# What Is Above The Number 2 On The UK Keyboard Layout? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 19, 2011, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-above-the-number-2-on-the-uk-keyboard-layout/571924 "2011-02-19T17:28:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2011, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-above-the-number-2-on-the-uk-keyboard-layout/571924/1 "2011-02-19T17:28:53Z")
I was reading this article from Wikipeida on [keyboard layouts](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keyboard_layout#United_Kingdom) If you look at the [UK Keyboard layout image](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/da/KB_United_Kingdom.svg/400px-KB_United_Kingdom.svg.png) right above the number two is a symbol. What is that? It looks like a period when I zoom the image but is it? It seems redundant if it is, as there is already a period on the bottom row of keys thanks ---
**Author:** ![Racer1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ee59a6/32.png) [@Racer1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Racer1)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2011, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-above-the-number-2-on-the-uk-keyboard-layout/571924/2 "2011-02-19T17:31:06Z")
It’s a quotation mark. As in " ---
**Author:** ![Candyman74](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Candyman74](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Candyman74)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2011, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-above-the-number-2-on-the-uk-keyboard-layout/571924/3 "2011-02-19T17:32:38Z")
It’s a: " ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2011, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-above-the-number-2-on-the-uk-keyboard-layout/571924/4 "2011-02-19T17:35:40Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > It looks like a period when I zoom the image but is it? It seems redundant if it is, as there is already a period on the bottom row of keys There’s no period on a UK keyboard. We have a full stop instead. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2011, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-above-the-number-2-on-the-uk-keyboard-layout/571924/5 "2011-02-19T18:36:51Z")
Ah I see they swapped the @ and the " keys Thanks ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2011, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-above-the-number-2-on-the-uk-keyboard-layout/571924/6 "2011-02-19T23:58:10Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > Ah I see they swapped the @ and the " keys > > Thanks Actually, they left it where it was originally. (It’s swapped on US style computer keyboards, although the typewriter retained the quote in that position.) Why the at symbol was given a more prominent place on the keyboard is left as an exercise for the reader. ---
**Author:** ![kjckjc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e36b37/32.png) [@kjckjc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kjckjc)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2011, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-above-the-number-2-on-the-uk-keyboard-layout/571924/7 "2011-02-19T23:59:12Z")
I like that over the 3 they replaced the pound sign with…a pound sign. 🙂 What is above the single quote and what is it used for? EDIT: The one over the TAB key. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2011, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-above-the-number-2-on-the-uk-keyboard-layout/571924/8 "2011-02-20T00:22:14Z")
> [@kjckjc](#): > > I like that over the 3 they replaced the pound sign with…a pound sign. 🙂 > What is above the single quote and what is it used for? EDIT: The one over the TAB key. No idea what it’s for, but it’s one of these: ¬ ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2011, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-above-the-number-2-on-the-uk-keyboard-layout/571924/9 "2011-02-20T00:28:32Z")
It’s the [negation symbol](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negation). ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2011, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-above-the-number-2-on-the-uk-keyboard-layout/571924/10 "2011-02-20T00:32:52Z")
Wow, they wasted a whole key for that? ---
**Author:** ![Asympotically\_fat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e47c2d/32.png) [@Asympotically\_fat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asympotically_fat)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2011, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-above-the-number-2-on-the-uk-keyboard-layout/571924/11 "2011-02-20T00:37:13Z")
> [@kjckjc](#): > > I like that over the 3 they replaced the pound sign with…a pound sign. 🙂 > What is above the single quote and what is it used for? EDIT: The one over the TAB key. It’s ‘¬’ which I only know as the logical symbol for ‘negation’. E.g. if A is a statement then ¬A is it’s negation. I had to look ‘¦’ up. It seems it’s sometimes used as an alternative for displaying the absolute value of a number e.g. ¦-2¦ = 2 ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2011, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-above-the-number-2-on-the-uk-keyboard-layout/571924/12 "2011-02-20T01:04:34Z")
> [@These are my own pants](#): > > I had to look ‘¦’ up. It seems it’s sometimes used as an alternative for displaying the absolute value of a number e.g. ¦-2¦ = 2 More commonly a “pipe,” under Unix. (And where DOS cribs from UNIX.) ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2011, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-above-the-number-2-on-the-uk-keyboard-layout/571924/13 "2011-02-20T01:29:16Z")
> [@Larry\_Mudd](#): > > More commonly a “pipe,” under Unix. (And where DOS cribs from UNIX.) Actually, no. It’s the “broken bar” sign (¦), which is a different character from the “or sign” or “pipe” (|). If you look, the normal solid pipe also appears on the UK layout, as the shift of backslash, located next to the Z key. ETA: The normal pipe is ASCII 124 (dec), the broken pipe is extended ASCII 166 (dec) ---
**Author:** ![A.Gwilliam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ea5d25/32.png) [@A.Gwilliam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A.Gwilliam)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2011, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-above-the-number-2-on-the-uk-keyboard-layout/571924/14 "2011-02-20T01:50:34Z")
> [@Superhal](#): > > Wow, they wasted a whole key for that? Well, there’d be a funny gap otherwise! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2011, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-above-the-number-2-on-the-uk-keyboard-layout/571924/15 "2011-02-20T02:06:16Z")
> [@Larry\_Mudd](#): > > Actually, they left it where it was originally. (It’s swapped on US style computer keyboards, although the typewriter retained the quote in that position.) > > Why the at symbol was given a more prominent place on the keyboard is left as an exercise for the reader. When did the at-sign migrate to above the two? I remember on computers in the 80s (at least on the Commodore), it was shift-two. And is it only on the US layout that it’s above the two? ETA: It looks like the Apple IIe had the at-sign above the two already. Hmm…Wonder who the first was to put it there. ETA2: Apple II plus had it the quotes above the two.