Tab key

The Tab key (in short " tab" Symbol: ↹ ) is a key on a keyboard for personal computers and typewriters.

In the following article the function of the tab key on computers is described. A description of the tab and the Dezimaltabulators is located in the item type lever typewriter.

Term origin

The word " tabulator " comes from the Latin word tabula, which can be translated as "Column". The Tabulatoreinrichtung serves Texts or numbers in columns divided useful in alignment with each other to arrange ( for example, tables, invoices, lists). A distinction is made between " aligned left", " right aligned ", " centered " and " decimal ".

Function

The button is located on standard keyboards, top left, above the Caps Lock key ( ⇩ / Caps Lock) and the left of the Q key (Q). She is featured on a PC keyboard with German / Austrian occupation with two transverse arrows, each with a final coat ( ↹ ) at a Swiss occupancy with additional " tab". The key is represented by an icon with a right arrow and a final coat ( ⇥ ) on an Apple keyboard. With Shift ( ⇧ ) they will usually cause a reverse tab character.

Use the Tab you can see the cursor ( engl. cursor) move along a predetermined distance. This function of the tab is available in most word processors. In many programs, which serve to text editing, just a tab character (ASCII code 9) is inserted into the text to it. Other programs use this own character codes or replace the distance through space, which is only useful for non-proportional fonts.

In a more advanced variant, it is not limited to the same distances of anspringbaren positions, but they can freely choose to achieve eg certain form designs. These functionalities were so already available at least for the better typewriter models.

In many graphical user interfaces, such as Microsoft Windows and many window managers on Unix, can be chosen and a hidden window in the background are brought to the foreground in this way with the key combination Alt ↹ (Alt Tab) the focused window.

On the command line of Unix, MacOS and Windows versions, tab tab-completion is used.

In many graphical applications you can jump with the tab key in dialog boxes from one field to the next. As a programmer, you determine the order of jumping through the so-called " taborder ".

Even in web pages, elements such as links or form buttons are selected using the tab key, if they have a tabindex attribute. Then you get the input focus, and can then be used by Return or Enter.

• Computer Key