如果你用过电脑，那么你也用过电脑键盘(computer keyboard)。如果这是真的，您肯定看到并且可能还使用了它的功能键。它们是位于大多数键盘顶行的 F1、F2 到F12键。(F12)尽管您可能知道其中一些键的作用，但可能有一些 F 键的用途您不知道。除非您从早期就亲眼目睹了计算机的演变，否则您可能不知道它们为什么被发明以及为什么被发明。在今天的文章中，我们将与您分享一些知识，关于键盘功能(keyboard function)键的用途，或者简称为：F 键。
功能键简史（F1 到F12）
今天，当我们谈论功能键时，我们会立即想到计算机键盘上的一系列键。但情况并非总是如此：在计算机征服世界之前，人们过去常常依靠打字机来创建打印文件。
打字机类似于电脑键盘：它们有很多按键，并且总是包含字母、数字、标点符号和其他符号。许多高级打字机的一个“关键方面”是它们上面还有一些功能键。这些功能键不是带有字母、数字或任何其他符号的键。它们被命名为 F1、F2、F3、F4 等。这些功能键可以单独编程，以便在按下时执行特定操作。哦，它们并不总是建立在键盘的第一行，就像今天的电脑键盘一样。制造商通常选择创建独立的功能键块，如下图所示的块。
资料来源：(Source:) 维基百科(Wikipedia)
多年来，在不同的设备上使用了各种键盘型号，但在 1970 年代第一台个人电脑出现时，IBM 同名公司推出了流行的IBM 键盘型号。(IBM keyboard)
最初的IBM键盘通常有 10 或 12 个功能键，要么建在右侧，分三块排列，每块有 4 个键，要么在左侧，分成两组，每组有 5 个键。
资料来源：(Source:) 维基百科(Wikipedia)
后来，IBM决定在其键盘右侧加入数字键，并将功能键移至键盘顶部，将它们分为三组，每组四个键。很可能，您现在使用的键盘仍然使用相同的排列方式。
各种计算机程序使用功能键来实现各种功能。随着时间的推移，其中许多功能变得很常用，如果您愿意，甚至可以默认使用。这就是为什么，正如您将在本文的下一部分中看到的，F1 几乎总是用于打开帮助(Help)文件，而Alt + F4几乎总是用于关闭应用程序。
Windows计算机上的功能键有什么作用？
F1、F2 到F12键在不同的操作系统和不同的应用程序中做不同的事情。此外，它们可以与键盘上的Ctrl、Alt和Shift键一起使用，从而改变它们的动作。但是，正如我们前面简要提到的，许多与功能键相关的操作已成为标准，并在许多不同的应用程序和程序中广泛用于相同的操作。以下是 Windows 中 F 键的最常见用途：
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F1 - 由程序用于打开帮助(opening Help)。
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F2 - Windows 用于重命名文件和文件夹(renaming files and folders)。许多制造商也使用它让您在打开计算机电源后立即按下时访问 BIOS 设置。
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F3 - 用于在各种应用程序中搜索文件和内容。(searching for files and content)
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F4 - 与 Alt 键同时按下，如Alt + F4，它关闭活动程序(closes the active program)。与 Ctrl 键同时按下，如Ctrl + F4，它会关闭活动的程序窗口(closes the active program window)。如果您在 Web 浏览器中按Ctrl + F4 ，它还会关闭当前浏览器选项卡。(closes the current browser tab)
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F5——用于刷新当前窗口的内容(refresh the contents of the current window)。它可用于刷新文件夹的内容，但它特别用于刷新您使用网络浏览器访问的网页的内容。在 Web 浏览器中与Ctrl或Shift键（如Ctrl + F5或Shift + F5）结合使用时，它会重新加载网页而忽略缓存的内容，并重新下载网页的全部内容再次。
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F6 - 在 Windows 中没有标准用法，其操作因程序而异。
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F7 - 它在 Windows 中没有标准用途。它的作用因程序而异。
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F8 - 如果您使用 Windows 7 或更早版本，在启动过程中按 F8 键将显示 Windows 启动菜单，这是一种访问各种故障排除选项的方法，例如进入安全模式。
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F9 - 它在 Windows 中没有标准用途。
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F10 - 用于启用您使用的程序的菜单(enable the menu of the program that you use)。按键盘上的 F10 后，您可以使用方向键浏览程序的菜单选项。当与Shift键结合使用时，它会显示右键菜单。当您在计算机的 BIOS 中时，通常使用 F10 来保存您对 BIOS 设置所做的更改。
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F11 - 在网络浏览器中按下时，它会以全屏模式显示当前网页(displays the current web page in full-screen mode)。再次按下时，它会将显示恢复到原来的正常状态。
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F12 - 许多网络浏览器使用它来打开开发者工具。
