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Arrow keys
The arrow keys (↑ Up, ← Left, ↓ Down and → Right) are the four keys on a computer keyboard labelled with directional arrows, typically found in an inverted-T layout to the bottom-right of the keyboard and to the left of the numeric keypad. They are a subset of the cursor keys, which include others like the Home, End, and Page Up/Down keys.
The arrow keys have a wide variety of functions. In a command-line interface (CLI), text box, or word processor, they typically enable caret navigation, allowing the user to move the text cursor between characters and lines. Meanwhile, in graphical user interfaces (GUIs), file viewers, and web browsers, the keys are generally used for scrolling, providing an alternative to dragging a scrollbar with a mouse pointer. Specific kinds of software make use of the arrow keys in more unique ways: they are used in most media player software to skip backward or forward through audio and video files, and they are used in some video games to move a player character around a virtual space (although modern games typically use the WASD keys for this purpose).
The cursor keys predated the mouse pointer and were the primary means of cursor movement in the CLIs of the early 1980s. The modern layout and position of the arrow keys was established by the LK201 keyboard, released in 1982 by Digital Equipment Corporation; its design was replicated by larger companies like IBM and Apple and became the industry standard. Today, the arrow keys are included in that layout on almost all keyboards.
Before the computer mouse was widespread, arrow keys were the primary way of moving a cursor on screen. Mouse keys is a feature that allows controlling a mouse cursor with arrow keys instead. A feature echoed in the Amiga whereby holding the Amiga key would allow a person to move the pointer with the cursor keys in the Workbench (operating system), but most games require a mouse or joystick. The use of arrow keys in games has come back into fashion from the late 1980s and early 1990s when joysticks were a must, and were usually used in preference to arrow keys with some games not supporting any keys.[citation needed] It can be used instead of WASD keys, to play games using those keys.
The inverted-T layout was popularized by the Digital Equipment Corporation LK201 keyboard from 1982.
Most Commodore 8-bit computers used two cursor keys instead of four, with directions selected using the Shift key.
The original Macintosh had no arrow keys at the insistence of Steve Jobs, who wished to force users and developers to acclimate to the computer mouse. Arrow keys were included in later Apple keyboards; early models with arrow keys but no middle section (⇱ Home, ⇲ End, etc.) placed them in a line below the right Shift key, while later versions had a standard inverted-T layout, either in the middle block or as half-height keys at the bottom right of the main keyboard.
The arrow keys are used in many applications to do different things such as:
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Arrow keys AI simulator
(@Arrow keys_simulator)
Arrow keys
The arrow keys (↑ Up, ← Left, ↓ Down and → Right) are the four keys on a computer keyboard labelled with directional arrows, typically found in an inverted-T layout to the bottom-right of the keyboard and to the left of the numeric keypad. They are a subset of the cursor keys, which include others like the Home, End, and Page Up/Down keys.
The arrow keys have a wide variety of functions. In a command-line interface (CLI), text box, or word processor, they typically enable caret navigation, allowing the user to move the text cursor between characters and lines. Meanwhile, in graphical user interfaces (GUIs), file viewers, and web browsers, the keys are generally used for scrolling, providing an alternative to dragging a scrollbar with a mouse pointer. Specific kinds of software make use of the arrow keys in more unique ways: they are used in most media player software to skip backward or forward through audio and video files, and they are used in some video games to move a player character around a virtual space (although modern games typically use the WASD keys for this purpose).
The cursor keys predated the mouse pointer and were the primary means of cursor movement in the CLIs of the early 1980s. The modern layout and position of the arrow keys was established by the LK201 keyboard, released in 1982 by Digital Equipment Corporation; its design was replicated by larger companies like IBM and Apple and became the industry standard. Today, the arrow keys are included in that layout on almost all keyboards.
Before the computer mouse was widespread, arrow keys were the primary way of moving a cursor on screen. Mouse keys is a feature that allows controlling a mouse cursor with arrow keys instead. A feature echoed in the Amiga whereby holding the Amiga key would allow a person to move the pointer with the cursor keys in the Workbench (operating system), but most games require a mouse or joystick. The use of arrow keys in games has come back into fashion from the late 1980s and early 1990s when joysticks were a must, and were usually used in preference to arrow keys with some games not supporting any keys.[citation needed] It can be used instead of WASD keys, to play games using those keys.
The inverted-T layout was popularized by the Digital Equipment Corporation LK201 keyboard from 1982.
Most Commodore 8-bit computers used two cursor keys instead of four, with directions selected using the Shift key.
The original Macintosh had no arrow keys at the insistence of Steve Jobs, who wished to force users and developers to acclimate to the computer mouse. Arrow keys were included in later Apple keyboards; early models with arrow keys but no middle section (⇱ Home, ⇲ End, etc.) placed them in a line below the right Shift key, while later versions had a standard inverted-T layout, either in the middle block or as half-height keys at the bottom right of the main keyboard.
The arrow keys are used in many applications to do different things such as: