# What does that key do? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 17, 2003, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-that-key-do/182446 "2003-06-17T13:12:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2003, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-that-key-do/182446/1 "2003-06-17T13:12:57Z")
Yesterday I just happened to notice a key on my Dell keyboard that I have never noticed before. It is on the bottom row of keys, 3 to the right of the spacebar, immediately left of Ctrl. Has some kind of graphic with an arrow on it. When I press in while in Word, it pops up some kind of toolbox. No big deal, I was just a little surprisedthat I could have my hands on this thing for many many hours a week for the past several years, and never notice this particular key. How about you guys? Take a look. Any keys you have never noticed before? Or any that you have noticed, but you don’t know what they do? Go ahead - give them a try! ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2003, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-that-key-do/182446/2 "2003-06-17T13:19:48Z")
Brings up a popup in IE that has Undo, Paste, Delete and Select All on it. Woohoo. ---
**Author:** ![green\_bladder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/73ab20/32.png) [@green\_bladder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/green_bladder)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2003, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-that-key-do/182446/3 "2003-06-17T14:12:06Z")
I’ve got a ‘Turbo’ key below my ‘enter’ and to the right of ‘shift’. And nothing happens when I press it. What on earth could that be for? ---
**Author:** ![photopat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e95f7d/32.png) [@photopat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/photopat)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2003, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-that-key-do/182446/4 "2003-06-17T16:33:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by green\_bladder \* > \*\*I’ve got a ‘Turbo’ key below my ‘enter’ and to the right of ‘shift’. And nothing happens when I press it. What on earth could that be for? \*\* That’s in case of tidal wave. (Don’t ever touch the Turbo key!–to paraphrase Daffy Duck) Alternately, it’s for when you’re driving the Mach 5 in a race and Racer X is on your tail. ---
**Author:** ![White\_Lightning](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@White\_Lightning](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/White_Lightning)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2003, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-that-key-do/182446/5 "2003-06-17T16:37:08Z")
It’s called the menu key or something. In most versions of IE it brings up the same menu you get when you right-click the mouse. ---
**Author:** ![Electronic\_Chaos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Electronic\_Chaos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Electronic_Chaos)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2003, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-that-key-do/182446/6 "2003-06-17T17:51:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by White Lightning \* > \*\*It’s called the menu key or something. In most versions of IE it brings up the same menu you get when you right-click the mouse. \*\* Not just IE, but most applications. It’s one of the keys they added to keyboards when Win95 came out (the other being the windows logo key which brings up the start menu). Never quite caught on because…most people just right click if they need to right click. ---
**Author:** ![Searching\_For\_Truth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4da419/32.png) [@Searching\_For\_Truth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Searching_For_Truth)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2003, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-that-key-do/182446/7 "2003-06-17T21:11:00Z")
Yesterday I learned what the **Prt Scr/Sys Rq** key does-- Print Screen, like a screen shot. Press **Alt** and **Prt Scr** and it only copies the window. ---
**Author:** ![SexyHamster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@SexyHamster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SexyHamster)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2003, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-that-key-do/182446/8 "2003-06-17T22:02:44Z")
Oh… I know those keys all too well… 😃 I’ve pried them off of every keyboard I have that’s attached to a computer running microsoft windows. They cause various problems if you hit them in the middle of some of the video games I play. The problems range from disabling sound to crashing the game. Evil! ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2003, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-that-key-do/182446/9 "2003-06-18T01:26:27Z")
I knew about the menu key, and about the Windows key, but I never before noticed that for some odd reason, my keyboard has TWO Windows keys!! I never use either of them, which makes it so very weird. And since I’m in Linux, neither key does anything anyways, except beep. _beep!_ ---
**Author:** ![Toddly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/22d042/32.png) [@Toddly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toddly)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2003, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-that-key-do/182446/10 "2003-06-18T02:05:48Z")
I don’t use the Menu key much but I find the Windows key pretty handy. Windows key + F = Find Dialog Box Windows Key + M = Clears all screens to the desktop Windows Key + R = Run Dialog Box Windows Key + L in XP switches users. Windows Key + Break = System Properties ---
**Author:** ![wakimika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f08c70/32.png) [@wakimika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wakimika)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2003, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-that-key-do/182446/11 "2003-06-18T02:46:38Z")
Hmmm, my Powerbook has an “fn” key, bottom left corner. Apparently, it is a “modifier” key and when used in conjunction with another key does all kinds of groovy things. For instance, use it with the command key and it becomes the Windows key, magically turning my Mac into a PC! Almost. It’s there for programs like Virtual PC. I am happy to discover this fn key. I will never use it. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2003, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-that-key-do/182446/12 "2003-06-18T03:48:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by mnemosyne \* > \*\*I knew about the menu key, and about the Windows key, but I never before noticed that for some odd reason, my keyboard has TWO Windows keys!! I never use either of them, which makes it so very weird. And since I’m in Linux, neither key does anything anyways, except beep. > > _beep!_ \*\* Well, if you’re running Linux and using a Roadrunner connection to the Internet… 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Ferris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ferris/32/11573_2.png) [@Ferris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferris)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2003, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-that-key-do/182446/13 "2003-06-18T04:46:27Z")
[HHGG - _“Heart of Gold”_] “Please do not press this button again.” [/HHGG-HoG] ---
**Author:** ![Scoobysnax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c4cdca/32.png) [@Scoobysnax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scoobysnax)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2003, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-that-key-do/182446/14 "2003-06-18T06:40:49Z")
Don’t forget windows key + E, it opens the windows explorer. Here is one that I found by accident. Try pressing the shift key 5 times in windows. ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2003, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-that-key-do/182446/15 "2003-06-18T07:05:30Z")
I miss my old Commodore 64, but only because it had an Instant Delight (Inst/Del) key on it. Hubba hubba! ---
**Author:** ![SexyHamster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@SexyHamster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SexyHamster)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2003, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-that-key-do/182446/16 "2003-06-18T13:15:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by mnemosyne \* > \*\*And since I’m in Linux, neither key does anything anyways, except beep. > _beep!_ \*\* Well you _could_ bind them to something if you wanted to… Of course, at current count I have 13 keys on this keyboard that do bugger all. I think some of the new distros are assigning them to Windows-like functions. I suppose that’s useful. ---
**Author:** ![White\_Lightning](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@White\_Lightning](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/White_Lightning)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2003, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-that-key-do/182446/17 "2003-06-18T21:44:10Z")
I love these threads. Windows + M is now added to my repertoire, thanks **Toddly**.