In all keyboards there are a series of keys that most of us do not use, they are called atavistic keys, since as their name indicates they have been inherited and have remained as a reminiscence of the past. We explain what they are and why despite everything they have not disappeared in all this time.
One of the problems that exists in the PC compared to other platforms is the inability to leave the past with the excuse of maximum compatibility, this leads it to drag technologies that nobody uses for years, such as a series of keys, the which should have disappeared, but they are still there.
What are atavistic keys?
If we had to design a keyboard from scratch according to the level of use of the keys on it, we would find that a good part of them would not be included because they are not used at all at all in most cases today. today.
These keys are what we call atavistic keys or disused keys, they were included in PCs in their beginnings and continue to this day, which leads many of us to the question: what is the reason why they are still there? Most keyboard commands are made using combinations using the CTRL and ALT keys, and most atavistic keys are hardly used or their function is already duplicated with keyboard combinations.
Many of the compact keyboards do not include most of these keys because they are totally useless when not being used, but most include them due to the existing craze in the PC of leaving old technologies for compatibility. Who does not remember those motherboards that combined PS / 2, parallel and RS-232 ports with USB or those computers with a multitude of ISAs and PCIs?
Function keys
The first keys that we do not usually use are the function keys, which go from F1 to F12, in general the function of the different keys is not fixed and depends on the context in which we find ourselves. For example the F2 key with a selected folder or file allows us to change the name, but in other cases it can be totally useless and do nothing. We can also talk about the F3 key that is used to search for text in some applications and nothing in others, F4 is used in conjunction with ALT to close a window, F5 to refresh a web, etc.
Function keys were widely used in the 80s in PC applications where the mouse was not a standard peripheral to use. Thus, to carry out certain actions with said word processor, the mouse was not used, but the function keys. Its rival Microsoft Word from the first version was thought for the mouse and in the use of drop-down menus.
The natural evolution of these atavistic keys is not the suppression of them, but a reduction to a few, the problem is that this would mean that many would have to learn their use again. Although if we think about it, it is that immobility that makes these keys continue to be included by a minority that uses them at specific times and why no one has sat down or will sit down to create a new convention about the function keys.
Print Screen, Scroll Lock and Inter
Further to the right on the standard keyboard we have the Print Screen / Pet Sys, Scroll and Inter keys, whose usefulness has been lost in the dawn of PC time. The Print Screen key was born from the fact that the first PCs had graphic cards with printer output and when we pressed that key, what was seen on the screen was immediately output by the printer. The PetSis function of the same key was CTRL + ALT + DEL at the time. If the PC blocked it with that key, a request was made by the system that re-established the system, with the appearance of more complex operating systems, this utility disappeared.
As for the Lock key. Scroll is not an atavistic key since there are programs like Excel that use it today. Its utility? Originally it was used to block the use of the cursor from appearing when printing. Later it was used to move between several pages and today it happens like the function keys, it is used in some programs only.
To finish in the upper row we have the Inter key which was used to completely interrupt the action of a program. This key should not be confused with the Pet Sis key, since what it does is not a request to the system but rather a stop in the execution. If it was combined with the Alt key, it caused a closure. It is a key that was implemented at a time when PCs could only run one program at the same time because their operating system was a single task.
Atavistic keys for scrolling through text
The next six keys are below the previous three and above the cursor keys on a standard keyboard. They have to do with navigating a text and are still used today in applications, although most people do not use them.
The first one is the Insert key, which indicates that from that point on, everything we write on the screen replaces what has been written in the same place. Since it is not comfortable to write in this mode, it is used little to say almost nothing. The Home key places the cursor at the beginning of the current character line and End at the end of it. Pag Down is used to advance to the next page and Pag Up to the previous one. Understand page as screen, since in the first PCs a page did not correspond to a sheet of paper but to what was seen on the screen.
As with the aforementioned keys, these correspond to the way of navigating programs before the mass use of the graphical keyboard and mouse interface on the PC, which began with the release of Windows 3.0 a early 90’s and continues to this day.
All of them have stood the test of time and have become atavistic keys only used by a minority, the surprising thing is that they are still taken into account. Fortunately, on some keyboards they are assigned as alternative values to the function keys, but not on others.
The numeric keypad could also disappear
Although it may seem surprising to many, the numeric keyboard could have its days numbered but not because it is a duplication of keys, since it has its usefulness when invoking certain characters, but because we live in an era in which the Diversity is the most important and part of it comes with accessibility.
If you are left-handed you will find that the numeric keypad on the right is uncomfortable for you, it is also an impediment when it comes to building keyboards for compact and highly portable systems. So in general this part of the keyboard could disappear completely over time just because it is considered inappropriate for a part of the population.
Nor can we forget and to finish the impact on the environment by the manufacture of millions of atavistic keys that no one will use in life.
