Shift key

<p>The Shift key ⇧ Shift is a <a href="/facts/Modifier_key/uMKHvSHe">modifier key</a> on a <a href="/facts/Alphanumeric_keyboard/MczF9LIS">keyboard</a>, used to type <a href="/facts/Majuscule/KQcwaUUD">capital letters</a> and other alternate "upper" characters. There are typically two Shift keys, on the left and right sides of the row below the <a href="/facts/Home_row/tD5oMgnR">home row</a>. The Shift key's name originated from the <a href="/facts/Typewriter/CHE43FWP">typewriter</a>, where one had to press and hold the button to shift up the case stamp to change to capital letters;
the Shift key was first used in the <a href="/facts/E._Remington_and_Sons/FRATQAEN">Remington</a> No. 2 Type-Writer of 1878; the No. 1 model was capital-only.
On the <a href="/facts/Keyboard_layout/6aYkBXuK">US layout</a> and similar <a href="/facts/Keyboard_layout/6aYkBXuK">keyboard layouts</a>, characters that typically require the use of the Shift key include the <a href="/facts/Bracket/yzGM9J8A">parentheses</a>, the <a href="/facts/Question_mark/0D8z1rxr">question mark</a>, the <a href="/facts/Exclamation_point/joGCCBau">exclamation point</a>, and the <a href="/facts/Colon_(punctuation)/se9fjJa4">colon</a>.
</p><p>When the <a href="/facts/Caps_Lock/oWHJMrlx">Caps Lock</a> key is engaged, the Shift key may be used to type <a href="/facts/Lowercase_letters/KQcwaUUD">lowercase letters</a> on many <a href="/facts/Operating_system/8XTuvMh2">operating systems</a>, though not on <a href="/facts/MacOS/Y93vVpTm">macOS</a> or on Windows keyboard layouts that have the <a href="/facts/SGCAPS/oWHJMrlx">SGCAPS</a> feature.
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Shift key open-in-new

Shift key