Recent from talks
Enter key
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Enter key
On computer keyboards, the enter key ⌅ Enter and return key ↵ Return are two closely related keys with overlapping and distinct functions dependent on operating system and application.
The return key has its origins in two typewriter functions: carriage return, which would reset the carriage to the beginning of the line of text, and line feed, which would advance the paper one line downward. These were often combined into a single return key, a convention that continues in modern computer word processing to insert a paragraph break (¶).
The enter key is a computer innovation, which in most cases causes the active user interface to operate its default function.
On modern computers both keys generally have all the functions of the other, allowing for either key to be used, or even for them to be combined into a single key, as is the case with most laptops. Microsoft Windows makes no distinction between them whatsoever,[citation needed] and usually both keys are labelled as enter on Windows keyboards with the United States layout. Other operating systems, such as Apple's Darwin-based operating systems, generally treat them equivalently while still maintaining the technical and descriptive distinction, allowing applications to treat the two keys differently if necessary.
The enter key is typically located to the right of the 3 and . keys on the lower right of the numeric keypad, while the return key is situated on the right edge of the main alphanumeric portion of the keyboard. On ISO and JIS keyboards, return is a stepped double-height key spanning the second and third rows, below ⌫ Backspace and above the right-hand ⇧ Shift. On ANSI keyboards it is wider but located on the third row only, as the backslash \ key is located between it and ⌫ Backspace.
Some variants of the ANSI keyboard layout create a double-height return key by subsuming the backslash \ key into it. This alternate form is most popular in Asia. However, this requires the relocation of the backslash key and is relatively uncommon on modern keyboards elsewhere.
The return key symbol is U+23CE ⏎ RETURN SYMBOL, an arrow pointing down and leftward; however, rendering of the symbol varies greatly by typeface, with it appearing hollow in some or with an additional initial rightward bar in others. For this reason, U+21B5 ↵ DOWNWARDS ARROW WITH CORNER LEFTWARDS or U+21A9 ↩ LEFTWARDS ARROW WITH HOOK are sometimes used instead. On most ISO and other keyboards worldwide the return key is labelled solely with the ⏎ symbol across all platforms. Meanwhile, on ANSI US keyboards it is labelled as ↵ Enter by Windows OEMs (sometimes even without the return symbol) and as return by Apple.
For enter, U+2386 ⎆ ENTER SYMBOL exists in Unicode for the ISO 9995-7 enter key symbol; however, it is infrequently used, one example being the French Canadian keyboard. Windows keyboards worldwide tend to simply label the key with the text ↵ Enter, while Apple uses the symbol ⌤ (U+2324 ⌤ UP ARROWHEAD BETWEEN TWO HORIZONTAL BARS or U+2305 ⌅ PROJECTIVE) on ISO and JIS keyboards and the text ⌅ enter on ANSI US keyboards; this is acknowledged by an annotation "enter key" on U+2324 in the Unicode code chart.
Hub AI
Enter key AI simulator
(@Enter key_simulator)
Enter key
On computer keyboards, the enter key ⌅ Enter and return key ↵ Return are two closely related keys with overlapping and distinct functions dependent on operating system and application.
The return key has its origins in two typewriter functions: carriage return, which would reset the carriage to the beginning of the line of text, and line feed, which would advance the paper one line downward. These were often combined into a single return key, a convention that continues in modern computer word processing to insert a paragraph break (¶).
The enter key is a computer innovation, which in most cases causes the active user interface to operate its default function.
On modern computers both keys generally have all the functions of the other, allowing for either key to be used, or even for them to be combined into a single key, as is the case with most laptops. Microsoft Windows makes no distinction between them whatsoever,[citation needed] and usually both keys are labelled as enter on Windows keyboards with the United States layout. Other operating systems, such as Apple's Darwin-based operating systems, generally treat them equivalently while still maintaining the technical and descriptive distinction, allowing applications to treat the two keys differently if necessary.
The enter key is typically located to the right of the 3 and . keys on the lower right of the numeric keypad, while the return key is situated on the right edge of the main alphanumeric portion of the keyboard. On ISO and JIS keyboards, return is a stepped double-height key spanning the second and third rows, below ⌫ Backspace and above the right-hand ⇧ Shift. On ANSI keyboards it is wider but located on the third row only, as the backslash \ key is located between it and ⌫ Backspace.
Some variants of the ANSI keyboard layout create a double-height return key by subsuming the backslash \ key into it. This alternate form is most popular in Asia. However, this requires the relocation of the backslash key and is relatively uncommon on modern keyboards elsewhere.
The return key symbol is U+23CE ⏎ RETURN SYMBOL, an arrow pointing down and leftward; however, rendering of the symbol varies greatly by typeface, with it appearing hollow in some or with an additional initial rightward bar in others. For this reason, U+21B5 ↵ DOWNWARDS ARROW WITH CORNER LEFTWARDS or U+21A9 ↩ LEFTWARDS ARROW WITH HOOK are sometimes used instead. On most ISO and other keyboards worldwide the return key is labelled solely with the ⏎ symbol across all platforms. Meanwhile, on ANSI US keyboards it is labelled as ↵ Enter by Windows OEMs (sometimes even without the return symbol) and as return by Apple.
For enter, U+2386 ⎆ ENTER SYMBOL exists in Unicode for the ISO 9995-7 enter key symbol; however, it is infrequently used, one example being the French Canadian keyboard. Windows keyboards worldwide tend to simply label the key with the text ↵ Enter, while Apple uses the symbol ⌤ (U+2324 ⌤ UP ARROWHEAD BETWEEN TWO HORIZONTAL BARS or U+2305 ⌅ PROJECTIVE) on ISO and JIS keyboards and the text ⌅ enter on ANSI US keyboards; this is acknowledged by an annotation "enter key" on U+2324 in the Unicode code chart.
Recent media