- Help key
A Help key, found in the shape of a dedicated key explicitly labeled "Help", or as another key, typically one of the
function key s, on acomputer keyboard , is a key which, when pressed, produces information on the screen/display to aid the user in his/her current task, such as using a specific function in anapplication program .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 onIBM compatible PC s.Apple keyboards
On a full-sized
Apple keyboard , the help key was labelled simply as "Help", located to the left of the home key. Where IBM compatible PC keyboards had thebackspace andinsert key s, Apple keyboards had the delete and help keys instead. As of 2007, new Apple keyboards do not have a help key. In its place, a full-sizedApple Keyboard has aFn key instead. Instead of a mechanical help key, the menu bar for most applications contain a Help menu as a matter of convention.Commodore Amiga
Amiga keyboards had a "Help" key, labelled as such, above the arrow keys on the keyboard, and next to a "Del" key (where the Insert/Home/Pg Up cluster is on a standard PC keyboard).
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
