Most useless key on your keyboard?

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

[trotsky]

1. The Windows key could be one of the most use-FUL.

Window-E - file explorer
Window-R - run
Window-D - show desktop
and so on

Very handy.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

2. The problem is so few people know about it.

Microsoft really didn't do much publicizing of the button.

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

9. I think the windows key is a pain in the ass.

I've had a couple of key boards where that key has gotten stuck for whatever reason.

[datasuspect]

11. Window+M - minimize all

key combination of choice when working in highly surveilled corporate cube farms.

[BurtWorm]

21. What's the difference between M and D?

No difference. But it's good to know you can minimize all with either hand in a single stroke.

[northzax]

29. window-D is reversible with the same keystroke

hit it again and you get all your windows back in the same order. W-M doesn't work backwards.

[BurtWorm]

33. That is fanTASTic!

:party: :toast: :beer: :party: :beer: :smoke: :wow: :toast: :beer: :party: :puke: :beer:

[northzax]

35. don't say I never taught you anything :)

and people say DU is just wasted time...

[BurtWorm]

36. This is truly the most useful thing I've learned on the internet...

well, since I learned where to find snatches of Shaggs' tunes, come to think of it, a couple of hours ago. But this is actually something I can apply to my life off-line! :thumbsup:

[LynzM]

15. Window-D!

Hey, you learn something every day! That's a good one, thanks :)

[BurtWorm]

19. You've just opened my eyes.

I never knew what the hell that key was for. I only knew it as the key that gets in the way of alt or ctrl. Thank you!

[LynzM]

3. Scroll lock....

I don't even know what the heck it does...

[trotsky]

It was handy in the old DOS days.

When information would slowly scroll on the screen, you could hit Scroll Lock to pause it. It still has that function in some programs, but overall it's pretty useless.

[GiovanniC]

4. Definitely the "~" Key

n/t

[Dying Eagle]

5. I agree

WTF is "~". What does it do??

[sans qualia]

7. It's the negation symbol

~useless(~)

[Bluebear]

16. Makes the steam on the coffee

About all.

@[]~~~

[Spider Jerusalem]

24. Pretty useful if you play any computer games.

The tilde key brings up the console in most games. lot easier to hit ~ and type "quit" than go through the "escape, menu, mouse click" routine.

[sans qualia]

26. That too

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

32. Other languages use this

Spanish: ~ + n = ñ (sueño)

Portuguese: ~ + a = ã (não)

[Spider Jerusalem]

39. Not all by itself, though.

And on non-Spanish or Portuguese keyboards without the character, there's an alt keystroke for it.

[Barcelona]

6. Most of the "F" keys

There are 12 but I only use a couple of them...

[Wickerman]

8. NOT the scroll lock - the insert key

I'm a sloppy typist and sometimes I hit the insert key instead of delete or backspace. Then, I lose a word or two as I try to correct a mis spelling - and I use insert for nothing.

Scroll lock - I use it all the time. I have a KVM device that allows me to use the same input devices for 4 computers and I use the scroll lock as a "hot key" to go from machine to machine all while on the same key board, mouse, and monitor.

[fishwax]

13. D'oh! I hate that

stupid insert key. :argh:

[Joe Power]

10. The "any" key

I can never find it. :shrug:

[flvegan]

12. Insert. Don't think I've ever used it.

[calico1]

31. I use the insert key sometimes.

If you are in Word and type something and instead of the typing coming after what you already have typed it starts typing over it and not moving over and erasing what is already typed then the insert key is useful. You hit "insert" and everything will move over again. I hope I explained it right. Anyway that's the only thing I know to use it for.

One I never use is ^.

[sniffa]

14. the "L" key

:P

[madinmaryland]

17. Does anyone ever use the

"Prt Scr/Sys Rq"? I haven't used dos in years, but i don't ever recall using "sys rq". What the hell is that for? Something from the old mainframe days?

[trotsky]

20. I use PrintScreen all the time.

You can take a screen snapshot with CTRL-PrtScrn, and a snapshot of just the active window with ALT-PrtScrn. Then paste it into Word or some other application.

[madinmaryland]

23. But what about "Sys Rq"

What is that?

[trotsky]

25. Answer: nothing. :)

http://www.faqs.org/faqs/msdos-programmer-faq/part2/section-20.html

[antigone382]

18. The W key on my keyboard is messed up--should I be amused or annoyed?

On the one hand, I find it highly fitting. On the other hand, it's extremely frustrating hen I ant to type ords ith 's in them.

[lpbk2713]

22. Other -- "Sys Rq" key.

Doesn't even have a function assigned to it.

[billyskank]

27. I could have voted for the Windows key

because I use Linux with the Fluxbox window manager, and the Windows key does nothing at all. However, I have to vote for the scroll lock key, because I'm sure it would be possible somehow for me to map the Windows key to do something useful. If I could be bothered to learn how. But the scroll lock key just does naff all.

[starroute]

28. Oops, I want to take my vote back

I voted for the key next to the Windows key, because I've never used it. But I just tried it and it brings up a right-click menu which can then be used together with the arrow keys and Enter to select an option.

I still don't think I'll ever use it, but it isn't quite as useless as some of the others.

[Tektonik]

30. F sharp n/t

.

[bloodyjack]

34. SHIFT KEY

RENDERED OBSOLETE BY CAPS LOCK

[mr blur]

37. The $ key

Don't think I've used it more than five times in 20 years. Then again, I don't livein the US...

[ET Awful]

38. Well, scroll lock is very handy if you use a KVM switch to alternate

between machines. Most KVM switches use Ctrl-Scroll Lock as the trigger to choose the next machine you want to use.

I'd say that on modern keyboards, Num Lock is the most worthless. It should just automatically be in Num-Lock since you have a separate set of keys for all the other functions.