If you work with a computer, you touch them almost every day. Yet you probably don’t pay any attention to them at all. What are the little tabs on the “F” and “J” keys for? Let’s check.
Dashes on the keyboard. What are the tabs on “F” and “J” for?
On most computer keyboards, two keys are slightly different from the others. These are “F” and “J”, which usually have small protrusions, lines or delicate bumps that can be felt under the fingers. They didn’t get there by accident.
Their task is simple: they help you find the right hand position without looking at the keyboard. Thanks to them, you can place your fingers in the middle of the keyboard, feel the “F” and “J” keys under your fingertips, and then type faster and more comfortably, using all fingers.
“F” and “J” are the reference points for the fingers
The bumps on the “F” and “J” keys are associated with touch typing. In this method, the hands are based on the so-called basic row, i.e. the middle row of letters. The left index finger should rest on the “F” and the right index finger should rest on the “J”.
The left hand is on “A”, “S”, “D”, “F”, and the right hand is on “J”, “K”, “L” and the next key on the right. The name of this last key depends on the keyboard layout, but the principle remains the same: “F” and “J” designate the position of the index fingers. After pressing other keys, your fingers should return to this row. Thanks to the protrusions, you don’t have to look down to check if your hands are in the right place.
Insets? And who needs it?!
People who write without sight do not look for each letter separately. Their fingers learn the position of the keys through muscle memory. The tabs on “F” and “J” help you quickly return to the starting position, even if you take your hands off the keyboard for a moment, reach for the mouse or adjust your position at the desk.
You don’t have to be a professional stenographer or programmer to use this, but I really wish someone had told me about proper typing when I was in elementary school. Even though years of working at a computer have developed muscle memory in me that allows me to write without sight, unfortunately I do not do it in the way described earlier, which probably reduces the efficiency and speed of writing.
Why “F” and “J”?
In the most popular “QWERTY” layout, our index fingers should rest on “F” and “J” in the starting position. They’re easy to use as a reference point, and the rest of your hand naturally fits around them.
If the left index finger lands on “F” and the right index finger lands on “J”, the other fingers land where they need to go. From here, it’s simply easier to reach the top and bottom rows of letters, numbers, punctuation marks, and function keys.
The protrusions do not have to be large. They should only be palpable enough to be recognizable under the fingers. Depending on the keyboard, these may be small lines, convex points, delicate bumps, a different texture or a slightly different key profile.
Where did the dashes on the keyboard come from?
The tabs for “F” and “J” themselves are an evolution of the idea of typing without looking at the keyboard. The “QWERTY” layout itself dates back to the times of typewriters. Its history is associated with Christopher Latham Sholes and the Sholes and Glidden machine, which went into production as the Remington No. in the 1870s. 1. In turn, touch typing using the basic row is usually associated with Frank Edward McGurrin, a stenographer from Salt Lake City, who in 1888 popularized a method based on a fixed hand position.
It is worth paying attention to the popular fact that the tabs for “F” and “J” were “invented” by June E. Botich. The patent actually appeared only in 2003, but the idea of touch markings on the keyboard was certainly nothing innovative at that time. Rather, it is one of the later variants of a solution that serves the same purpose: making it easier to find the position of the fingers.
What about the “5” key on the numeric keypad?
A similar protrusion can often be found on the “5” in the numeric block. The principle is identical. The “5” key is located in the middle of the “3 x 3” numeric pattern, so it allows you to quickly position your hand without looking at the numbers. This is important for people who often enter numbers: accountants, analysts, office workers, people using spreadsheets or warehouse programs. If your finger lands on “5”, the rest of the digits are easy to find by touch.
Small detail, big difference
The tabs on “F” and “J” are there to help your fingers find their starting point without looking at the keyboard. They make it easier to write faster, more conveniently and with fewer mistakes. So if you’ve ever wondered what those little lines on your keyboard are for, you finally know the answer.
