11 The keyboard Anyone who has used a standard typewriter will be familiar with the positions of most of the symbols on the keyboard of the BBC Microcomputer. However, there are a number of special keys which need to be mastered (see figure 3) and these are described below. If you are a keyboard novice you may find the layout confusing. Don’t worry – first of all it is not necessary to be a touch typist to work the computer; secondly, there is a program on the WELCOME cassette which will help you to practice finding the various keys, and most people find that with a little practice they become familiar with them fairly quickly.
Some keys have two symbols engraved on them – we’ll call those on the top ‘upper case’ and those below ‘lower case’ symbols. CAPS LOCK When the machine is switched on, the middle light should be on, telling you that the CAPS LOCK key is on. This gives capital letters and lower case symbols and is the most useful state for programming because the computer only recognises commands typed in using capital letters. By pressing the CAPS LOCK key once you can switch the light off. Now you get lower case letters and lower case symbols. Press it again and it will be on again.
SHIFT Whether CAPS LOCK is on or off, if you press either of the SHIFT keys and hold it down while typing in a character you will get a capital letter or upper case symbol. Holding down CTRL and SHIFT together stops the computer ‘writing’ to the screen. This can be useful if it is writing faster than you can read. SHIFT LOCK Pressing this key once gives capital letters and upper case symbols until it is pressed again. It has its own on/off light. Practice in the use of these keys is given in one of the first programs in the introductory pack – the one called KEYBOARD.
SHIFT CAPS LOCK Depressing and releasing SHIFT and CAPS LOCK in unison reverses the effect of the SHIFT key, causing a lower case letter to be printed when pressing a letter key with SHIFT held down. Pressing CAPS LOCK again returns the keyboard to normal.