What is shift key in computer?

Answer 1

It's originated from the old typewriters. If you hit the shift key on a typewriter, an other character set became active (the capital letters), so you didn't have to put so many keys onto it. So you could shift between the 2 character set. The funcionality of the key reained the same on modern keyboards too: you can change the active character set.

Answer 2

The Shift key is a modifier key on a standard keyboard. It could have many different functions and usages. Usage:

To use it in its normal form, press the shift key down first then press another key on the keyboard at the same time. Primary Function: * Primary Function: To convert lower-case letters into upper-case (capital) letters.

[For example: Letter character 'a' becomes 'A'] Other Functions Include:

* To access special characters on the keyboard.

[For example: Number character '1' becomes '!'] * To be used with other modifier keys to access a special feature in an operating system or a computer program.

Answer 3

The shift key is used for you to capitalize your letters. It is also used to access and use the symbols that are located above your number keys, along with other keys that contain 2 signs on them, (those normally in white, there is another function key with symbols on a laptop). The shift allows you to access the symbol that is on top of the keys that contain the 2 symbols. You can also use the shift key when you are selecting items on your screen to copy and paste, etc. Say it is a paragraph you are wanting to highlight. Instead of having to double click, then drag your mouse to the end of the paragraph, this is where your shift key will come in handy as well. You click at the beginning of the paragraph and then before you click again, you hold the shift button and click where you want the highlighted area to end.

Answer 4

The shift key can be used to make a letter a capital. To do this, you press and hold the shift key, then press the letter you want as a capital.

MoreIn the old days of mechanical typewriters, the shift key was a literal lever that raised the roller slightly so that the "upper" part of the key could strike the paper.

This was the way that the mechanical typewriter worked; there were die cast "keys" attached to metal arms that would raise and strike a space against carbon ribbon onto the paper, thus making an imprint of the letter on paper.

In order to type, the roller moved the paper a space across whenever the paper was struck with the key, so that more space was available. The process of typing was a mechanical one! When the roller (attached to a "carriage") was advanced a certain degree, one had to physically move the "carriage return", a lever attached to the carriage assembly. This physically moved the paper up by a certain space, and there was a fresh line to work with.

Typing was physically demanding because the "keys" were mechanical devices labeled with the letters and numbers that one literally hit with the tips of the fingers, making the the mechanical arms raise up and hit the paper. It took strength of the fingers and hands to type because there were no electrical helps, it was all mechanical. The degree of force was dependent on how well maintained the machine was.

Because of the construction of the machine and the force that had to be used, the average speed of the good typist was 60 wpm. An excellent typist (much sought after in the typing world) could type as much as 75 wpm. More than that was thought to be practically impossible for the average person.

There was no erasing the wrong spelling or bad construction; the paper had to be thrown away, so accuracy was highly valued also. A proper finished document had no spelling errors, good spacing, and consistent margins on all sides. This was difficult to do, so good typists were highly sought after in the business world.

Answer 5

It changes the case of the letter(s) you are entering, or enters a secondary character for a specific key. For example, if you press the key with a "1" and a "!" on it, then you will get a one (1). However, if you hold shift while you press the key, you will get the secondary character, the exclamation point (!).

Answer 6

It makes the first letter of a sentence a capital letter.

Answer 7

There is only so much space on a keyboard, so some keys have

two different characters, and pressing shift displays the other character.

3 = 3 and 3 shift = £ for example

Answer 8

button, 5th one starting on top