Talk:Fn key

Fn/Control Placement
'p' section with some more references and what I believe is more information rich and less biased language. I also fixed the technical details section, which had some redundant and (in my view) confusing wording. --- There was some biased language discussing physical hand-strain issues some user may have with one location of the key. While this was uncited, it's also a logical discussion of facts that seems interesting yet hard-to-cite. I expanded this section into "control key placement factors" and included enough language to cover some different sites of the issues. I looked for some kind of ergonomics study which might have some numbers and facts about this, but was unable to find anything. I'll leave it to the moderators to decide whether to leave or strike this entire uncited section. Jeskeca (talk)

New image
I uploaded a picture of my laptop's Fn key, hopefully it helps anybody who wants to know what colour it is, it's location, et cetera.

Desktop Keyboard and Fn key
Ive got a desktop computer keyboard with an Fn key, but each key on the keyboard only has one button assigned to it, so is the Fn key useless, or is there some other use for it? --211.28.144.243 00:15, 9 November 2007 (UTC)

Fn-key position debate axed
"Many users, as well as professional laptop reviewers, prefer having the control key at the left end of the lower row."

This sentence is a perfect example of a weasel word as it's uninformative and creates unnecessary debate. It is also entirely unsourced. One of the sources is a private blog of a rather anonymous person (OK, an IT specialist, but still). The other says that for some people, this may not be a problem, for others it will be. I doubt that proves the point. The third source is a Norwegian website a vast majority of the readers won't understand.

I hereby axe the silly sentence and the 3 flawed sources along with it. Llewelyn MT (talk) 23:07, 29 October 2009 (UTC)

Unanimous preference
I removed the following phrase:

"A google search on "fn key" "ctrl key" swap suggests an unanimous preference for having the control key in the lower left corner, at least among people who are frustrated over the placement of the fn key."

1. The number of hits on Google doesn't make anything UNANIMOUS. "Britney Spears" used to be the most googled term, that made her neither the hottest woman nor the best singer.

2. Of course people who google "fn key ctrl key swap" will almost unanimously prefer those keys swapped. That's why they frickin' googled it! People googleing for "dye hair red" will also almost unanimously prefer their hair red, that doesn't make red the best hair color. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.206.6.79 (talk) 18:07, 17 June 2010 (UTC)

"operating system has no notion of the Fn key"
My laptop senses when I press the Fn key, suggesting that it does have some notion of it. I am not sure whether or not the key can be remapped, but the statement should be revised. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 108.13.245.92 (talk) 23:45, 1 February 2013 (UTC)


 * This doesn't seem to be the case for me (Linux, Wayland, not on the laptop's keyboard nor on another). I'd say your Fn key is also bound to an additional character.
 * That said, should we add a ? RatherQueerDebator (talk) 11:10, 9 July 2024 (UTC)

Use of Fn key on Apple
I do not have an fn key on my desktop iKey keyboard. However, using Apple's program Pages in OS Mountain Lion, I found reference to its use. By pressing the fn key twice, it turns on a feature of Pages called dictation. This requires a microphone hookup or use of a built in microphone. Apple notifies the user that the speech will be sent to Apple for voice to text translation. This happens after dictation is complete, and the text translation then appears on your open document. The feature can be used without the fn key, however it is not as convenient. It may be operated from Pages drop down menu, and found under the menu item "edit", "start dictation". — Preceding unsigned comment added by Cpgne (talk • contribs) 14:58, 3 June 2013 (UTC) Cpgne (talk) 15:01, 3 June 2013 (UTC)

External links modified
Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just modified one external link on Fn key. Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20081109082832/http://jtsang.mvps.org:80/flock.html to http://jtsang.mvps.org/flock.html

When you have finished reviewing my changes, you may follow the instructions on the template below to fix any issues with the URLs.

Cheers.— InternetArchiveBot  (Report bug) 07:51, 2 January 2017 (UTC)

Keyboard section
The only keyboard shown in the 'keyboard' section of this article doesnt even contain a 'Fn' key.

Is it just me, or is this strange? Snarevox (talk) 16:01, 13 April 2022 (UTC)
 * I have moved that template to the bottom of the article. --84.241.139.251 (talk) 09:57, 9 February 2023 (UTC)

Suggestion
This is not an Request edit, but a suggestion. It would be useful if the § Common Fn key features section would also include the accompanying commonly used symbols for these features. --84.241.139.251 (talk) 09:56, 9 February 2023 (UTC)

ThinkPad
The first ThinkPad to feature the Fn key seems to have been the ThinkPad 500, released in June 1993, followed shortly after by the more common ThinkPad 750 models. Earlier 1992 ThinkPad models, like the 700 and 720 did not have the key. A google image search will confirm this.

Also the text that mentions the ThinkLight being a reason for the key being on the bottom left is nonsense as the first ThinkPad to feature ThinkLight did not come out until October 1999.

Mention fn+esc, alternative positioning, link to F-lock
The fn key is more varied than the article suggests.
 * On Asus and HP laptops, fn+esc will lock the fn key as capslock does for shift. I don't have sources for this, but it is true for several laptops I've used.
 * Additionally, some keyboards (e.g. Logitech K345) have the fn key between alt gr and ctrl (replacing the right win and menu keys, with menu being invokable via fn+right ctrl).

Additionally, this page should be merged with/linked in F-lock. Both are similarly named keys with the same effect, except that by default, one is held and the other toggled. RatherQueerDebator (talk) 11:00, 9 July 2024 (UTC)