Function Keys for Dummies (Techwalla Week 3)

Function key usage

Day three of Techwalla Week actually addresses a question one of our staff might have: we use Dell computers in the office (our founder used to live in Austin), so it's conceivable that someone might have, at one time or another, wondered "How to Turn Off the Fn Key on a Dell Laptop." Well, actually, our staff are smart enough to know that's not a valid question – one might some day wonder how to unlock a Fn key, but not how to "turn it off." But that's because they're reasonable tech-savvy, unlike Techwalla.com's Nichole Liandi.

As Liandi says in the introduction,

"The Fn key (also known as the Function key) is a feature found on most laptop computers. The Fn key allows keys on a laptop computer's keyboard to serve more than one function, a clever way of increasing the utility of the keyboard when space is limited."

Yeah, sure: "clever." Of course, almost all computer keyboards have a Fn key, not just laptops, so it's probably not due to space limitations. Be that as it may, Nichole then demonstrates her ignorance of basic keyboarding by explaining how to "turn the Fn key on and off":

Open your laptop and turn it on... Press and release the Fn key... [some] keys and functions are operated when the Fn key is enabled, as you've just done. Test it out by looking at the lower right side of the keyboard. You'll see two keys with small blue 'sun' icons. These control the brightness of the screen. Press the lower one several times and you'll see the screen darken. Press the upper one. The screen brightens. Press and release the Fn key again. Now try using the brightness keys. The screen brightness will not change. You've turned off the Fn key.

Well, no, Nichole: that's not how a Fn key works, because the key does not act like the CAPS LOCK key. It's enabled when pressed, so you must hold down the Fn key and press that brightness control key simultaneously. BTW, the brightness controls aren't always "at the lower right side of the keyboard," they're more likely to be found on that top line of keys (F1-F12) you've never understood. And they're just as likely to be orange as blue.

Does Liandi make any other mistakes? Yes: it is possible to toggle a locked Fn key on some keyboards by pressing it simultaneously with another key, usually the NUMLOCK key on the keypad. Depending on the model of the Dell – or almost any other brand of Windows laptop or desktop computer – you can get more information from the manufacturer's support site. That's assuming you're not a candidate for Dumbass of the Day, like Nichole...

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