The Embedded

Numeric Keypad
(What it is, and how to use it…)

Due to space limitations, laptops have fewer keys than a full-size desktop
keyboard does. So there are a few tricks that manufacturers use to
attempt to give back some of the functionality that might have been
sacrificed for the sake of a more mobile package.

The embedded numeric keypad shares

some of the keys for alphabetic characters (A,
B, C, etc.) with numeric characters (1, 2, 3,
etc.) so that touch-typists can enter values
quickly using the familiar ’10-key’
configuration (see example).

You may notice that the numbers shown in

this example are in a different color, just as
they are on your laptop.

Your laptop also has a key [Fn] (close to the left [Shift]) which appears in
the same color. To activate the embedded numeric keypad, press [Fn] and
[Num Lock] (shared by the [F4] key) at the same time. Pressing these
same two keys again turns the feature off. There is a little light under
your right wrist that looks like a padlock with a number ‘9’ in it --
this indicates whether number-lock is turned on.

This feature has no effect on the other keys (numeric or otherwise) on your
keyboard.

If you want to use the numeric keypad for just a few characters, you can
hold down [Fn][Shift] while pressing the embedded numeric keys; when
you release [Fn][Shift], the feature will be turned off.