lukitusnäppäinten

Lukitusnäppäinten, known in English as lock keys or toggle keys, are a group of modifier keys on a computer keyboard that, when pressed, permanently change the behavior of other keys until pressed again. The most common examples are Caps Lock, Num Lock, and Scroll Lock.

Caps Lock, when activated, causes all alphabetic characters to be typed in uppercase. Pressing it again deactivates the mode, returning to lowercase input. This is useful for typing entire words or phrases in uppercase without needing to hold down the Shift key.

Num Lock, primarily found on full-sized keyboards, enables the numeric keypad to function as a set of numbers and arithmetic operators. When Num Lock is off, the keys on the numeric keypad typically act as navigation keys, such as arrow keys, Home, End, Page Up, and Page Down.

Scroll Lock is the least commonly used of the lock keys. Its original purpose was to alter the behavior of the arrow keys, causing the document or screen to scroll rather than the cursor moving. In modern applications, its functionality is often not implemented or has been repurposed for specific software features.

These keys typically have an indicator light on the keyboard that shows their current state, illuminated when activated. The use and effectiveness of lock keys can vary between operating systems and specific applications.