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Many thanks Steve and Errol,
That is very useful, I have copied all of it. Thanks again.
Ann
Glos
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Many of the above can also be used in combination with each other.
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Blimey you don't want much, do you? lmao
Fn stands for Function and is used a bit like the Shift key to access different symbols/commands on keys.
Alt stands for alternate and is used largely for keyboard shortcuts/commands.
Ins stands for insert and is used to toggle between insert mode and typeover mode in things like Word - experiment with it.
Alt Gr stands for alternative graphic and is similar to Alt and can also be used for typing in certain characters. It is basically the same as the Ctrl and Alt combination.
PrtSc stands for print screen and is used for screen grabs - copying all or part of the screen to your clipboard for pasting into another application - very useful when problem solving remotely such as on here.
SystReq stands for system request and is really obsolete these days.
F1 to F12 are your functions keys and perform a number of tasks and shortcuts - F1 usually brings up a helpscreen. If you want a list of what the various function keys do let me know.
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The Alt key is well known as part of the Control-Alt-Delete key combination, which in some operating systems brings up the task manager for aborting an unresponsive application (or restarting the computer) or simply viewing what applications or processes are running.
Other well-known combinations which the Alt key is part of include Alt-F4, to close a window, and Alt-Tab, to switch between windows. Additionally, in many traditional GUI environments, including Microsoft Windows, Alt is used to access pull-down menus.
Some keyboard layouts treat both Alt keys on the keyboard as the same key, while others do not.
In some software, holding down the Alt key while typing in numbers (often referred to as Alt codes) on the numeric keypad allows the user to type special characters not normally available on the keyboard. For example, holding down Alt while typing 0169 on the numeric keypad will result in ©. These extended keyboard characters are useful for persons using foreign languages, mathematics, currency symbols, business use, etc.
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right i have knobs on my pc........can u explain what they do.....
FN
ALT
INS
ALT GR
PRTSC SYST REQ
F1---F12
and no ....im not joking
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lololol
it should i took it from the kids section on the bbc site lol
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lmao Steve - parts of it sound a little 1950s Aunty BBC
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Yeah perhaps it is lol, but hey ho you never know people may try and understand it better lol
I think what would be a good idea would be a kind of A to Z of terms
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Hi Steve
I think the information you've copied may be a little over techno for some - I put the following on the other thread which although very much simplified may also be useful:
Java is a programming language.
JavaScript is a scripting language (not to be confused with Java) which amongst other things does clever things on websites - it is usually seen as a little bit of code embedded in the html.
HTML (HyperText Markup Language) is the main language used for writing web pages.
ActiveX controls are, if you like, small programmes which are very often implemented within Internet Explorer to perform a specific function such as the Google toolbar.
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FLASH
Flash player is a plug-in that allows your browser to play Flash movies.
Web designers love Flash movies because they can have moving pictures, games, and interactivity on pages that download in a reasonable amount of time.
If you have seen websites with games, cartoons or extra interactivity all on the same web page you've probably already used Flash.
What you can do with Flash
A web page built using Flash might have cool buttons, or menu bars that change as you make choices. It could let you play a game, or do a drawing.
You can even have fully interactive web pages that look more like video games than the web.
Parts of BBCi, like CBBC and CBeebies , are written using Flash, and it is very common on company websites, especially design and media companies that want to impress visitors.
A CBBC Flash game
And many newspaper and magazine websites, including BBCi News Online use Flash to make interactive maps of places that are in the news.
Movies and players
Flash is both the program used by web designers to make the pages, games and other bits and pieces, and the name of the special files – or 'movies' - that this program creates.
The movies are added to web pages just like pictures or other extras, like Java. When the page is sent from a web server to a browser, like Internet Explorer, Opera or Netscape Navigator, the movie file is sent too.
A special program, called the Flash Player, reads these movie files and displays them properly inside the web pages.
