keyboard, you also need to know how to find the following keys and what they do.

They are arranged alphabetically. The position of some keys may vary.

ALT - Use it:

1 on its own followed by an ARROW key to get to menu choices in the program you are in. Press the ALT again or ESCAPE to get back to where you were.

2 hold it down and press another key e.g. ALT E. It becomes a quick way to make things happen. ALT F opens the File Menu and ALT E opens the Edit Menu etc.

Find it: bottom row of the main section, to the left of the Spacebar.

APPLICATION KEY or CONTEXT MENU KEY - Use it:

To give you the most likely menu choices of things you want to do.

Find it: bottom row of the main section, two or sometimes three keys to the right of the Spacebar. If there is no Application key, Use SHIFT F10 in most cases but not Windows 7 jump lists.

ARROW KEYS or CURSOR KEYS - use them:

To move the cursor (the point where you are writing or the focus) up, down, left or right. The up and down cursors speak a line at a time and the left or right cursors speak a letter at a time.

Find them: in a block between the main section and the number pad. Left Arrow, Down Arrow and Right Arrow in a row with Up Arrow above the Down Arrow key.

 AT - Use it:

in email addresses.Find it: Hold down LEFT SHIFT and press the key to the right of the semicolon.

BACKSPACE - use it:

To delete a character to the left of the Cursor, your current writing point.
Find it: often a longer key at the right end of the numbers row.

CONTROL (CTRL) - Use it:

1 on its own to stop speech at any time;

2 with another key to choose certain commands e.g. CONTROL held down while pressing P will print a document that’s on the screen.

Find it: bottom row of the main section in two places, the first key at the left and also the key to the right of the Spacebar immediately to the left of the left Arrow key.

CURSOR KEYS

Same as ARROW keys.

DELETE - use it:
To delete the letter your cursor is on. Thunder will say "Delete" and the letter that the cursor is now on, not the deleted letter.
Find it: bottom left of the six keys above the Arrow keys.

END - use it:
To take you to the end of a line and the last item of a list; CONTROL END takes you to the end of a document or list.
Find it: Middle key of the six keys above the Arrow keys.

ENTER - use it:
To tell the computer to do what you have chosen. Same key as RETURN. Also to deliberately start a new line e.g. when writing an address. You don’t have to use it when you are writing a continuous piece. The computer will decide when to start a new line. Find it: on the right-hand side of the main section, above SHIFT. It is usually larger than the surrounding keys.

ESCAPE - Use it:

To cancel a menu choice and take you back to what you were doing - worth pressing once or twice if you are stuck and can’t get out of something.

Find it: left-most key on the top row furthest from you, first key before the function keys

DELETE - use it:To delete the letter your cursor is on. Thunder will say "Delete" and the letter that the cursor is now on, not the deleted letter.Find it: bottom left of the six keys above the Arrow keys.

END - use it:

To take you to the end of a line and the last item of a list; CONTROL END takes you to the end of a document or list.Find it: Middle key of the six keys above the Arrow keys.

ENTER - use it:

To tell the computer to do what you have chosen. Same key as RETURN. Also to deliberately start a new line e.g. when writing an address. You don’t have to use it when you are writing a continuous piece. The computer will decide when to start a new line.

Find it: on the right-hand side of the main section, above SHIFT. It is usually larger than the surrounding keys.

ESCAPE - Use it:

To cancel a menu choice and take you back to what you were doing - worth pressing once or twice if you are stuck and can’t get out of something.

Find it: left-most key on the top row furthest from you, first key before the function keys.

FUNCTION KEY - Use it:

Hold it down while pressing other keys to perform various tasks such as changing volume, brightness etc.

Find it: on most laptops second in from the left on the row nearest to you, not needed on standard keyboards.

FUNCTION KEYS - Use them:

Usually with another key to perform particular functions: e.g. ALT with F4 closes the program you are in.

Find them: the row furthest from you numbered from the left. The left-most key is Escape, so F1 is the second key from the left.

HOME - use it:

To take you to the beginning of a line and top of a list such as your files or emails. CONTROL HOME takes you to the beginning of a document.

Find it: middle key of the six keys above the Arrow keys.

INSERT - use it:

See NKP 0. Toggles Thunder Help on/off.

Find it: Bottom left large key on standard keyboards. Also, but unused, top left of the 6 keys above the arrow keys. On many laptops hold down the FN key and press M.

NUMERIC KEYPAD (NKP) - use it:

1 As Thunder Help Key reminder. When you’ve pressed it, Thunder keys speak what they do: E.g. CAPSLOCK L says "Read line", but you can’t read a line with it until you press NKP ZERO again. Non-Thunder keys are not affected and work as normal so it’s best to try it in an unimportant document.

2 Other screenreaders, JAWS, NVDA and Narrator use it in combination with other keys to read text in various ways.

Find it: On standard keyboards bottom left of the NKP. On many laptops, hold down the FN key, usually to the right of the left-hand CONTROL key, and press letter M.

OFFICE BUTTON

In Office programs, Thunder says "Office button" when you press ALT.

PAGE DOWN (PGDN) - use it:

To move forward through a document or sometimes a list a screen at a time.

Find it: bottom right of the six keys above the Arrow keys.

PAGE UP (PGUP) - use it:

To move backward through a document or sometimes a list a screen at a time.

Find it: top right of the six keys above the Arrow keys.

RETURN

Same key as ENTER.

SHIFT - Use it:

1 on its own to turn a lower case letter into a capital letter.

2 with other keys to select letters or items.

Find it: in two places, one above each CONTROL key.

SLASH - Use it:

Mainly in website addresses.

Find it: key to the right of full stop.

SPACEBAR - Use it:

1 To insert a space when typing;

2 To Make a button work that you have selected;

3 To select checkboxes.

Find it: the long key on the bottom row, nearest to you.

START KEY

Same as WINDOWS key.

TAB - Use it:

1 To move keyboard focus to different parts of the screen;

2 To indent the start of a line in a document.

Find it: on the left-hand side of the main section, fourth up.

WINDOWS KEY - Use it:

1 On its own to open and close the Start Menu where you can choose a program, AROW DOWN, and press ENTER when you hear the program you want to use;

2 Hold it down while pressing other keys, e.g. WINDOWS key D is a quick way of getting to the Desktop.

Find it: in two places on the bottom row of the keyboard, second key to the left of and second to the right of the Spacebar. If the keyboard has no Windows key use CONTROL ESCAPE to bring up the Start menu.