Whats the “Scroll Lock” key on my computer for?
Dear Straight Dope: Why does my computer keyboard have this “Scroll Lock” key that seems to serve no purpose whatsoever? In 15 years I don’t remember ever pushing that button. I’m almost scared to touch it — Insanegrey, Lawrence, KS Although your mother told you that there are many things to avoid touching (like downed electric lines, scorpions, and the “naughty place”), don’t be afraid to touch the Scroll Lock key. Nothing bad will happen – in fact, probably nothing at all will happen. Once upon a time, however, something did. The Scroll Lock key has appeared on the keyboards of IBM personal computers since the original 83-key PC/XT and the 84-key AT layouts, and remains on the 101-key and greater “enhanced” keyboards currently in use. The Scroll Lock key wasn’t on the original Macintosh keyboards but appears on the Mac’s “enhanced” keyboard. The main intent of the Scroll Lock key was to allow scrolling of screen text up, down and presumably sideways using the arrow keys in the days b
