Ever wondered what are the roles of those F keys which is tucked away at the top row of your keyboard?
These function keys are used by different programs to fulfill different roles.
Here are a brief explanation of these functions keys when they are used as a standalone key, eg by pressing only the F button. And or with another button, Eg, “Ctrl + F4”
F1 – generally used by programs for opening “Help”
F2 – Used to rename files and folders. Click on a folder or file, press F2 and u will be able to rename the folder / file immediately.
F3 – Search. Similar to a “Ctrl + F” function. Works in both web browser and file explorer
F4 – If used alone in windows explorer, the focus will be shifted to the address bar. If used in conjunction with Ctrl button (Ctrl + F4) it will close the active tab in a web browser. If it is the only browser tab, it will close the program
Press alt + f4 will close the program which is in focus and or active
F5 – F12
F5 – Generally used as a refresh button. Eg to refresh a webpage if you press it in a web browser.
F6 – If pressed in a web browser, it will shift the focus to the address bar so that you are able to search or type in the URL immediately without using your mouse
F7 – no general known usage in windows
F8 – no general known usage
F9 – no general known usage
F10 – If you are using windows 10, pressing f10 is similar to press “Alt” in file explorer. after pressing F10, you may proceed to use the hot keys to navigate the various options.
If you pressed the shift button together with the F10 button, it becomes a “right click” of the mouse.
If you are able to access the BIOS menu prior to booting into windows, pressing F10 generally shows you a prompt if you will like save the changes and exit BIOS.
F11 – Full screen mode if you are using a web browser. Pressing it again exit full screen mode
F12 – generally used by various web browers as shortcut to open / close the developer mode
Learn something new today? 😀