The purpose of the "Scroll lock"

Anyone who works for a personal computer, sooner or later ponders the functions of the keys: what kind of button can be done and how much they can be useful in work, school or games. Today we will talk about what can be done with such an interesting button as "Scroll lock". After all, it does not occur in any instruction.

Keyboard

First, let's determine which button is the key. The location of this key may vary depending on the manufacturer and model. In addition, on laptops it is not at all as a separate element.

So, the "Scroll lock" button. Where is this item located?

1. In most cases, which you can find on the shelves of shops, working keyboards in the office and at home, the "Scroll lock" is above the arrows in the uppermost row, next to the additional digital panel. Exactly there, as indicated in the picture above.
2. If we are talking about laptop keyboards or truncated versions of full-fledged computer models, then you may not find a separately standing key for them. In such cases, "Scroll lock" is a function that is called by pressing the "Fn" button + another key, which is usually written in blue with the name "scroll". The location you can see in the second figure below.

History

Where did the "Scroll lock" key come from? It was in the far 90s, at the dawn of computer technology. Initially, it had a function of changing the behavior of the cursor keys (arrows). In some applications, after clicking "Scroll" when using the arrows, the screen began to switch not line by line with the cursor, but page by page. In other situations, "Scroll lock" blocked the cursor at one position and the arrows could scan the entire page that did not fit on the screen. Now this function is also used in the Microsof Excel program.

Over time, the power of computers has grown, and the need for pagination has disappeared. Thus, the button studied by us became, in fact, unnecessary. However, manufacturers did not abandon the existing familiar design of keyboards, and software developers began to look for new ways to use this key.

Modernity

At the moment, "Scroll lock" in various applications performs a variety of functions. It is difficult to imagine all the variety of tasks, because it depends on the imagination of the developers. Here you will see the most common functions of this button. It is possible that they can be performed in other applications, but these cases can meet you more likely.

• As already mentioned, in Excel the "Scroll lock" key performs its original functions. That is, it switches the scrolling of the cursor to control the screen.
• Also this button is used in the famous Punto Switcher keyboard layout switch. Transliteration of the selected text is performed by pressing the "Alt" + "Scroll lock" combination.
• In "Linux", pressing the button stops the scrolling of the text.
• When using the KVM switch, double pressing activates the control of this mechanism.
• Using "Scroll lock" allows you to switch the use of macros for some optical mice.
• In Dell notebooks, this button performs the function of the "Fn" key.

In games, the key considered by us can also play a very important role. For example, in a toy such as "Cossacks", "Scroll lock" is responsible for creating scripts in the map editor. And in all the known "Oblivion" this button is responsible for switching the language in the Russian version.

Result

We hope that now you will not have any questions about the use and purpose of the "Scroll lock" key. In fact, it is already obsolete, and if you have not used it before, it will be too late. Much faster and more convenient to use the familiar tools that have long been accustomed to the hands. However, the information obtained can be useful to you for raising your own erudition.