General
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The letter keys type the letter shown on the key. This allows you to type words.
The Spacebar inserts a blank space. This allows you to put spaces in between words.
The Shift key is always used together with another key. Use the Shift key to type a capital letter. Press and hold Shift, and then press a letter key at the same time. You can also use the Shift key to type a symbol. Press and hold Shift, and then press a number or punctuation key at the same time.
The Enter key is sometimes called the Return key. In a document or email, press the Enter key to start a new line.
The Caps Lock key can be used to type everything in capital letters. When pressed, a tiny light on the key may turn on to indicate Caps Lock is engaged. Press Caps Lock once again to turn this off and resume typing in lowercase.
There are four arrow keys: left, right, up, and down. Use these to move the blinking vertical cursor up and down, or left and right.
The number keys allow you to type the number on the key.
Activities
Try it
For desktop and laptop computers only. Click on different keys in our interactive activity to find out more about them. For Windows and Apple keyboards.