What are Toggle keys?

keys that are used to turn on or off a function or the keys used to switch between two functions is called the Toggle key. The caps lock key, scroll lock key, and number lock key are the examples of toggle keys.

How many toggle keys are there on the keyboard?

The toggle keys are four in number. They are the Caps lock key, Scroll lock key, Num lock key, and Insert key.

Caps Lock key

The caps lock toggle key is used to enable or disable the Uppercase letters. When the caps lock is enabled, the letters are typed in uppercase. When the caps lock is disabled, the letters are typed in lowercase.

Scroll Lock key

The scroll lock toggle key is used to scroll in the windows to move up or down by using the arrow keys. The scroll lock toggle key is used to scroll through the windows without a scroll bar.

Num Lock key

The Num lock toggle key takes the numbers from the numeric keyboard. The Num lock which is a toggle key is turned on by itself.

Insert key

Insert toggle key is used for changing between the text entering modes. The insert key has two modes to shift. They are overtype mode and insert mode.

The insert key is also present on the numeric keypad, in combination with the "0" key. So, for the insert key to operate on the numeric pad, the user should turn off the Num lock key.

• Overtype mode: In the overtype mode, when the cursor is placed at some position and text is typed, the current typing text replaces the existing test.

Before: A computer is an electronic machine.
After:    Laptopmputer is an electronic machine. 

Here when "Laptop" is typed, it replaces "The" and accompanying characters and becomes "Laptopmputer”.

• Insert mode: in the insert mode, when the cursor is placed at some position and text is typed, all the characters are placed at that cursor position by making all the characters move to one position forward.

Before: A computer is an electronic machine.
After:   Laptop The computer is an electronic machine.

           When the "Laptop" is typed, the word is inserted at the position where the

           Cursor is placed.

Once the toggle keys are in an on or off state, they need to be pressed or held down only sometimes when pressing other keys.

Toggle the keys located on the keyboard

The ellipse marked in red shows the toggle key's position on the standard keyboard.

How to know whether toggle keys are in one state?

The turn-on status is shown on the desktop screen in some of the operating systems. But in most computers and laptop keyboards, the turn-on of the toggle keys is shown by the light below. When the caps lock is on, the light is in on state.

Toggle keys are used to alter the input modes of keys, so toggle keys are utilized as an accessibility option. At the same time, the modifier keys will not have the option to alter between the modes.

This toggle key accessibility function is proposed for people with vision problems. Microsoft is the first to introduce the toggle keys from Windows 95.