有些功能键比其他功能键更特别……
根据您的键盘制造商的不同，它的一些功能键(function key)可能会更加特别，并且可以做更多有趣的事情。许多笔记本电脑键盘，以及一些全尺寸键盘，都包括一个称为Fn 键的特殊(Fn key)功能(function key)键。Fn 键(Fn key)与其他键一起使用，通常是其他功能键(function key)（F1、F2、F3 到F12），并修改它们的行为。
例如，如果您拥有一个多媒体键盘(multimedia keyboard)，例如Razer BlackWidow：
- 按下Fn 键(Fn key)和 F1、F2 和 F3 键可以让您控制(F2 and F3 keys)Windows中的音量，
- 将 Fn 与 F5、F6 或 F7 键(F6 or F7 keys)一起按下将让您控制媒体文件的播放方式（它们将充当倒带/上一个、播放/暂停和前进/下一个），
- 同时按下Fn 键(Fn key)和F9 键(F9 key)可以让您即时录制宏，并且
- 按Fn + F10将启用或禁用键盘上的游戏模式(game mode)。
类似地，其他键盘制造商可以默认对功能键进行预编程以执行其他操作。制造商通常使用功能键来添加自定义功能的另一个很好的例子是笔记本电脑键盘。大多数笔记本电脑都有默认分配的功能键，用于执行诸如增加或减少屏幕亮度、调整音量、启用或禁用触摸板等操作。
结论
也许您经常使用 F 键，或者您可能不使用。也许你喜欢他们，也许你不喜欢。但无论您如何看待它们，您都必须承认，如果您了解它们的工作原理和用途，功能键会很有用。使用它们可以使您在使用计算机时更有效率。如果您知道 F1 到F12(F12)键的其他有趣用途，请不要犹豫，在下面的评论中分享它们。
Simple questions: What are the F1, F2, F3 to F12 keyboard keys used for?
If you have used а computer, then you have also used a сomputer keyboard. And if that's true, you ѕurely ѕаw and probably also used its fυnction keys. They are the F1, F2 to F12 keys that are found on the top row of mоst keyboards. Although you're likеly to know what a few of thesе keys do, there could be some F keys whose purpose you don't know. Unless you've witnessed thе eνolution of computers from their early days, you probably don't know why they wеre inνented and for what. In today's article, we will ѕhare a bit of knowledge with you, about the purpose of the keyboard functiоn keys, or simply named: the F keys.
A brief history of the function keys (F1 to F12)
Today, when we speak about function keys, we instantly think about a series of keys found on computer keyboards. But that wasn't always the case: before computers conquered the world, people used to rely on typewriters in order to create printed documents.
Typewriters were similar to computer keyboards: they had a lot of keys and always included letters, numbers, punctuation marks and other symbols. A "key aspect" for many advanced typewriters, was the fact that they also had some function keys on them. These function keys were not keys with letters, or numbers, or any other symbols on them. They were named F1, F2, F3, F4 and so on. These function keys could be programmed individually, to perform a certain action when pressed. Oh, and they weren't always built on the top row of the keyboard, as it is today the case with keyboards for computers. Manufacturers often chose to create independent blocks of function keys, like the block shown in the picture below.
Source: Wikipedia
Over the years, various keyboard models were used on different devices, but the one that stuck and is the most used today is the IBM keyboard model made popular by the company with the same name, during the 1970s, when the first personal computers appeared.
