Enter key

The enter key , also known as the arrow key , line switch or return key with a line break ( English Return ), is a special key on the keyboards of electric typewriters and computers . It has a similar meaning to the Enter key , so that some of its names are used synonymously.

Placement and appearance

Enter (red) and enter (green) keys on a standard keyboard

The Enter key is located on standard PC keyboards in the main keyboard field (marked in red in the picture). The Enter key belongs to the numeric keypad (marked green in the picture), which has only been available on PC keyboards since the MF2 keyboards. There was no Enter key on old XT and AT keyboards with 83 and 84 keys.

The usual character that identifies the Enter key on a Windows keyboard is an arrow that is bent down and points to the left ( ↵). On the other hand, the Apple keyboards use a curved arrow ( ↩) for the return switch . The enter key (in the numeric keypad) is marked there with a horizontal line and, interrupting this, a so-called caret underneath ( ⌤) or in general (manufacturer-independent, English ) with Enteror Return(more rarely with both words).

On IBM - Terminal keyboards of the series 3270 and 5250, the key is still with DatFrGbor DFG(for data-sharing button labeled), with host systems is used to store the data of the input mask by filling in all the fields required to the host to send, so release. On the other hand, ICL mainframe keyboards had a red Send button, which was ergonomically positioned at the top right and was therefore also blindly accessible to inexperienced users.

A previously common labeling of the Enter key or the Enter key was EOL(abbreviation for End of Line ).

function

Line feed (ZL) and carriage return (WR) buttons.
Siemens T37h teleprinter, 1950s - forerunner of today's return key

Their original function on telex machines and electric typewriters was as Wagenrückholtaste , as with mechanical typewriters Wagenrückholhebel that the roll carriage back to the start of the line set (CR English carriage return ) and a line feed (LF Line feed triggered).

Both buttons often have the same meaning:

When entering in command lines , in dialog windows , in single-line electronic form fields , or in a cell of the spreadsheet , the processing is completed by pressing the enter key on the keyboard ('Enter'). You “put a command into the computer”, which reflects the original meaning of this key.
Depending on the system, when you press it in text input, it inserts the character CR(carriage return), LF(line feed), the character string CR LF or the character NL( New line / Next Line ), similar to the long lever on mechanical typewriters and the The telex key combination can be interpreted as a new line (symbol ↵, line break ) or as a new paragraph (symbol ¶, paragraph mark , pilcrow ) - this is what the name 'Return' means.
With graphical user interfaces such as macOS , Windows or KDE Plasma , a marked button can be activated without the user having to take his hand off the keyboard and activate it with the mouse . Other control elements such as selection boxes and option fields , however, must be activated with the space bar.
In some programs the line switch (or the Enter key) and the Enter key often have different functions. For example, in Adobe InDesign , the Return key inserts a paragraph and the Enter key inserts a column break .

Keyboard shortcuts

If the key ↵ Enter CRor is CR LFcoded, the hard line break can be entered LF/↵with the key combination ⇧ Umsch + ↵ Enter. In many word processing programs, this key combination leads to a new line instead of a new paragraph, so that there is often a smaller gap to the previous line. Some word processing systems such as Word then justify the words in the line above justified, which can lead to particularly large gaps.
Alt+ ↵ Enteron PC systems (Windows, Linux, etc.) shows the properties of the active element .
With many computer games you can switch between full screen and window mode with Alt+ ↵ Eingabe.

Buttons on a IBM / Windows - Keyboard ( German / Austrian occupation "T1")
Esc	F1	F2	F3	F4	F5	F6	F7	F8	F9	F10	F11	F12	Print S-Dep	roll	pause break	Numeric keypad :

													Insert	Pos1	Image ↑	Num	/	*	-
													Dist	The End	Image ↓	7th	8th	9	+
																4th	5	6th	+
														↑		1	2	3	Enter
													←	↓	→	0		,	Enter