Mailinglist Archive: opensuse (2488 mails)

[M Harris <harrismh777@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Sunday 04 February 2007 17:20, Doug McGarrett wrote:
> Probably I'm not either.  I've been using IBM k/b's for years, but I have
> no idea what the Scroll Lock key does.  I suppose it's one of those stupid
> questions.  Does it work in UNIX?  Linux?  Windows?  CPM?  It doesn't light
> up the Scroll Lock light on my keyboard, when I try the key.
>
(from Wiki)
Scroll lock is a key (with an associated status light) on most modern computer 
keyboards. The behavior of the key depends on the particular software in use.

The Scroll Lock key is a remnant from the original IBM PC keyboard. In the 
original design, Scroll Lock was intended to modify the behavior of the arrow 
keys. When the scroll lock mode was on, the arrow keys would scroll the 
contents of a text window instead of moving the cursor. In this usage, Scroll 
Lock is a modifier key like Alt and Shift (which modify the function of other 
keys) and, more specifically, a toggling lock key like Num Lock or Caps Lock, 
which have a state that persists after the key is released. Today, this 
particular use of Scroll Lock is rare. Only a few modern programs still honor 
this behavior, such as Microsoft Excel (in the behavior of arrows — when 
Scroll Lock is on, the selection does not move), Lotus Notes and Forté Agent. 
In modern GUI environments, scrolling is usually accomplished using newer 
means such as scrollbars or scroll wheels. Therefore Scroll Lock can be 
regarded as a defunct feature in almost all modern programs and operating 
systems.




-- 
Kind regards,

M Harris     <><
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