The first IBM keyboards usually had 10 or 12 function keys, built either on the right side, arranged in three blocks, each with 4 keys, or on the left side, positioned in two groups, each with 5 keys.
Source: Wikipedia
Later on, IBM decided to include numeric keys on the right side of their keyboards and moved the function keys to the top of the keyboard, where they were grouped in three groups of four keys. Most probably, the keyboard that you use right now still uses the same arrangement.
Function keys were used by various computer programs to fulfill various functions. Over time, many of those functions became usual, even default if you want. That's why, as you'll see in the next section of this article, F1 is almost always used for opening Help files, and Alt + F4 is almost always used for closing apps.
What do the function keys do on Windows computers?
The F1, F2 to F12 keys do different things in different operating systems and in different applications. Also, they can be used in conjunction with the Ctrl, Alt and Shift keys on your keyboard, altering their actions. However, as we briefly mentioned earlier, many actions tied to function keys have become standard, and are widely used for the same actions in many different apps and programs. Here are the most common uses for the F keys in Windows:
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F1 - Used by programs for opening Help.
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F2 - Used by Windows for renaming files and folders. Also used by many manufacturers to let you access the BIOS settings when pressed immediately after powering on your computer.
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F3 - Used for searching for files and content in various apps.
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F4 - Pressed simultaneously with the Alt key, as in Alt + F4, it closes the active program. Pressed simultaneously with the Ctrl key, as in Ctrl + F4, it closes the active program window. It also closes the current browser tab, if you press Ctrl + F4 in a web browser.
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F5 - Used to refresh the contents of the current window. It can be used for refreshing the contents of a folder, but it's especially used for refreshing the contents of the web pages you visit using web browsers. When used in conjunction with theCtrl or the Shift keys (as in Ctrl + F5, or Shift + F5) in a web browser, it reloads the web page ignoring the cached content, and re-downloading the entire content of the web page all over again.
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F6 - Doesn't have a standard use in Windows and its action differs from program to program.
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F7 - It doesn't have a standard use in Windows. Its action differs from program to program.
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F8 - If you use Windows 7 or earlier, pressing the F8 key during boot process would display the Windows startup menu which is a method for accessing various troubleshooting options, like entering Safe Mode.
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F9 - It doesn't have a standard use in Windows.
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F10 - Used to enable the menu of the program that you use. After you press F10 on your keyboard, you can use the directional keys to navigate through the program's menu options. When used in combination with the Shift key, it displays the right-click menu. When you are inside your computer's BIOS, F10 is usually used for saving the changes that you made to the BIOS settings.
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F11 - When pressed inside a web browser, it displays the current web page in full-screen mode. When pressed again, it reverts the display to its original, normal, state.
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F12 - It is used by many web browsers to open the developer tools.
Some function keys are more special than others…
Depending on the manufacturer of your keyboard, some of its function keys could be even more special and do even more interesting things. Many laptop keyboards, but also some full-size keyboards, include a special function key called the Fn key. The Fn key is used in conjunction with other keys, usually other function keys (F1, F2, F3, to F12), and modifies their behavior.
For instance, if you own a multimedia keyboard, like the Razer BlackWidow:
- pressing the Fn key together with the F1, F2 and F3 keys will let you control the audio volume in Windows,
- pressing Fn together with the F5, F6 or F7 keys will let you control the way media files are played (they will act as rewind/previous, play/pause, and forward/next),
- pressing the Fn key together with the F9 key will let you record macros on-the-fly, and
- pressing Fn + F10 will enable or disable the game mode on your keyboard.
Similarly, other keyboard manufacturers can pre-program the function keys to do other things by default. One other good example for when function keys are commonly used by manufacturers to add custom features are laptop keyboards. Most laptops have function keys that are assigned by default to do things like increase or decrease screen brightness, adjust the volume, enable or disable the touchpad and so on.
Conclusion
Maybe you use the F keys often, or maybe you don't. Maybe you like them, or maybe you don't. But no matter what you think about them, you have to admit that the function keys can be useful if you learn how they work and what they do. Using them can make you a lot more productive when using your computer. If you know other interesting uses for the F1 to F12 keys, don't hesitate to share them in a comment below.
