What is scroll lock mode? The purpose of the "Scroll lock" key
This question often confuses beginners. And indeed, looking at the keyboard, you can notice that these three buttons are covered with dust (if the keyboard is not looked after and cleaned in a timely manner) - they are used or extremely rarely.
However, on almost any keyboard you are sure to find these three keys. And even in laptops, where the size of the keyboard is strictly limited and there is a struggle for every millimeter, these buttons are present.
They are usually located side by side in one horizontal block. Let's find out what these three mysterious buttons do.
Scroll Lock
Most often used in editors. Enables scrolling mode, when when you press the cursor control keys (arrows), not the cursor itself moves, but the entire page along with it. This is very convenient when you don't want to lose your location for entering text, but at the same time you need to temporarily move to another part of the text or document. Open Excel and try moving the cursor with the Scroll Lock button on and off.
Lights up when this key is pressed
Curiosities also happen. If this button is accidentally turned on, the behavior of various programs (for example, Lotus Notes or Microsoft Excel) may change, but beginners are often lost because they do not know the reason and restart the computer - restarting automatically turns off the Scroll Lock action. Enabling this function is usually duplicated by an LED indicator (one of three) on the keyboard. So if programs behave unusually, check to see if this key is enabled.
Of the three buttons described, the buttons are the most rarely used, so when saving space on the keyboard, engineers start with this one.
Print Screen (PrtScr or Print Scrn)
When you click on Print Screen, a screenshot is created in the clipboard, which can then be pasted into any editor, edited if necessary and saved in the required format, or pasted into a letter and immediately sent by mail. On Windows, pressing Alt + Print Screen allows you to take a screenshot of only the active window, not the entire screen.
In some ways, the screen removal procedure is duplicated by the built-in Scissors tool, however, in certain situations, the use of individual programs is difficult, but Print Screen always works flawlessly.
Pause (Break)
Most often used to temporarily pause the computer boot. For example, when starting a PC, you may need to look at the system parameters on the screen, but they flash by with rapid speed. This is where Pause comes in handy - it will allow you to study all the information in detail, after which you can continue working by pressing any key.
Pause is also used in some programs. For example, in Punto Switcher it overrides the auto-correction of the keyboard layout if you type a phrase in the wrong language.
It is clear that of all three buttons described, the average user will probably only need Print Screen. But as your knowledge expands, they will certainly become part of your everyday life. In addition, a question about the purpose of these keys can easily land a novice specialist “bending his fingers” in a puddle.
The Scroll Lock button is used to change the behavior of the cursor on the computer screen. It is most often used in Excel to view large tables.
When Scroll Lock is turned off (it is turned off by default), by clicking on the arrows on the keyboard, the cursor will move to adjacent cells of the Excel document. In this case, the appearance of the table will not change in any way.
When Scroll Lock is enabled, when you press the arrows on the keyboard, the cursor will not move to other cells in the Excel document, but the table itself will move. This can be handy when you don't feel like it or it's awkward to use the scroll bar.
Where to find and how to enable Scroll Lock
Large full-size keyboards usually have a separate Scroll Lock button, as well as an indicator showing its activity:
On laptop keyboards, Scroll Lock is usually combined with other keys to save space:
In this case, you must press the Scroll Lock button together with the FN key. We have .
Some programs additionally display Scroll Lock activity. Here's what it looks like in Excel, for example:
There is no Scroll Lock button on the keyboard, what should I do?
On some laptop keyboards, manufacturers do not place a Scroll Lock button at all. In this case, the easiest way is to use the on-screen keyboard:
It can be found in Programs in the Start menu. It will be faster to use the search - start typing the words “on-screen” in it and the only result will be the on-screen keyboard.
If you still have questions, be sure to, also do not forget to read our other articles about special buttons on the keyboard - and.
To disable scroll lock when enabled, press the Scroll Lock key (usually labeled ScrLk) on your keyboard. If your computer does not have a Scroll Lock key, do one of the following:
On Windows 10
Start > settings > Special abilities > Keyboard.
To turn it on, click the button On-screen keyboard.
ScrLk.
Advice: To quickly open the on-screen keyboard in Windows 10, press the Windows button. Start typing Screen keyboard, which will be displayed in the search field. In field search which will appear as a list above the search field, click the search result On-screen keyboard. When the on-screen keyboard appears, press ScrLk.
On Windows 8.1
If your keyboard does not have a Scroll Lock key on your computer, press Start and press CTRL+C to display the Charms bar.
Click the button Change computer settings.
Select Special abilities > Keyboard.
Click the button Screen keyboard slider to enable it.
When the on-screen keyboard appears, press the button ScrLk.
On Windows 7
If your keyboard does not have a SCROLL LOCK key, press the Start > All programs > StandardSpecial abilities > Keyboard.
When the on-screen keyboard appears, press the button slk.
