What does the num lock button on the keyboard mean? What does the num lock key do on the keyboard? Meaning of Num Lock keys

Surely many users have noticed the “Num Lock” key on their keyboard, when pressed the LED indicator usually lights up. The functionality of this key remains a mystery to many; it is used quite rarely, and the history of the appearance of this button on computer keyboards generally remains a sealed secret for most. In this article I will try to correct the situation a little and tell you what Num Lock is on a keyboard, describe the history of its appearance, as well as its functional features.

What is Num Lock

So, in order to understand that this is Num Lock, you should first decide on the translation of these words. Num Lock (full “Numeric Lock”) translated from English means “ digital lock" (or " fixing numbers"). When it is pressed, the numeric keypad on the right is activated (numbers from 0 to 9), but when the “Num Lock” mode is not activated, then the cursor control system works (including the Home, PgUp, End, PgDn keys).

Accordingly, when the Num Lock mode is turned on, the keys indicated on the right allow you to dial numbers (somewhat reminiscent of a calculator); if it’s turned off, the cursor and other viewing control keys work (allowing you to use different navigation schemes).

Also, using this button allows you to enter characters that are not on the keyboard using their codes. If you are interested, in an earlier article I talked about the purpose of the key.

At the same time, we can find out about the status of the Num Lock mode by the glow of the corresponding indicator built into the indicated key (active mode is on, inactive mode is off). Moreover, in laptops this indicator is often located separately from the key itself.

The history of the Num Lock key

The story about what Num Lock is would not be complete without a story about the appearance of this button on the keyboard of our computers. The history of this key dates back to 1984, when IBM introduced its 84-key keyboard for the second generation of IBM PC/AT computers. Since computers then cost a lot of money, IBM's policy was aimed at ways to possibly reduce the cost of its components. One of the methods for implementing such a policy was the abandonment of separate cursor keys on computer keyboards. Now the same keys had two modes - numeric and cursor, and switching between them was carried out using our “Num Lock” key.

Today, most keyboards have separate cursor and number keys, while the Num Lock key still continues to be used sometimes (especially in laptops, netbooks, etc.). At the same time, sometimes the Num Lock mode is activated using the Fn key, and often the user does not know how to turn it off back (in this case, the Num Lock key can be activated through the BIOS when starting the computer).

In some keyboards (for example, those made by Apple), this key is completely absent and replaced with the Clear Key.

Meaning of Num Lock keys

The story about what Num Lock is would not be complete without an accurate description of the meanings of the keys when the mode is on and off. So:

Num Lock on: Num Lock off:

Conclusion

Thus, we figured out what Num Lock means, what this key is used for and how to use it. In most cases, the use of this button today is quite sporadic, and is an echo of its use in the 84-key keyboard of the IBM PC (Model F). However, working with Num Lock may be relevant when working with some utilities, in working with texts and so on.

Few computer or laptop users who have ever looked at the keyboard of their device have not noticed the num lock button there. It can also be called num lk. More experienced users probably know what this button is for, but not all are beginners.

Number lock button

What does the num lock button do?

It is correct to begin answering this question by considering the parts of a computer keyboard (dividing groups of keys).

Groups of buttons on the keyboard

A standard computer or laptop keyboard consists of the following groups of keys:

• Alphanumeric;
• Service keys;
• Service keys for editing;
• Special (service);
• Functional;
• Cursor keys;
• Numeric keypad;
• Auxiliary.

In the context of this article, we are interested in the numeric keypad. This is the right side of the keyboard where the number keys are located.

So the num lock (num lk) button activates (turns on) this very numeric keypad. If the num lock button is not turned on, which should be indicated by a corresponding light indicator (on laptops it is often not present), then the numeric keypad will work in the cursor control key mode.

num lock indicator on laptop

Num lock indicator on a computer keyboard

There are keyboards, especially on laptops, in which this very numeric keypad No. But the num lock button is still present.

Numeric keyboard directly on alphanumeric keys

In this case, the numeric keypad is located directly in the group of alphanumeric buttons. It is also activated by pressing num lock. If it is pressed, then numbers are printed, if not pressed, then letters are printed.

On a Samsung, HP, Asus laptop, like everyone else, there is usually a num lock function key at the top right.

What is the num lock key used for? What does it mean? What is it used for? In short, in one word, this is the inclusion of a numeric keypad for more comfortable typing of numbers and entering characters using codes.

But it's not that simple. Not all portable PCs (laptops) have a number pad, and the key itself may have a slightly different name.

For example, num lk below and Ins above. Also pay attention to the indicators (lights).

On almost all models, as soon as you start this mode, one starts to glow, as if saying that the device is ready for use.

On many laptops, there is a setting in the BIOS that, when enabled, will launch Num Lock when the computer starts.

How to start num lock mode

On laptops and netbooks, Num Lock can be activated using the Fn + Num Lock key combination (on USB keyboards will not work).

If the keyboard is shortened, then there is no number pad, but it is modeled by the keys on the right side (b, o, l, d, g, w, sch, 7, 8, 9).

Therefore, if numbers suddenly appear on the screen on your laptop instead of letters, then this is not a malfunction, but a sure sign that you accidentally turned on the numeric keypad.

Also keep in mind that instead of Fn, sometimes you may need to use another button or without a combination at all (see the instructions if there is one, if not, you can download a digital one).

One more thing. What to do if the Fn button does not function? There is an exit. You can

On the other hand, there is sometimes still a Scroll Lock key, which is a remnant from the original IBM PC keyboard.

It serves to change the behavior of cursor control. Currently, only a few programs use this option.

Some of them use Scroll Lock as a button to launch specific features and functions. Good luck.