At 5:37 PM +0200 7/25/06, Emile Schwarz wrote:
What you call Backspace (delete the character on the right of the
cursor) is present on "Extended" Keyboards and with the use of the
fn key on recent (some years) PowerBooks.
Hi Emile
I think you have misunderstoood which key is the Backspace key.
The key two rows above the return key is the Backspace key. It sends
an ASCII Backspace code and was even labeled Backspace on early
Macintosh US keyboards. I believe internaltional versions of those
early keyboards showed just a left pointing arrow witout a name.
Apple started (mis)labeling it the Delete key somewhere around the
time of the Apple Extended Keyboard. However it still sends the ASCII
backspace code and is appropriately called the Backspace key when
discussing the specifics of keyboard layout and shortcuts. (FWIW Any
non-Apple USB keyboard labels it the Backspace key as well.)
This key does NOT require holding the Fn key on PowerBooks to get the
Backspace code and behavior, it's the default, and removes the
character to the left of the insertion point.
Additionally, Mac Extended keyboards have an another key labeled DEL
with a right facing arrow, typically located just below Help and to
the left of End. This is the Delete key which sends the ASCII Delete
code, and in many applications but not all will remove the character
to the right of the insertion point. To get this code on a PowerBook
you need to hold Fn while hitting the Backspace key, which Apple has
(confusingly) labeled Delete. :-)
Jon Johnson is exactly right in his description of the Backspace and
Delete key history, although some are apparently not old enough to
remember all of it. :-)
Regards,
Joe Huber
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