How to count keys on a keyboard

Are you a new typist or aspiring keyboardist? Learning how to count keys on a keyboard is an important part of learning how to use your device. Counting keys helps when there's a need to reference or access specific keys on your keyboard. This article will provide tips and instructions on counting keys and teach you all the different layouts used on a keyboard.

Before you dive right into counting, it helps to understand the different sections of a keyboard. There are four main sections:

• The numeric pad

• The navigation pad (arrows)

• The alphabetic pad

• Function Keys (F1, F2 etc.)

Each section has its own set of keys and counting them is easy once you understand what each set looks like.

Starting with the numeric pad, these are usually the top row of numbers from 0-9, plus some other helpful buttons such as mathematical operators (+, - , / ) and special buttons (Backspace, Delete, Enter etc). Then move onto the navigation pad which consists of left and right arrow keys as well as up and down arrow keys. These are typically located on the right side of most keyboards.

Next is the alphabetic pad which consists of all 26 letters in the English alphabet plus some additional symbols or characters – also often referred to as "symbol packs" – (usually accessed through "shift + number/letter key" combinations). Finish up with function keys which usually run along the top row of your keypad from F1-F12 and do useful things for applications such as opening/closing menus or performing certain actions within software programs.

Now that you have an understanding of each section let's look at how to count them correctly. To start, place one hand above each section so that you can rest your fingers comfortably above all the sections in turn and keep your finger range consistent across each section – i.e.: use one finger per row or column depending on where they are located in each section (left side numbered columns followed by right side unnumbered rows). You can then easily figure out how many keys per row or column there are by counting them out loud gently tapping with your fingers until finished. If applicable be sure to also include special characters that appear in certain sections as well - otherwise you may miss any additional characters that these sections have been assigned besides basic letter/number combinations.

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