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Num Lock or Number Lock (⇭) is a key on the numeric keypad of most computer keyboards. It is a lock key , like Caps Lock and Scroll Lock . Its state affects the function of the numeric keypad commonly located to the right of the main keyboard and is commonly displayed by an LED built into the keyboard.
Some laptops and compact keyboards also have a Function Lock - FN Lock. On these devices, a Fn modifier key is used to combine keys to save room and add non-standard functionality; a common use is merging the row with keys F1- F12 with keys that adjust settings such as display brightness, media volume and playback, and keyboard illumination.
Most keyboard shortcuts require the user to press a single key or a sequence of keys one after the other. Other keyboard shortcuts require pressing and holding several keys simultaneously (indicated in the tables below by the + sign). Keyboard shortcuts may depend on the keyboard layout.
A 104-key PC US English keyboard layout with System request circled. System Request (SysRq or Sys Req) is a key on personal computer keyboards that has no standard use. Introduced by IBM with the PC/AT, it was intended to be available as a special key to directly invoke low-level operating system functions with no possibility of conflicting with any existing software.
When Num Lock is on, digit keys produce the corresponding digit. On Apple Macintosh computers, which lack a Num Lock key, the numeric keypad always produces only numbers; the Num Lock key is replaced by the Clear key. The arrangement of digits on numeric keypads with the 7-8-9 keys two rows above the 1-2-3 keys is derived from calculators and ...
The Num Lock key can be deactivated by a number of means. On a Macintosh, if Universal Access is set to enable "keyboard control of the mouse" then hitting the option key five times will disable the numlock key, since the keyboard is at that time being used to control the mouse pointer.
When ToggleKeys is turned on, the computer will provide sound cues when the locking keys (⇪ Caps Lock, Num Lock, or Scroll Lock) are pressed. A high-pitched sound plays when the keys are switched on and a low-pitched sound plays when they are switched off.
On IBM PC compatible personal computers from the 1980s, the BIOS allowed the user to hold down the Alt key and type a decimal number on the keypad. It would place the corresponding code into the keyboard buffer so that it would look (almost) as if the code had been entered by a single keystroke.