One of the biggest differences between a typewriter keyboard and a computer keyboard is the top row of keys, F1 to F12, which are usually called function keys. These keys were very useful in the DOS system in the past, but in the current Windows operating system, we can still use the computer normally without these keys. Of course, these keys can still provide us with some common shortcut operations, which are very practical for our daily operations. These function keys can also be combined with other keys, such as Ctrl, Shift, Alt, to form some useful shortcut keys.
F1 : In DOS operating system, you will find that pressing F1 will usually bring up the help option. In Windows operating system, if you are in a selected program and pressing F1, help will often appear. If you're not in any program, but in Explorer or on the desktop, pressing F1 will bring up the Windows Help program. If you are working on a program and want to get Windows help, you need to press Win+F1. Press Shift+F1 and the help message "What's This?" will appear.
F2 : If a file or folder is selected in Explorer, pressing F2 will rename the selected file or folder. Equivalent to you right-clicking and selecting Rename.
F3 : Press F3 on the resource manager or desktop, and the "Search File" window will appear, so if you want to search for a file in a folder, you can quickly open the search window by pressing the F3 key directly. And the search scope is already set to that folder by default. Likewise, pressing it in Windows Media Player brings up the "Add to library by searching computer" window.
F4 : F4 has some very useful functions. When you are working in IE, you can use this key to open the address bar list in IE, and you can also use Alt+F4 key combination to close the window you are currently working on.
F5 : F5 is the refresh key, used to refresh the content of the current window in IE or Explorer. This is a very convenient shortcut key. When you insert a new floppy disk, your screen will still display the contents of the previous floppy disk. You only need to press F5 to refresh the screen to see the contents of the floppy disk you just inserted. .
F6 : You can quickly locate the address bar in Explorer and IE.
F7 : Has no effect in Windows, may work in individual programs. But in a DOS window, it works, try it out!
F8 : Can be used to display the boot menu when starting the computer. Some computers can also press this key at the beginning of the computer startup to quickly call up the startup setting menu, from which you can quickly choose whether to boot from a floppy disk, a CD-ROM, or directly from a hard disk, without having to enter the BIOS to modify the boot sequence. In addition, you can also accept Microsoft's installation agreement when installing Windows.
F9 : Also has no effect in Windows. But in Windows Media Player it can be used to quickly lower the volume.
F10 : Used to activate the menu in Windows or programs, press Shift+F10 to display the right-click shortcut menu. It has the same function as the Application key on the keyboard. In Windows Media Player, its function is to increase the volume.
F11 : When working on Windows, pressing F11 will make IE or Explorer go full screen mode. Makes the menu bar disappear so we can see more information on the screen and press it again to bring it back.
F12 : Also has no effect in Windows. But in Word, pressing it quickly pops up the save as file window.
Most programs can get help by pressing F1, and they often have other functions, and you will find that their usefulness may be different in different programs. For example pressing F5 in IE will refresh the entire page, but using the same action in Outlook 2000 is to check for new right click, in MS Word it will activate the Find and Replace menu.
Many programs support the combination of function keys. The most commonly used key combinations are Shift + a, Alt + a, and Crtl + a. These key combinations are very practical. For example, in MS word, when a piece of text is selected Yes, pressing Shift+F3 will convert all selected paragraphs to uppercase. Pressing Shift+F7 will execute a thesaurus lookup command. These shortcuts allow you to do what you want with just one keyboard press, instead of three or four mouse clicks. In addition to the functions mentioned, you can usually find a list of function keys in the program's help documentation.
Do you understand, let's make full use of these keys that we may usually ignore~