Note: To close the on-screen keyboard, press X on-screen keyboard in the upper right corner.
Troubleshooting SCROLL LOCK mode
You can determine that SCROLL LOCK mode is enabled by the inscription Scroll Lock in the Excel status bar.
If SCROLL LOCK appears to be enabled, but you don't see Scroll Lock in Excel's status bar, the status bar may be configured to not display the SCROLL LOCK status. To determine if this is the case, right-click Excel's status bar. Find the checkbox to the left of the option Scroll Lock. If it is not installed, then when SCROLL LOCK mode is enabled, Excel will not display Scroll Lock in the status bar. To display it, simply check the box.
A check mark indicates that the status bar will display the SCROLL LOCK mode status.
Any person who works on a personal computer sooner or later thinks about the functions of the keys: what can be done with which button and how useful they can be in work, study or games. Today we will talk about what can be done with such an interesting button as “Scroll lock”. After all, it is not found in any instructions.
Keyboard
First, let's decide which button we are talking about. The location of this key may vary depending on the manufacturer and model. In addition, on laptops it does not exist as a separate element at all.
So, the "Scroll lock" button. Where is this element located?
- In most cases that you can find on store shelves, working keyboards in the office and at home, the “Scroll lock” is located above the arrows in the very top row, next to the additional numeric keypad. Exactly there as indicated in the picture above.
- If we are talking about shortened versions of full-fledged computer models, then you may not find the separate key you are looking for on them. In such cases, "Scroll lock" is a function that is called by pressing the "Fn" button + another key, on which the name of the "scroll" is usually written in blue. You can see the location in the second picture below.
Story
Where did the "Scroll lock" key come from? It was back in the 90s, at the dawn of computer technology. Initially, it had the function of changing the behavior of the cursor keys (arrow keys). In some applications, after pressing “Scroll” when using the arrows, the screen began to switch not line by line along with the cursor, but page by page. In other situations, "Scroll lock" blocked the cursor at one position and using arrows it was possible to view the entire page, which did not fit on the screen. This function is now also used in Microsoft Excel.
Over time, they grew, and the need for page-by-page output disappeared. Thus, the button we are studying has become, in fact, unnecessary. However, manufacturers did not abandon the existing familiar keyboard design, and software developers began to look for new ways to use this key.
Modernity
Currently, "Scroll lock" performs a variety of functions in different applications. It is difficult to imagine all the variety of tasks, because it depends on the imagination of the developers. The most common functions of this button will be listed here. It is possible that they can be performed in other applications, but these cases may be more likely to occur to you.
- As already mentioned, in Excel the "Scroll lock" key performs its original functions. That is, it switches cursor scrolling to screen control.
- This button is also used in the well-known Punto Switcher keyboard layout switcher. When you press the "Alt" + "Scroll lock" combination, the selected text is transliterated.
- On Linux, pressing the button stops text scrolling.
- When using a KVM switch, double-clicking will activate control of this mechanism.
- Using "Scroll lock" allows you to toggle the use of macros for some optical mice.
- On Dell laptops, this button performs the function
In games, the key we are considering can also play a fairly important role. For example, in a toy like "Cossacks", "Scroll lock" is responsible for creating scenarios in the map editor. And in the well-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 outdated, and if you have not used it before, then it will be too late to start. It is much faster and more convenient to use familiar tools to which your hands have long been accustomed. However, the information received may be useful to you to increase your own erudition.
Psychologists and esotericists claim that the average person uses only 10% of his brain. And it’s impossible to disagree with this! Take, for example, the fact that a person does not even use his keyboard one hundred percent. Not only did he switch some of its functions to the mouse, but he also doesn’t know what some of the keys on it are for...
We have already written about the history of the keyboard and the emergence of our familiar layout; it’s time to talk about it in more detail. For example, have you used the Scroll Lock key a long time ago? Have you used it at all? Do you know where it is located? Why does the light come on when you turn it on? No, well, with the lamp it’s even more or less clear - it lights up to make it more interesting, but how to use this button?
It turns out that this key was invented so that when it was turned on, the cursor keys would change their purpose. When the Scroll Lock key is turned off, the cursor keys function as usual, and when turned on they can be used to scroll the screen. Of course, if you turn on Scroll Lock right now, you won’t see any changes, but if you have the Opera browser, then using the Scroll Lock key you can use voice commands. Yes, yes, Opera can be controlled by voice. To do this, however, you need to download and install voice libraries (their volume is about 10 megabytes). Download and you will immediately understand that this miracle button is simply irreplaceable.
If you have a laptop, you probably use the Fn function key (for example, I turn off the screen of my laptop by pressing Fn and F11) and you will probably be interested to know that in Dell laptops, the same Scroll Lock is used as the Fn key . That is, cunning developers still found its worthy use. We hope that you will find the same worthy use for this key. Why do you need it?
