Help Key
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A Help key, found in the shape of a dedicated key explicitly labeled , or as another key, typically one of the
function key A function key is a key on a computer or computer terminal, terminal computer keyboard, keyboard that can be programmed to cause the operating system or an application program to perform certain actions, a form of soft key. On some keyboards/com ...
s, on a
computer keyboard A computer keyboard is a built-in or peripheral input device modeled after the typewriter keyboard which uses an arrangement of buttons or Push-button, keys to act as Mechanical keyboard, mechanical levers or Electronic switching system, electro ...
, is a key which, when pressed, produces information on the screen/display to aid the user in their current task, such as using a specific function in an
application program Application software is any computer program that is intended for end-user use not operating, administering or programming the computer. An application (app, application program, software application) is any program that can be categorized as ...
. In the case of a non-dedicated Help key, the location of the key will sometimes vary between different software packages. Most common in computer history, however, is the development of a de facto Help key location for each brand/family of computer, exemplified by the use of F1 on IBM compatible PCs.


Apple keyboards

On a full-sized
Apple keyboard Apple Inc. Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, in Silicon Valley. It is best known for its consumer electronics, software, and services. Founded in 1976 ...
, the help key was labelled simply as , located to the left of the . Where IBM compatible PC keyboards had the , Apple keyboards had the help key instead. As of 2007, new Apple keyboards do not have a help key. In its place, a full-sized Apple keyboard has a instead. Instead of a mechanical help key, the menu bar for most applications contain a Help menu as a matter of convention.


Commodore and Amiga keyboards

The
Commodore 128 The Commodore 128, also known as the C128, is the last 8-bit home computer that was commercially released by Commodore Business Machines (CBM). Introduced in January 1985 at the CES in Las Vegas, it appeared three years after its predecessor, t ...
had a key in the second block of top row keys.
Amiga Amiga is a family of personal computers produced by Commodore International, Commodore from 1985 until the company's bankruptcy in 1994, with production by others afterward. The original model is one of a number of mid-1980s computers with 16-b ...
keyboards had a key, labelled as such, above the arrow keys on the keyboard, and next to a key (where the cluster is on a standard PC keyboard).


Atari keyboards

The keyboards of the
Atari Atari () is a brand name that has been owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by French holding company Atari SA (formerly Infogrames) and its focus is on "video games, consumer hardware, licensing and bl ...
16- and 32-bit computers had a key above the arrow keys on the keyboard. Atari 8-bit XL and XE series keyboards had dedicated keys, but in the group of differently-styled system keys separated from the rest of the keyboard.


Sun Microsystems (Oracle)

Most of the
Sun Microsystems Sun Microsystems, Inc., often known as Sun for short, was an American technology company that existed from 1982 to 2010 which developed and sold computers, computer components, software, and information technology services. Sun contributed sig ...
keyboards have a dedicate "" key in the left top corner (left from the "" key above block of 10 () extra keys.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Help Key Computer keys