The player is a plug-in, a program that adds extra functions to your web browser. You don't need to start it specially as your browser does that automatically when you visit a site that uses Flash.
So when someone says 'you need Flash' to view this site, what they actually mean is that you need a copy of the Flash Player installed on your computer.
WebWise Flash download guides
There are other ways to make pages interactive and engaging, but they generally require more programming effort than Flash, and they often only work on either Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator, but not both browsers.
As a result many website developers choose to use Flash.
Getting Flash
Flash isn't a standard part of the world wide web, but since it was launched (with the rather silly name 'Future Splash') in 1995, it has become the most common way to add cool extras to websites.
As a result many computers are sold with the Flash Player already installed. You might have been using it for ages without realising it.
In fact, over ninety-eight percent of internet users have already got Flash on their computers.
If you don't have it and you go to a site with Flash you will be asked if you want to install it. If you already have Flash it will automatically play the movie in your web browser.
Although Flash is not an internet standard like the web, Macromedia have always made the Flash Player free to users.
They have also published the details of how Flash movies work so there are alternatives to Macromedia's Flash Player for people who don't want to use it.
Every now and then a new version of Flash is released, and you may need the latest version of the Flash Player in order to see pages created using it.
Most websites that use Flash automatically detect which version of the player you have, and they will prompt you if you need to upgrade.
You should always be careful to check that you are copying files only from the Macromedia website when this happens, as otherwise the file you download might be a fake, and you could get a virus or even a trojan.
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ACTIVE X
ActiveX is the name Microsoft has given to a set of "strategic" object-oriented programming technologies and tools. The main technology is the Component Object Model (COM). Used in a network with a directory and additional support, COM becomes the Distributed Component Object Model (DCOM). The main thing that you create when writing a program to run in the ActiveX environment is a component, a self-sufficient program that can be run anywhere in your ActiveX network (currently a network consisting of Windows and Macintosh systems). This component is known as an ActiveX control. ActiveX is Microsoft's answer to the Java technology from Sun Microsystems. An ActiveX control is roughly equivalent to a Java applet.
If you have a Windows operating system on your personal computer, you may notice a number of Windows files with the "OCX" file name suffix. OCX stands for "Object Linking and Embedding control." Object Linking and Embedding (OLE) was Microsoft's program technology for supporting compound documents such as the Windows desktop. The Component Object Model now takes in OLE as part of a larger concept. Microsoft now uses the term "ActiveX control" instead of "OCX" for the component object.
One of the main advantages of a component is that it can be re-used by many applications (referred to as component containers). A COM component object (ActiveX control) can be created using one of several languages or development tools, including C++ and Visual Basic, or PowerBuilder, or with scripting tools such as VBScript.
JAVA
Java is a technology that allows software designed and written just once for an idealized "virtual machine" to run on a variety of real computers, including Windows PCs, Macintoshes, and Unix computers. On the web, Java is quite popular on web servers, used "under the hood" by many of the largest interactive websites. Here it serves the same role that PHP, ASP or Perl might, although traditionally Java has been used for larger-scale projects.
Java can also be used to create small programs, known as "applets," to be embedded in web pages. For instance, a web page using Java could contain an interactive weather map, a live display of subway trains, or a video game, without the need for the web server to do all of the work. Unlike normal software such as .EXE files, these "applets" can not access or delete your personal files unless they ask for and are given express permission to do so. In the real world, users hardly ever give permission for this, so applets generally don't ask.
As of this writing, Java is usually (though not always) included as standard equipment on Windows PCs. If you choose to use Java applets on your site, you can invite your users to download the Java plug-in from Sun's website, using the "Get It Now" button on that site
Java Examples
Java can be used on PCs for both applets (interactive features inside web pages) and stand-alone applications (non-web programs like Notepad or Excel— these are not written in Java, they are just examples of applications).
Java applets have been almost completely replaced by Flash, but there are occasional jobs for which Flash is ill-suited.
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