We use various types of keyboards online or offline every day. Most keyboards have a shift button and a spacebar.
The shift button came to solve the font problem
When the first typewriter came to the market in the mid-nineteenth century, there was no separate key for each letter on the keyboard. A whole set of separate buttons had to be used to write uppercase letters. This made the keyboard large and heavy. To solve this problem, Remington & Sons introduced a new system in 1878. They introduced the shift function to distinguish between lowercase and uppercase letters of the same letter. Since then, uppercase letters or special symbols can be written by pressing one button and pressing another.
In the era of typewriters, the shift key was usually on the left side of the keyboard and was pressed with the finger. A lot of force was required to shift on the machines of that time. Because the entire set of letters on the typewriter moved up and down mechanically. For this, the shift key was kept long so that it could be pressed easily with the finger.
When computer keyboards are made following the design of typewriters, the same rule is maintained. The QWERTY layout comes from the typewriter layout. The length of the shift bar is also followed in the same way. The large shift key makes it easy for users to reach with their fingers. This is especially helpful in learning touch typing. The shift key is placed on both the right and left sides, so that it can be used with different fingers on the right and left hands.
The most frequently pressed button on the keyboard
On the other hand, the history of the spacebar on the keyboard growing in size starts with the typewriter. In the 19th century, a special bar was used to space words. It was a long wooden or metal bar, which was called the spacing bar. After each word, the bar had to be pressed, as if a blank space was created on the paper. The spacebar was made long because it was used frequently. It was made large to make it easy to press with the thumbs of both hands. Later, when computer keyboards were made in the style of typewriters, the spacebar was still kept large. The most used button when typing is the spacebar. In almost half of every sentence, the user has to press the spacebar to leave a space between words. If this button were smaller, there would be a possibility of repeated mistakes.
Source: Computer Hope
Get real time update about this post category directly on your device, subscribe now.
