Have you ever wondered what are the functions of the function keys on top of your keyboard?

You might have wondered for so long what are the F1, F2, and F3 and so on keys on the top line of your keyboard. Most of times nothing happens when you press these keys, but in reality these buttons are mighty important. Here are the real functions of those function keys.

1 Function key F1

F1 function is the life saver function key on your keyboard. If you ever find yourself stuck while using any software program on your computer, just hit the F1 key and it will open the help program in almost any software on your computer.

2 Function key F2

F2 function key helps you rename the selected folder and/or file at the present moment. It gives you a shortcut to change the name of a folder or file that you have selected.

3 Function key F3

F3 button is present to open a search feature for the application that you are presently working on and which is active at the moment. It gives you the ability to search for a particular thing in the program you are working in, for eg. Finding something in the excel document that you are working on.

4 Function key F4

F4 on its own doesn’t do anything, but if you press F4 along with the Alt button, it will close the currently active window on your desktop. It will also close down any active windows currently open. If you press Alt+F4 while on your desktop, it will bring the shutdown menu and you can shut down your computer from there.

5 Function key F5

F5 button is famously known for refreshing the current active program to make visible any changes made in that program or just refreshing the computer. It also refreshes any browser window or tab opened.

6 Function key F6

F6 button is used to move the cursor directly to the address bar in any window or browser window. It makes it easy for the user to type in the URL of the website directly in the address bar or navigate in the windows explorer using the address bar.

7 Function key F7

Pressing F7 button starts spell check and grammar check in any of the Microsoft applications such as Microsoft Word, Excel or PowerPoint.

8 Function key F8

F8 button is pressed when one has to enter the boot menu while the computer is starting. It helps in diagnosing many problems in the computer and also helps you reinstall a fresh copy of windows if your current copy of window becomes corrupted.

9 Function key F9

Pressing F9 button refreshes any open document in the Microsoft Word application and also sends and receives emails in Microsoft Outlook. It refreshes the mailbox in the Outlook application so that you can see the newest mails that have arrived in the mailbox.

10 Function key F10

Just pressing the F10 button activates the menu bar of the currently open application. But if you press Shift+F10, you will be able to perform similar function as to performing a right click with your mouse button.

11 Function key F11

F11 button allows the user to enter and exit the full screen mode while using the internet browsers. It helps when one is watching videos or viewing pictures on internet.

12 Function key F12

The F12 button or function key opens a SaveAs dialog box when you are working on Microsoft Word application. The function keys may just look like buttons taking up space on your keyboard, but along with other keys and in combination with other keys, they are extremely useful.